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ABOUT US
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OVERVIEW | MARGARET
Justice Margaret M. Grignon (Ret.) is a partner in the firm. She is retired from the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five, where she spent 14 years and authored in excess of 2,230 opinions, more than 160 of which have been published. Her work as an appellate practitioner has produced multiple precedential opinions from the state and federal courts, and resulted in her being named one of the Top Women Lawyers in California for 2010, 2013 and 2015 and rated in Band 1 by Chambers for Appellate Litigation in California. She is the recipient of the California Lawyers Association 2024 Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame award. This prestigious award, first given in 2018, is among the few devoted to recognition of appellate practice. The award honors attorneys who have excelled as appellate lawyers and whose careers exemplify the highest of values and professional attainment. Margaret has considerable expertise in arbitration and mediation, business, employment, financial institutions, government/municipal, health care, insurance, intellectual property, product liability and pharmaceutical, professional responsibility, real estate, tax and tort law.
Margaret is a member and a Past President of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, a fellow and former Board Member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Appellate Section, a member of the California Lawyers Association and a member of Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. She has authored numerous articles on tax, business and appellate law, and is a frequent lecturer at education programs for judges and attorneys. Margaret continues to be active in the administration of the judicial system, and serves as a judge of various law school moot court competitions.
Recognized as an excellent settlement judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court, Margaret continued to settle many cases on the Court of Appeal. After 20 years on the bench, Margaret returned to private practice where in addition to appellate law, she continued to employ her judicial skills as a well-respected mediator and arbitrator in a wide variety of practice areas, including business/commercial, complex litigation, employment, insurance, health care, legal and medical malpractice, and personal injury. As an appellate expert, she has worked to settle cases
pending on appeal, acted as an appellate arbitrator, and sat frequently as a mock appellate justice for appellate moot courts.
Employment History
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2016 - Grignon Law Firm LLP
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2005 - Reed Smith
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1990 - Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five
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1987 - Los Angeles Superior Court
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1984 - Antelope Municipal Court
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1981 - Gray, Cary Ames & Frye
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1978 - O'Melveny & Myers
Honors & Awards
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California Lawyers Association 2024 Appellate Lawyer Hall of Fame Award
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Listed in Best Lawyers in America, Appellate Practice (2016-2024)
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Listed in Best Law Firms, Appellate Practice, National and Metro Ranking (2024)
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Listed in the Daily Journal as one of its Top Women Lawyers (2010, 2013, 2015)
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Listed, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, "Band 1" rating for Appellate Litigation (California) (2009-2022); “Senior Statespeople” rating for Appellate Litigation (California) (2023-2024)
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Listed, California Super Lawyers, Appellate (2007-2023)
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Listed Best Lawyers, U.S. News Best Law Firms (2017-2023)
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Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Annual Donor Honor Roll (2020-2021)
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Listed, California Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, Appellate (2010)
Publications
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"You Can't Raise New Legal Theories on Appeal...Usually," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 1 October 2014 Co-Author(s): David J. de Jesus
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"Oral Argument: Facing the Challenge and Embracing the Opportunity," American Bar Association Litigation Section, 26 March 2014
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"Just How Mandatory Are Those Statutory Writ Deadlines," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 08 February 2012 Co-Author(s): Kasey J. Curtis
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"What a Difference a Day Makes," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 14 March 2011
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"Can Denial of Summary Judgment Based on Qualified Immunity Be Reviewed," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 25 February 2011
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"Saving Face," San Francisco Daily Journal, 3 February 2009
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"When Time's Not on Your Side," San Francisco Daily Journal, 20 May 2008
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"Ditching Class," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 30 January 2008
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"Objections to Evidence," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 29 November 2007
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"Strict Compliance," 1 May 2007 Co-Author(s): Zareh Jaltorossian
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"The Dynamics of Appellate Oral Argument," Certworthy, Summer 2006 Co-Author(s): Zareh Jaltorossian
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"Three Reasons for Thinking Twice Before Filing a Frivolous Appeal," April 2006 Co-Author(s): Zareh Jaltorossian
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"In Tricky Dance of Appeals, Timing of Filing Is Everything," Los Angeles Daily Journal, 1 November 2005
Speaking Engagements
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“The Academy At Conception: The Need for Appellate Specialists and for Information about Appellate Decision-Making”, California Academy of Appellate Lawyers Spring Meeting, 30 April 2022
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“Changes in State Appellate Litigation (Part 1)”, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers Spring Meeting, 1 April 2022
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The Portia Project Podcast, Episode 5, 14 February 2022
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“May it Please the Court: A Conversation with the Experts About Amicus Briefs and Appellate Courts, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, 10 May 2021 (Panelist)
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“Social Media Issues Zooming into the Future,” Alternative Dispute Resolution Services, Inc., 15 December 2020
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“Fundamental of Oral Advocacy on Appeal,” American Bar Association, Litigation Section, 10 December 2020
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“Oral Argument,” Orange County Bar Association Appellate Law Summer Academy, 20 July 2020
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“Can Oral Argument be Impactful in the World of Tentative Rulings,” California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, 4 May 2019
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“The Argument Clinic: Learn Oral Argument Strategies from Justices and Former Justices”, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 16 February 2017
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“Looking Back, Summing Up: Retrospecitve Thoughts About the Appellate Process in the California Court of Appeal, California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, 21 January 2017 (Moderator)
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"The Strategic Use of Appellate Counsel to Win at Trial and on Appeal," Association of Corporate Counsel Annual CLE Event, Beverly Hills, California, 8 October 2014
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"How to Stop Worrying And Love The California Supreme Court," Association of Corporate Counsel MCLE, California, 19-20 February 2014
Professional Affiliations
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American Academy of Appellate Lawyers - Fellow and former Board Member
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California Academy of Appellate Lawyers - Member and Past President
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California Lawyers Association - Member
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Certified as a Specialist in Taxation Law, 1984
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Los Angeles County Bar Association - Member
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Los Angeles County Bar Association Appellate Section - Member
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Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles - Member
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