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Joseph L. Chairez
Partner

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Costa Mesa
600 Anton Boulevard
Suite 900
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-7221

T 714.966.8822
F 714.754.6611

Bar Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1987
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 2006
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2003
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1987
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 1987
  • High Court Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 1986
  • Republic of Palau, 1986
  • California, 1981

Education

  • J.D., University of California, Davis School of Law, 1980, UC Davis Law Review, Honors Moot Court Board
  • B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1977

Joseph L. Chairez

Joseph Chairez’s experience includes assisting companies with employment litigation, insurance coverage, product liability, real estate, environmental cost recovery and construction defect.

Mr. Chairez is a business trial lawyer who has successfully litigated numerous complex business and employment matters in state, federal and appellate courts. For employers, he has handled multiplaintiff discrimination, retaliation, harassment and wage and hour litigation.

He also has a subspecialty in insurance coverage litigation on behalf of individual and corporate policyholders, which has produced millions of dollars of insurance policy benefits for his clients. Mr. Chairez is skilled in handling both the underlying litigation and the associated coverage issues with an emphasis on Error & Omissions, Officers & Directors, and General Liability Policies.

In addition, Mr. Chairez is experienced in drafting legislation and negotiating and reviewing international contracts, treaties and bond offerings. As a former senior legislative counsel to one of the U.S. Trust Territories, he represented several Pacific Island legislators before the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and United Nations.

Mr. Chairez has been a Panel Arbitrator for the Orange County Superior Court since 1992. He is the President of the Orange County Bar Association Charitable Fund and immediate past President of the Orange County Bar Association. Mr. Chairez is also a past president of both the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association and Celtic Bar Association. He is a member and new co-chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice and a member of the California State Bar, Pipeline Diversity Task Force. A frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars, Mr. Chairez has spoken before the Southern California Chapter of the American Corporate Counsel Association, the California Redevelopment Association, the Insurance Education Association, and Hispanic Board of Realtors. He has contributed to many publications including the Orange County Lawyer, California Minority Counsel Annual Report.

Mr. Chairez has continuously been named a Southern California “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine since 2004.

News
3/11/2010 2010 "Super Lawyers" Announced
10/5/2009 2009 "Super Lawyers" Announced
9/4/2009 Chairez Named "Top Five Litigator"