Firm’s Los Angeles Office Expanded with the Addition of John W. Sheller and Desmond J. Hinds from Haight Brown & Bonesteel
National law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is used to attracting the best of the best in the Professional Liability area nationwide, one by one. This week, however, the firm continued its sweeping expansion by acquiring a heavy hitting team of professional liability attorneys from the Los Angeles firm Haight Brown & Bonesteel. These lawyers, led by John W. Sheller, have joined Hinshaw’s Los Angeles office, all as partners, giving the office a strategic boost in visibility and stature.
“Hinshaw is banking heavily on the trend that shows the Professional Liability practice area will only keep getting hotter,” said Hinshaw Chairman Donald L. Mrozek. “We have gone after the preeminent leaders in the area and have succeeded in building a national team that now reads like a who’s who in professional liability, with the heavy hitters strategically placed across the nation from the West to East coasts. Bringing in John Sheller’s team in Los Angeles is truly exciting as the firm has reached a premier status that has the ability to attract entire teams. And we intend to keep this ball rolling.”
“John Sheller is a preeminent trial lawyer who has a national reputation in legal malpractice and professional liability,” said Executive Committee member and partner Robert Romero. "The addition of Sheller, O’Meara and Hinds will further enhance our national Professional Liability practice and further promote our growing presence in the Los Angeles market.”
Hinshaw’s Professional Liability practice now has 130 attorneys throughout the country, representing a quarter of the firm, who practice in the area. They represent lawyers, accountants, physicians, directors and officers, real estate agents, insurance and securities brokers, architects, engineers and design professionals.
The team of Professional Liability attorneys joining Hinshaw’s Los Angeles office includes the following:
John W. Sheller - For more than 26 years, Mr. Sheller's practice has been devoted to the defense of professional malpractice actions and malicious prosecution for lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, insurance agents, real estate brokers and appraisers. Recently, he has handled many complex malicious prosecution and business tort actions, and has appeared in 15 reported Court of Appeals decisions. As an advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, he has tried more than 40 jury trials in addition to numerous bench trials and arbitrations. He has also developed expertise in matters involving fraud, business torts, breach of fiduciary duty, real estate litigation, disputes in the formation of corporations and sale of securities and close corporations.
Mr. Sheller is also a frequent lecturer and author in the field of malpractice and malicious prosecution, having recently spoken at the annual convention of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel on attorney ethics.
Mr. Sheller earned his B.A. from Stanford University in 1972 and his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in 1975.
Desmond J. Hinds – Mr. Hinds has handled professional liability cases, including trials, in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Contra Costa counties. He has litigated cases in U.S. District Courts in the Central and Eastern Districts of Californiaand in the District Court of Nevada. Mr. Hinds maintains a litigation practice focused on commercial and real estate litigation and professional liability defense of attorneys, commercial and residential real estate brokers, accountants and appraisers.
Mr. Hinds has served on the board of directors of and as outside counsel for a major Los Angelesresidential and commercial real estate brokerage firm. He has also lectured on real estate brokerage and transactional liability topics.
Mr. Hinds earned his B.A. from the University of California at Los Angelesin 1979 and his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in 1982. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (Litigation and Real Property Sections) as well as the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel.
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a national law firm with approximately 500 lawyers in 24 offices coast-to-coast. The firm offers a full-service practice, with an emphasis in commercial and defense litigation, corporate, environmental, employment and construction law, as well as the representation of professionals in their liability matters. The firm provides services to a range of clients in financial services, construction, health care, not-for-profit, insurance, legal, manufacturing, real estate, transportation and other industries. Firm clients also include government agencies, municipalities and schools.
Hinshaw was founded in 1934. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, and maintains offices in 12 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.