WHO WE ARE

CLARIZA C. GARCIA ERIC R. DEWALT

CLARIZA C. GARCIA

Clariza C. Garcia has practiced law in California for twenty years. she is admitted in all state courts, the Northern, central and eastern district courts and the ninth circuit court of appeals. She is a member of the labor and employment section of the California Bar association. She is a lifetime member of the Filipino bar association.

ms. garcia graduated from the University of California, Davis and Western State University, School of Law. During law school, Ms. Garcia was a Paralegal and Certified Law Clerk with the San Bernardino County Counsel’s Office.

Ms. Garcia began her legal career with the San Bernardino County Counsel’s Office as a Deputy County Counsel, where she served in a dual assignment in Risk Management Defense and Juvenile Dependency Appeals. SHE represented San Bernardino County in employment, civil rights and premises liability cases, in State and Federal Courts.

From 1999 to 2005, Ms. Garcia was an associate at Los Angeles law firms representing the City AND County of Los Angeles, the University of California as well as Whole Foods Markets, Ford Motor Company and Wells Fargo Bank in employment claims, premises liability, products liability, and general business litigation, at both the trial and appellate court levels.

From 2005 to 2016, Ms. Garcia was an associate at Bay Area law firms representing Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies and public entities in employment, wage and hour and general civil litigation, as well as public entities in civil rights actions. she was an associate at the Law Firm of Patton ♦ Wolan ♦ Carlise in Oakland, California where she continued to represent public sector clients including the County of Alameda, Del Norte County and Alameda Health Systems.

ms. garcia has prevailed in summary judgment that lead to the dismissal of several actions against public entities for civil rights violations including prison conditions and a claim of malicious prosecution against its former District Attorney. she has also represented employers in the healthcare industry in wage and hour AND employment matters, in the public and private sector.

Ms. Garcia has provided advice and counsel as well as personnel policy drafting and review. She has represented employers before the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement and prepared responses to charges filed with the DFEH and EEOC.

Ms. Garcia is a trained mediator and serves as a mediator in the First and Third District Courts of Appeals of California as well as all Bay Area Counties. she is pro bono counsel for calico.

Areas of Practice:

Employment Litigation

Wage and Hour Litigation

Civil Rights Litigation

Employment Advice and Counseling

Commercial/Business Litigation

ERIC R. DEWALT

Eric R. DeWalt has practiced law in California for over twenty-five years. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and the University of San Francisco School of Law. During law school Mr. DeWalt was a member of the law review. He also served as an extern for Justice Allen E. Broussard at the California Supreme Court where he assisted the Justice in researching and drafting conference memoranda. He was admitted to the bar in 1988.

Mr. DeWalt has successfully represented major corporations and public entities at both the trial and appellate court levels in the areas of race, sex, age and disability discrimination, general business litigation, premises liability, landlord/tenant and environmental law. Mr. DeWalt has an established track record of disposing of causes of action and cases through demurer, summary judgment and/or summary adjudication. He is skilled at conducting discovery and motion practice designed to resolve cases in the most cost efficient manner.

Prior to establishing Garcia DeWalt LLP, Mr. DeWalt practiced at the Law Firm of Patton ♦ Wolan ♦ Carlise LLP in Oakland, California, where he represented corporate entities, health care institutions and public sector clients.

His recent accomplishments include:

Serving as co-trial counsel and obtaining a defense verdict on behalf of a state-wide agency in a complex litigation class action age discrimination trial in the San Francisco Superior Court in 2012.

Obtaining Summary Judgment on behalf of a public-sector client in an age and sex discrimination and sexual harassment case, and successfully representing the client in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016.

Successfully representing a public-sector client in the Ninth Court of Appeals in 2016 following the grant of summary judgment in a malicious prosecution case.

Obtaining Summary Judgment in an age discrimination case that was affirmed on appeal in a published opinion, Reeves v. M.V. Transportation, Inc. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 666.

His published cases include: United States ex rel. Honeywell, Inc. v. San Francisco Housing Authority, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9743; Finley v. Wells Fargo Bank, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18180; and Reeves v. MV Transportation, Inc. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 666.