Member Profiles

Mr. Van Blois completed his undergraduate education at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and worked in the U.S. Senate as a legislative assistant.  He is a graduate of the University of California Law School at Berkeley, California (Boalt Hall), where he received his legal education. Mr. Van Blois became Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in 1983 and as such is recognized by the California State Bar as a civil trial specialist.  He has been recognized by the Consumer Attorneys of California (formerly called the California Trial Lawyers Association) as an experienced trial attorney in the fields of Products Liability, Professional Negligence, General Personal Injury, Public Entity Liability and Insurance Bad Faith law.  He has received the honor of being the Alameda County Trial Lawyer of the Year.  He has tried over 150 jury trials in California. He is admitted to the State Bar of California and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  He has been President of the Alameda-Contra Costa County Trial Lawyers Association, is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California; Alameda County and Contra Costa County Bar Associations; American Association for Justice (ATLA Stalwart), the Brain Injury Association and APITLAmerica Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America. Mr. Van Blois has consistently received the "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the legal profession's directory for over 140 years.  This peer review process measures two components of a lawyer's practice: Legal ability and professional ethics.  The "A" signifies legal ability that is "Very high to preeminent."  The "V" signifies professional ethics that "Adhere to the strict standards of the Bar."  This rating is achieved by only 15% of the Bar nationwide, and is the highest possible rating. Mr. Van Blois has been actively involved in improving the administration of justice in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.  He was instrumental in establishing the Early Disposition Program (EDP) and the SETL Programs that have led to settlements of cases to help reduce court congestion.  He has frequently lectured on trial practice and personal injury law and medicine. For the seventh consecutive year, R. Lewis Van Blois has been selected by his peers as a top rated lawyer in San Francisco and Northern California. Mr. Van Blois has been selected by Super Lawyers in Northern California for 10 consecutive years, is selected again by Best Lawyers in America for legal work in plaintiffs personal injury, and product liability litigation and is included in the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the U.S. by the National Trial Lawyers. Best Lawyers Peer Reviewed awarded R. Lewis Van Blois the Lawyers of the Year in Northern California for 3 years. Mr. Van Blois has also been awared the Product Liability Litigation Lawyer of the Year for 2018 and 2021 and Personal Injury Litigation Lawyer of the Year for 2020. Areas Of Practice Brain and Head Injuries Big Rig Truck Accidents Dangerous Roads/Government Liability Burn Injuries and Amputations Pedestrian Accidents Child Abuse and Child Injuries Paralysis and Spinal Injuries Wrongful Death Bar Admissions California U.S. Federal Courts U.S. Supreme Court Education University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, California J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia B.A., Bachelor of Arts Honors and Awards Preeminent AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell for Over 37 Years Best Lawyers in America Top Attorneys in Northern California for 7 Years Named to Super Lawyers for Ten Consecutive Years Alameda County Trial Lawyer of the Year Top 100 National Trial Lawyers Best Lawyer of the Year- Product Liability 2018 Best Lawyer of the Year- Personal Injury 2020 Product Liability Lawyer of the Year 2021 Best Lawyers Peer Review- Lawyer of the Year in Northern California for 3 Years Professional Associations and Memberships Alameda-Contra Costa County Trial Lawyers Association, Member, Past President Consumer Attorneys of California, Member, Past Board of Governors Alameda County Bar Association, Member Contra Costa County Bar Association, Member American Association for Justice, ATLA Stalwart Brain Injury Association APITLAmerica, Association of Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers

Mr. Kelly is the 2014 recipient of the California American Board of Trial Advocates ( CAL-ABOTA ) Trial Lawyer of the year award. He is in his 4th decade of representing those injured by the wrongdoing of others. His March 2013 $8,341,000 verdict in the first DePuy ASR /Johnson and Johnson metal-on-metal defective hip trial helped produce a $2.75 billion dollar national settlement of these claims. His August, 2012, $8,350,000 verdict on behalf of a construction-site worker who lost an arm in a fall, further demonstrated the breadth of his practice and his stellar results. A member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Mr. Kelly has been annually selected by SuperLawyers Magazine as one of the Top Ten lawyers in Northern California. His practice includes personal injury cases arising from defective medical devices, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical negligence, product liability, government liability and mass tort claims. He represents clients both in and out of California. In 2013 and 2014 he was honored with an Award of Merit by the Consumer Attorneys of California for his work on behalf of medical negligence victims. In 2011 he was honored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy with the prestigious Robert Oliphant Award, recognizing his pro bono contributions to advocacy teaching. In 2010 he was voted the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s "Trial Lawyer of the Year.". At various times he has held or shared the record for the highest verdict amount in particular case types in various California counties. His $23,200,000 jury verdict in a medical negligence case in Minnesota in 2010 ranks among the nation's largest verdicts ever for obstetrical injury. He has been listed as among the "Best Lawyers" in America for 18 consecutive years. He holds an "AV" rating (highest rating) from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been favorably profiled in numerous legal periodicals. During his career he has been involved in more than 175 cases where his client recovered $1,000,000 or more by way of trial, arbitration, mediation or settlement. He has been recognized by his peers by election to the most selective and prestigious legal honorary societies including the Inner Circle of Advocates, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers (for whom he served as President in 2012-2013), the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and The Summit Council. He has served on the National Board of ABOTA, the governing board of NITA, the Foundation of ABOTA, and the governing boards of numerous charities. His commitment to continuing legal education and pro-bono work has been widely recognized. During his career he has served as an invited speaker at more than 200 continuing education seminars for attorneys across the country (and outside the United States) on subjects ranging from civil trial practice to cross-examination, evidence, opening statement and final argument. He has taught litigation advocacy courses in England, Ireland, Scotland, Eastern Europe and Asia. He served for ten years as the director of teacher training programs for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. He lectures regularly for the American Association for Justice ( AAJ ) , the California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), The Rutter Group, CAOC, ABOTA and SFTLA. Mr. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary's College of California in 1973. He obtained his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1976. He was an Assistant Professor of Law at Hastings from 1981 - 2001. Since 1978 his work has been exclusively in the area of complex plaintiff's personal injury and death claims.

Daniel A. Boehnen is a founding partner of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP. His practice focuses primarily on trials, appeals, opposition proceedings, and all forms of disputed patent matters. Clients also seek his counsel on general IP, business, and legal problems because of his keen insight and his ability to create understanding, simplify problems, and innovate solutions. Clients praise Mr. Boehnen for crafting aggressive strategies to try cases and settle cases while remaining sensitive to the client's business goals. Mr. Boehnen and his team have been praised by clients as the most integrated and efficient attorneys they work with.

Ron S. Geffner is a founding member of the firm’s Executive Committee and also oversees the Financial Services Group. He regularly structures, organizes and counsels private investment vehicles, investment advisory organizations, broker-dealers, commodity pool operators and other investment fiduciaries. Mr. Geffner also routinely counsels clients in connection with regulatory investigations and actions. His broad background with federal and state securities laws, and the rules, regulations and customary practices of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodities Futures Trading Commission and various other regulatory bodies, enables him to provide strategic guidance to a diverse clientele. He provides legal services to hundreds of hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds organized in the United States and offshore. Mr. Geffner began his legal career with the SEC, where he investigated and prosecuted violations of the federal securities laws with an emphasis on enforcement in connection with violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940. He also assisted federal and state criminal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, in their investigations of possible criminal violations of federal and state securities laws. Prior to starting Sadis & Goldberg, Mr. Geffner was associated with two other New York City-based law firms, where he represented domestic and offshore private investment vehicles, as well as broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and registered investment companies. He began his corporate legal career as in-house counsel in the Investment Management Industry Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he provided legal advice regarding investment advisers, registered investment companies and broker-dealers. Mr. Geffner is often interviewed as a legal expert in the securities industry. He has appeared on Fox News, CBS Morning Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Squawk Box, Power Lunch and Closing Bell on CNBC, British Broadcasting Channel and Bloomberg Radio. He is regularly quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Barron’s, Barron’s Online, Reuters, Dow Jones, Financial Times, New York Newsday, London Daily News, TheStreet.com, Private Equity Week and other national and international publications.

Carlos E. López López, has over 25 years of experience in corporate, government affairs, and international business law, in counseling and litigation practices in the state courts, U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and state and federal appellate courts, as well as international organizations. Carlos personally attended to the most sophisticated, high profile, and complex cases and clients, which included the Executive Governor’s Office, the Secretary of Justice, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, the Executive Director of the Electric Power Authority, as well as many other departments and public corporations in the Executive Branch of the Government of Puerto Rico. He was an Examining Officer of the Environmental Quality Board for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As corporate counselor in government affairs, attorney López advises in licensing and permits, environmental impact assessments, administrative rules and regulations drafting, federal and state legislation drafting, among other areas. In the International field he advises on international commercial contracts negotiations and drafting of contracts. Carlos further offers trainings, conferences and seminars on international business and economic law and international investment transactions (Joint Ventures, research and development, affiliations, subsidiaries, etc). His practice includes litigation and negotiation in the areas of business law and practice, permits and new business advice, contracts, administrative law, environmental law, products liability claims, and labor disputes. Attorney López has taught academic courses in Business and International Business Law, International Commercial Arbitration, Legal Research Analysis and Writing, and Management and Labor Relations at the Business Administration Faculty in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and at the Eugenio María de Hostos School of Law and the Inter-American University School of Law. Carlos is a Partner at Wolf Popper LLP New York.