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Christopher H. Whelan
With a distinguished forty-eight-year career of relentless pursuit of justice for his clients and an impressive track record of success, Christopher H. Whelan is recognized as one of California's leading plaintiff's employment lawyers. A respected member of the legal community, he has served 23 years on the Board of Directors for the Capitol City Trial Lawyers (CCTLA); 19 years on the Executive Board of California Employment Lawyers Assoc. (CELA); past head of the Sacramento chapter of National Employment Lawyers (NELA); he has served on the Executive Board for Sacramento County Bar Labor and Employment Section. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Lawyers (ABOTA) at the Advocate level, a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and a member of Consumer Attorneys of California.
Whelan's dedication to his craft is evidenced by his numerous accolades, including recognition by the Daily Journal, Best Lawyers in America, and Martindale Hubble’s Preeminent Attorney ranking. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards such as CELA’s 2014 Joe Posner Award, CCTLA Advocate of the Year for 2000, and 2011, and a 2017 Co-Recipient of CCTLA’s Morton Friedman Humanitarian Award. He was nominated for the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) 2012 “Street Fighter of the Year,” and he was ABOTA’s Sacramento Valley’s Chapter, 2012 Trial Attorney of the Year, and its 2018 Nominee for ABOTA’s California Trial Lawyer of the Year.
He has achieved sixteen (16) seven and eight figure verdicts/awards, and fifteen (15) punitive damage verdicts/awards. He has had ten (10) published cases including three at the California Supreme Court, Richards v. CH2M Hill (2001) 26 Cal.4th 798; State Dept. of Health Services v. Sup. Ct. (McGinnis) (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1026; Roby v. McKesson HBOC (2009) 47 Cal.4th 686.
He earned a B.A. in economics from UCLA and was a member of its judo team. He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College. Whelan has devoted his career to championing the rights of employees, earning the nickname "The Defamation King" for his unparalleled expertise in employment/defamation cases. His work ethic and innovative approach to litigation have not only earned him the respect of his peers but have also resulted in groundbreaking verdicts and landmark cases in California’s appellate and Supreme Court that have advanced the field of employment law. When not practicing law or mentoring young attorneys he manages his olive and pistachio groves and is active in The Society of the Cincinnati.
Donia A. Pestana
Donia Pestana joined the Law Offices of Christopher H. Whelan, Inc. as legal secretary in 2011 while at the same time also attending California State University-Sacramento. In 2011, she was on the Dean’s Honor List and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She continued working at the Law Offices of Christopher H. Whelan as a paralegal, while also attending McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. She received her Juris Doctorate from McGeorge in 2017.
Mrs. Pestana has assisted the firm in handling a number of single plaintiff wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, defamation and whistleblower cases. During her career Mrs. Pestana has assisted in a number of jury trials resulting in multi-million-dollar verdicts. (For example: Sallustio v. Kemper, a workplace defamation case which resulted in a $5.6 million verdict, and King v. US Bank, a wrongful termination and defamation case resulting in a verdict of $24,000,000.) Also, she has been involved in a number of hard fought arbitrations including retaliation, wrongful termination case, Gonzalez v. Morning Star Co., which resulted in a judgment of $8,983,549.00 and the disability discrimination and whistleblower case, Doe v. Dealership, which resulted in an award of $5,809,745.98 damages, fees and costs.
Mrs. Pestana will be involved in every aspect of your case, and is committed to providing justice for her clients and holding employers accountable.
Mrs. Pestana is a member of the California State Bar, Capitol City Trial Lawyers (CCTLA), and California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), the largest statewide organization of advocates of employee rights, and Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). Mrs. Pestana is fluent in Farsi and has spent most of her life in Sacramento. When she is not advocating for her clients, she can be found spending time with her husband and two children.
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