Super Lawyers® | Wisner Baum

Wisner Baum Super Lawyers

MONIQUE ALARCON | SUPER LAWYERS RISING STARS HONOREE

Selected to Rising Stars: 2022-2023

Monique focuses on medical device cases, pharmaceutical drug liability, civil rights cases and consumer fraud litigation. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, contributing her expertise to the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Moot Court Team. She handles complex pharmaceutical personal injury and wrongful death cases involving the HPV vaccine and the ECT medical device. She has also handled several lawsuits involving First Amendment rights violations against the LAPD.

William Crawford Appleby IV | Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree

Selected to Rising Stars: 2020-2023

William Crawford Appleby is a top-rated attorney who focuses on complex law and motion matters, in-depth legal research and writing, and case strategy as it relates to transportation accidents.. He earned his Rising Stars designation in the practice area of Personal Injury. Crawford was selected for this honor after undergoing an evaluation that included peer review and professional achievement.

Prior to joining Wisner Baum, Crawford served as a Law Clerk at the Los Angeles Superior Court where he acquired a broad range of experience in all aspects of civil litigation.

Michael L. Baum | Super Lawyers Honoree

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2005, 2012 – 2023

Michael was first chosen to the Southern California Super Lawyers list in 2005. He is listed as a Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Los Angeles and was selected to the Top 100: 2019 Southern California Super Lawyers List.

As senior managing shareholder of Wisner Baum, over the past 30+ years Michael has successfully led the firm through thousands of personal injury and wrongful death cases stemming from major pharmaceutical product liability, mass torts, and commercial transportation mass disasters. While he oversees all aspects of managing the firm, Michael directs all of the firm’s mass tort litigation involving defective pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other consumer products. He also oversees class actions and whistleblower claims. In addition to being listed in Super Lawyers, Michael has an AV® 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating through Martindale Hubbell and is listed on the Lawdragon Top 500 List and The Best Lawyers in America®.

Bijan Esfandiari | Super Lawyers Honoree

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2017 – 2023         
Selected to Rising Stars: 2009 – 2016

Super Lawyers lists Bijan Esfandiari as one of the Top Rated Products Liability Attorney in Los Angeles. As a pharmaceutical product liability litigation attorney and shareholder at Wisner Baum, Bijan has successfully represented clients in courts across the country at both the trial and appellate level in wrongful death and personal injury cases.

Throughout his career, Bijan has participated in cases that have shaped and developed the law for the benefit of injured victims and consumers of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. In one such case, the court agreed with his arguments and held that drug manufacturers owe an affirmative duty to warn regarding risks associated with children’s off-label use. Bijan is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and has earned a perfect Avvo.com score. In 2016, he was selected to the Up-and-Coming 100: Southern California Rising Stars Top List.

Pedram Esfandiary | Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree

Selected to Rising Stars: 2020-2023

Pedram Esfandiary is a partner at Wisner Baum, where he concentrates his practice on toxic tort injuries, pharmaceutical drug liability, class actions, and consumer fraud litigation. He is leading the firm’s toxic baby food litigation against several major baby food manufacturers. He represents thousands of clients who allege consumption of heavy metals in baby food caused their children to have autism or ADHD.

He worked  on the very first Roundup cancer trial against Monsanto in 2018, which resulted in a landmark $289M verdict. He went on to work on the next two trials against Monsanto in 2019 which, with the first verdict, culminated in more than $2.42 billion in jury verdicts.

Pedram was also selected to Best Lawyers - Ones to Watch list and is a winner on Law360’s Rising Stars Top 40 Under 40 list. The National Law Journal awarded him and other attorneys of the trial teams 2019 Elite Trial Lawyers winners, and the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 awarded them with 2019 Trial Team of the Year.

Adam M. Foster | Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree

Selected to Rising Stars: 2020-2023

Adam M. Foster is a top-rated attorney at Wisner Baum where he concentrates on class actions and mass torts, with a specific focus on cases involving pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and products liability. 

Throughout his tenure at Wisner Baum, Adam has been engaged in a diverse range of cases, including notable instances such as Zantac and Actos, among others. His exceptional contributions have garnered recognition from esteemed organizations, with SuperLawyers®, the National Trial Lawyers, and Best Lawyers® all commending his efforts. He has been honored with titles such as Rising Star, Top 40 Under 40 attorney, and Best Lawyers One to Watch, reflecting his outstanding legal acumen.

MATTHEW P. FRENCH | SUPER LAWYERS RISING STARS HONOREE

Matthew French is a personal injury attorney at Wisner Baum’s Los Angeles office. He focuses his practice on commercial transportation accident cases as well as California wildfire claims. Led by a strong desire to help people when they need it most, Matthew’s clients appreciate his empathetic approach to litigating cases.

Following devastating wildfires in Northern California, Matthew was on the front lines for clients discussing the lack of transparency in the California Fire Victims’ Trust. He appeared in print and television media advocating for his clients and other victims of fires caused by PG&E’s negligently maintained electrical equipment. 

HARRISON E. JAMES  | SUPER LAWYERS RISING STARS HONOREE

Harrison E. James is an attorney at the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum. With a primary focus on pharmaceutical drug liability, class actions, and consumer fraud litigation, Harrison has established himself as an invaluable asset to the firm. He is currently working on the firm’s Actos RICO class action case, which is the first non-settlement national RICO class action lawsuit certified against a major pharmaceutical company.  

Harrison's journey with Wisner Baum began in May 2019, when he joined as a law clerk while simultaneously pursuing his law degree at UCLA School of Law. Displaying immense dedication and talent, he was swiftly promoted to the role of attorney in May 2021 after passing the California bar exam. 

Timothy A. Loranger | Super Lawyers Honoree

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2015 – 2023          
Selected to Rising Stars: 2011 – 2013

Tim is a shareholder at Wisner Baum and listed as a Super Lawyers Top Rated Aviation & Aerospace Attorney in Los Angeles. A pilot and Marine Corps veteran, Tim concentrates his practice on product liability, aviation, and commercial ground transportation accidents. During his time in the Marines, Tim served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. His experience as a Marine prepared him for a career in the legal field where service, honor, compassion, perseverance, and dedication are essential traits. As the firm’s lead military accident attorney, Tim currently represents members of the military who have been harmed in various military accidents in claims, not against the Military, but against defective product manufacturers, such as airplane and helicopter aircraft manufacturers. Best Lawyers® has selected Tim as the 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” for Personal Injury Litigation in Los Angeles.

Clay Robbins III | Super Lawyers Honoree

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2022 – 2023 

Clay Robbins III is a third-generation California attorney and a partner at Wisner Baum. He concentrates his practice on transportation accident cases and mass disasters. In his four decades practicing law, Clay has championed the rights of victims and their families in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits across a range of practice areas, including aviation accidents, bus accidents, truck accidents, Maritime law, and more. 

In one of his major cases, Clay successfully represented his clients in an aviation insurance bad faith action resulting in the recovery of over $9 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Clay also successfully represented the heirs of a truck driver killed in a highway accident involving another long-haul truck, obtaining a seven-figure resolution on behalf of his clients.

HELEN E. TOKAR | SUPER LAWYERS RISING STARS HONOREE

Helen E. Tokar is an attorney in Wisner Baum’s Los Angeles office. She focuses her practice on the firm’s Zantac cancer litigation. Before joining Wisner Baum, Helen gained invaluable experience representing clients in cases across a variety of practice areas, including criminal defense, landlord/tenant law, and personal injury claims. Helen has years of experience handling all facets of litigation, from writing demands, conducting discovery and depositions, and preparing clients for deposition and trial to handling mediations and settlement discussions, negotiating with insurance companies, and supervising case managers. She has also made numerous court appearances throughout her career, including successfully serving as second-chair in a jury trial for a personal injury case.

R. Brent Wisner | Super Lawyers Rising Stars Honoree

Selected to Rising Stars: 2016 – 2023

R. Brent Wisner is Wisner Baum’s Managing Partner and the firm’s leading trial attorney. Super Lawyers Rising Stars recognizes Brent as a Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Greenbrae, where our Bay Area office is located. A Rising Stars candidate must be 40 years old or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less, but by the age of 35, Brent had helped win the first three landmark Roundup cancer verdicts against Monsanto/Bayer, culminating in more than $2.42 billion in jury verdicts, and as a result, won numerous prestigious lawyer awards, including Civil Plaintiffs Trial Lawyer of the Year by the National Trial Lawyers, America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers, Law360 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar, Top 40 Under 40 Attorneys in California, 2019 by the Daily Journal, and Trial Team of the Year, 2019 by the National Trial Lawyers Top 100.

Brent concentrates his practice on pharmaceutical class action litigation, toxic-tort injuries, whistleblower and qui tam claims, and consumer fraud litigation and is leading up the Zantac cancer litigation for plaintiffs across the US.

The following former partners of Wisner Baum were also listed in Super Lawyers for years:

• Ronald L. M. Goldman, retired
• Paul J. Hedlund, retired
• J. Clark Aristei, retired
• John A. Greaves, consulting counsel