Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
• Fraud
  Pond North LLP is dedicated to serving, advising, and defending its clients in a wide spectrum of matters. The Firm’s principal practice area is the defense of complex toxic tort and mass tort claims. The Firm’s principals, Frank Pond and Christine North, have long histories of trying cases to verdict, starting in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office and then branching into various forms of civil litigation, including Admiralty/Maritime law for Mr. Pond and prosecuting Insurance Fraud for Ms. North, though with each of them ultimately focusing on the defense of product and premises liability claims. Partner Michael Graham worked extensively in the area of Employment Law prior to litigating and defending products and premises liability claims with Pond North. All of the Partner-level lawyers at Pond North LLP have successful trial experience with several of them having a significant number of trials started and to verdict.
• Misdemeanors
  Mr. Pond gained his initial trial experience as a criminal prosecutor trying Felony and Misdemeanor cases with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (1987–1989) and has continued to successfully try cases while in private practice (1989–present). In addition to trial litigation, Mr. Pond serves as National Coordinating Counsel and National Strategic Counsel for clients in asbestos litigation and has overseen asbestos cases nationally, regionally, and locally for several larger (Fortune 200), medium, and smaller corporate and business entities. Mr. Pond has spoken at a number of litigation seminars in the areas of asbestos litigation, asbestos medicine, and more generally regarding toxic torts and tobacco-related medicine.
• Homicide
  Richard Hogan’s practice includes all phases of representation in general civil litigation, toxic tort claims, and complex product liability. Over the course of his career, Richard has argued over 40 combined jury and bench trials to verdict in the criminal, family, and general civil law arenas. Richard has advocated for clients in a wide range of cases including homicide, international child abduction, and professional negligence.

Business and Corporate Law

• Business Disputes
  Mr. Azad’s litigation experience began while attending Golden Gate University School of Law. During law school, he had the opportunity to intern at the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office as well as the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office. After graduating from law school, he continued pursuing his passion for litigation. Throughout his career, Mr. Azad has defended clients, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 Companies, in complex toxic tort litigation and products liability cases in both California Courts as well as Federal Courts. Mr. Azad’s experience spans throughout all phases of litigation as well as trial. In addition to defending clients in toxic tort litigation, Mr. Azad had advised and defended clients in various other types of disputes, including mass tort litigation, contract disputes, construction defect cases, and employment and labor law. Mr. Azad has also taught a Trial Advocacy class at his alma mater, Golden Gate University School of Law. Mr. Azad is fluent in Farsi.

Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination
  In addition to his experience with toxic tort and products liability litigation, he has extensive experience in defending employment/labor cases. He has counseled private and public employers in matters involving employment litigation and provided general labor and employment law advice. Additionally, Mr. Graham has tried employment discrimination cases in state court, federal court, and various administrative proceedings. He has also conducted on-site sexual harassment investigations and provided sexual harassment training to supervisors and non-supervisory employees. Mr. Graham is the overseeing Partner for the employment law cases defended by Pond North LLP.
• Employment Litigation
• Sexual Harassment

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  Our attorneys have extensive experience defending numerous property owners, developers, and leaseholders against premises liability claims, including claims arising out of paper mills, industrial facilities, warehouses, large retail stores, office suites, automotive repair centers, and other premises. In addition, Frank Pond and Christine North have regularly and successfully defended clients against environmental claims, including State, Federal, CERCLA, Proposition 65, and traditional environmental torts.
• Construction Litigation
  In addition, throughout her career, Ms. Gittler has worked in various other areas of law including, premises liability, entertainment, products liability, real estate, pharmaceutical malpractice, criminal, employment, and construction defect. Ms. Gittler has represented large retail and entertainment corporations, manufacturers, contractors, suppliers, government entities, employers, premises owners, real estate companies, and sports teams in federal and California state courts. She has extensive experience in all aspects of litigation including, discovery, motion work, trial preparation, and settlement negotiations. She has taken hundreds of plaintiff, percipient witness, and expert depositions. Ms. Gittler has drafted, opposed, and successfully argued numerous motions, including dispositive motions. As well, Ms. Gittler obtains remarkable settlements on a regular basis.
• Real Estate Transactions
  We handle the full gamut of real estate transactions, including conveyancing, developing, zoning and permitting, with a particular specialty in commercial leasing. We have represented landlords and tenants in hundreds of real estate transactions for many different types of properties, including office, retail, warehouse, industrial, and biotech. Additionally, we have extensive experience in real estate related litigation and mediation, including landlord/tenant disputes. Many of our clients originate from broker referrals, because we have a reputation in the industry for responsiveness, rapid turnaround, and keeping projects on track from beginning to closing. Because of our expertise, we are able to offer the highest level of service at lower costs than comparable firms, and we offer flexible billing options, which include hourly, capped and flat fee arrangements for regular clients.
• Land Use and Zoning
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  James Buck is a Senior Associate who primarily focuses on defending clients in toxic tort litigation matters. Mr. Buck practiced exclusively in California until 2011, at which time he moved to Massachusetts, and continued to work with a California firm until gaining admission to the Massachusetts State Bar in 2017. At that point he began practicing in Massachusetts. Throughout his career, he has worked in various areas of law including risk management, insurance defense, bankruptcy and landlord-tenant law. In addition, for approximately two and a half years, he was the Assistant Vice-President, Risk Management for an underground cable locating company with offices in seven states. Mr. Buck has extensive experience in all facets of litigation, including investigation, law and motion practice, depositions, discovery, mediation, administrative hearings, and trial preparation.
• Property Damage
  Pond North LLP provides strategic litigation defense to its clients. Always ready to try a case, the firm is judicious in using this strength, defending each client’s unique goals in litigation. The firm’s primary practice area is the defense of complex toxic tort and mass tort and property damage claims, with specialized experience in cases dealing with cancer of bodily organs and injuries to the respiratory and central nervous systems.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Pond North LLP’s principals, Frank Pond and Christine North, as well as other partner-level lawyers at Pond North, have regularly and successfully defended their clients’ interests in litigation and trial specializing in asbestos personal injury, death and property damage claims; environmental claims (State, Federal, CERCLA, Proposition 65, and traditional environmental torts); product liability claims; accident injury claims; and claims relating to the defense of retailers and retail operations (e.g. weights and measures, consumer attorney general actions, ADA claims). Pond North LLP’s attorneys also have significant experience providing the defense in employment law matters and in prosecuting and defending contractual and commercial disputes primarily relating to the entertainment, maritime and transportation industries, as a well as a boutique Commercial Real Estate practice (negotiating, drafting and litigating).
• Medical Malpractice
  Christine M. North has over 25 years of successful trial experience in the defense of asbestos personal injury and wrongful death claims; product and premises liability claims; and medical malpractice. Ms. North gained her initial trial experience as a criminal prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, in the 1988–1993 time period, where she tried over 48 cases to verdict, ultimately focusing on large conspiracy cases. Ms. North has tried several consolidated toxic tort trials, as well as multiple individual product and premises liability cases, in California and across the United States from Texas to Philadelphia to New England with consistently successful results. She has tried over 25 asbestos personal injury and wrongful death cases to verdict since 1994.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy