Our Legal Team

Our lawyers bring decades of robust litigation experience to clients. Our partners have large-firm backgrounds. Robert Frassetto is AV Preeminent* peer review-rated, the highest rating through Martindale-Hubbell. A perennially recognized “Northern California Super Lawyer,” he is a seasoned litigator, private mediator, court-appointed neutral and Past President of the nationally recognized Alameda County Bar Association. He applies these skills and professional experience to benefit clients through creative and sensible problem-solving strategies.

Learn more about our legal team through the links below.

Robert J. Frassetto

Partner
Phone: 510-817-0466
Fax: 855-710-7474
Email: rjf@frassettolaw.com

Admitted to the California Bar in 1982, Robert Frassetto regularly defends major professional sports organizations, national commercial retailers, colleges, universities and other educational institutions, consumer and industrial product manufacturers, private residential and commercial property owners, and large and small business organizations. Mr. Frassetto’s practice integrates remarkably diverse litigation experience throughout California, where he has defended claims involving personal injury, intentional tort, premises liability, strict product liability, closed head injury, sports, leisure, recreational and entertainment liability, catastrophic loss, wrongful death, fire, design professional liability, construction defect and delay, ADA, Unfair Business Practices (B&P Section 17200), environmental and multiple chemical exposure claims (including Proposition 65), and Medicare issues in third party litigation.

Mr. Frassetto’s Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating is “AV Preeminent.”

Since 1996, Mr. Frassetto has served both as a private and court-appointed mediator, assisting litigants and courts to resolve an array of tort and contract disputes. In addition to providing private mediation services, he has served as a Panel Mediator, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District; Settlement Mentor and Panel Mediator, Contra Costa County Superior Court; Day-of-Trial Settlement Mentor/Mediator, Alameda County Superior Court; and Panel Arbitrator, Alameda County Bar Association Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Committee.

Mr. Frassetto served on the Boards of Directors of the Alameda County Bar Association (2010-2014) and Friends of UCLA Rowing (2004-present). He has also served as a Director (2002-2007) and two-term Education Committee Chair (2004, 2005) of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada (“ADCNC”). He is a past two-term Chair of the Alameda County Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. He is a member of the Bar Associations of Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Sacramento, and San Francisco Counties, the State Bar of California, the ADCNC, and the Defense Research Institute (DRI).

Mr. Frassetto regularly makes continuing education presentations to professional groups, trade associations, and claims organizations and he has written and lectured on a variety of subjects, including effective cross-examination techniques, legal ethics, neck and back injury claims, closed head injuries, how to take a pre-litigation statement effectively, indoor air quality, the language of negotiation, mediation, and California’s adoption of CACI jury instructions.

Mr. Frassetto is one of six founding members of the 2006 grass-roots Medicare Reform Task Force which formed the Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC) in 2008 to advocate the improvement of the Medicare Secondary Payer program for beneficiaries and affected companies.

A California native, Mr. Frassetto attended law school at Santa Clara University (J.D., 1982), where he was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in Torts and served both as Comments Editor of the Santa Clara Law Review and Editor-in-Chief of The Advocate; and at Magdalen College, Oxford University (1980). He completed his undergraduate education at UCLA (B.A., 1979, English Lit.), where he also earned three NCAA Varsity letters, served as Team Captain (Rowing) for three years, and was awarded Most Valuable Oarsman his Senior year.

Areas of Practice

Personal Injury
Intentional Tort
Premises Liability
Strict Product Liability
Closed Head Injury
Sports, Leisure, Recreational and Entertainment Liability
Catastrophic Loss
Wrongful Death
ADA
Unfair Business Practices (B&P Section 17200)
Environmental and Multiple Chemical Exposure Claims (including Proposition 65)
Medicare issues in third party litigation

Bar Admissions

California, 1982
U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1982
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 1998
U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1999

Education

Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California
J.D. – 1982
Honors: American Jurisprudence Award, Torts
Honors: The Advocate, Editor-in-Chief
Law Review: Santa Clara Law Review, Comments Editor
Magdalen College, Oxford University – 1980
Jurisprudence, Computers in Law
University of California, Los Angeles, California
B.A. – 1979
Honors: UCLA Men’s Rowing Team
Honors: Freshman Team Captain
Honors: Varsity Team Captain (two years)
Honors: Most Valuable Oarsman (1978)
Major: English Literature

Honors and Awards

Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating is “AV Preeminent”
Thomson Reuters Northern California “Super Lawyer” – Defense Litigation and Mediation

Professional Associations and Memberships

Bar Associations of Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, Sacramento, and San Francisco Counties, Member
Alameda County Bar Association, President, 2014
Alameda County Bar Association, Vice-president, 2013
Alameda County Bar Association, Director, 2010 – 2012
California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Panel Mediator, 2003 – 2012
Alameda County Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, Two-term Chair, 2009 – 2010
Contra Costa County Superior Court, Settlement Mentor – Panel Mediator, 1996 – 2012
Alameda County Bar Association Attorney – Client Fee Dispute Committee, Panel Arbitrator and former Vice-Chair, 1990 – 2013
Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, Member, Director, 2002 – 2007
Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada, Education Committee Chair, 2004 – 2005
Friends of UCLA Rowing (FOUR), Director/Director Ex Officio), 2004 – Present
Defense Research Institute, Member
Medicare Reform Task Force – Medicare Advocacy Recovery Coalition (MARC), Founding
Member

Dirk Larsen

Partner
Phone: 510-817-0469
Fax: 855-710-7474
Email: dl@frassettolaw.com

Admitted to the California Bar in 2006, Dirk Larsen has successfully represented businesses, public entities, and nonprofit organizations in cases involving commercial disputes; employment practices; wageand-hour claims, including as class action; defamation and invasion of privacy; personal injury; products liability; and civil rights. Before joining Frassetto Law LLP, Mr. Larsen worked for several years with founding partner Robert J. Frassetto in San Francisco, zealously defending major manufacturing, retail, and athletic organizations at the trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Larsen’s experience encompasses all stages of the litigation process, from the initial claim through discovery, law and motion, settlement, trial, and appeal. He has litigated extensively in federal court, including second-chairing a high-profile trial and conducting appeals before the Ninth Circuit. His accomplishments on behalf of his clients include:

Obtaining enforcement of a contract at summary judgment and the ensuing appeal, overcoming the plaintiff’s claim of mediation privilege
Prevailing against claims of dangerous condition of public property (Government Code§ 835) on behalf of municipalities and special districts at the summary-judgment and appellate levels Alameda County Bar Association, Vice-president, 2013
Bringing successful anti-SLAPP motion resulting in dismissal of all claims against his client and an award of attorney’s fees in its favor
Successfully defending employers against claims of discrimination, constructive discharge, and vicarious liability for employee misconduct
Obtaining the Ninth Circuit’s partial reversal of the district court’s denial of summary judgment to government employees under the principle of qualified immunity
Successfully preventing claimants against public entities from pursuing their untimely claims under the Government Claims Act (Government Code § 900 et seq)
Obtaining numerous dismissals of claims and cases ranging from personal injury to civil rights at the dumurrer, motion to dismiss, and motion for summary judgment stages

Mr. Larsen graduated cum laude from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in 2006, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and earned the highest grade in his Legal Writing & Research and Copyright courses. In his final semester at law school, Mr. Larsen performed an externship for the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker, then-Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Before law school, Mr. Larsen lived for over five years in Berlin, Germany, where he worked as a technical translator and localization project manager, serving major German and European clients.

Mr. Larsen is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Areas of Practice

Civil Litigation
Commercial Disputes
Employment Practices
Wage-and-Hour Claims
Class Action
Defamation and Invasion of Privacy
Personal Injury
Products Liability
Civil Rights

Bar Admissions

California, 2006
U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit

Education

University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California
J.D. cum laude – 2006
Honors: Order of the Coif
Law Review: Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, Articles Editor
University of California, Berkeley, California
Honors: With Honors
Major: History
Major: German

Professional Associations and Memberships
Alameda County Bar Association

Past Employment Positions
Hon. Vaughn R. Walker, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Judicial Externship

Michael Johnson

Senior Counsel
Phone: 510-817-0465
Fax: 855-710-7474
Email: mpj@frassettolaw.com

Admitted to the California Bar in 1991, Michael’s vast legal experience ranges from all phases of civil litigation to complex technology transactions and AI. He was a trial lawyer in small and medium sized law firms in Oakland and San Francisco; he started his own law firm in Oakland; and then spent over 18 years as both complex litigation and transactional in-house counsel for AT&T and WarnerMedia. Michael has also served for the past four years as the General Counsel for the Charles Houston Bar Association. And he currently holds the position of Financial Secretary for the Board of Directors of the California Association of Black Lawyers (CABL).

For the past five years, Michael has also volunteered to serve as a court-appointed Mandatory Settlement Conference attorney for all Mandatory Settlement Conferences in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

For more than 30 years, Michael has also helped citizens secure legal equality and access to justice, by volunteering in schools, community organizations, and legal associations, including:

✓ General Counsel, Board member and Life Member of the Charles Houston Bar Association/Charles Houston Bar Institute
✓ Mentor, Oakland Tech High School Race, Policy & Law Pathway Program
✓ Mentor, The DeAnza High School Law Academy
✓ Active member of The 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.
✓ Past President of the Board of Directors of the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA)
✓ Past President of the Board of Directors of Legal Access Alameda (formerly ACBA Volunteer Legal Services Corp.)
✓ Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Judicial Council of California’s Bench Bar Coalition
✓ Attorney Volunteer, Alameda County Lawyers in the Library Program

Areas of practice

Civil Litigation
Commercial Disputes
Privacy
Data Protection/Data Security
Telecommunications
Corporate Governance
State and Federal Regulatory
Media and Entertainment
Consumer Rights
Construction Defect
Real Estate Transactions

Bar Admissions

California, 1991
The Bar of The Supreme Court of The United States of America
U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court Central District of California

Education

University of The Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
J.D. 1989
Honors: Gary V. Schaeber Memorial Academic Scholarship
Board of Editors, Dialogue newspaper
University of California, Santa Barbara
Major: Law & Society

Tyler San Juan

Associate Attorney
Phone: 510-817-0467
Fax: 855-710-7474
Email: tsj@frassettolaw.com

Admitted to the California Bar in 2018, Tyler J. San Juan has represented clients in a broad spectrum of legal matters ranging from civil litigation to transactional matters. While attending law school, Mr. San Juan gained valuable experience working as a law clerk at a boutique litigation firm, where he developed a base of practical knowledge and skills while also studying the law full time. After being admitted as an attorney, Mr. San Juan worked as an associate attorney at a notable defense firm with 100+ attorneys, where he became a member of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and defended catastrophic personal injury matters for some of the largest insurance carriers in the country. Thereafter, Mr. San Juan went on to represent clients in transactional and litigated matters pertaining to private trust funds ranging from small family trusts to multi-million-dollar estates. He utilizes this wealth of experience to present and execute practical solutions for any legal problem faced by the client.

Bar Admissions

California, 2018
U.S. District Court Northern District of California
U.S. District Court Central District of California

Education

Western State College of Law, J.D., with Honors, 2018
California State University, Dominguez Hills, B.A., Political Science, with Honors, 2015

Professional Associations and Memberships

Orange County Bar Association

Vanessa Buffington

An integral member of the firm’s litigation team since 2013, Vanessa Buffington is a certified paralegal with over 20 years of experience in both litigation and transactional matters. Her experience includes work in both the public and private sectors and encompasses multiple areas of law, including labor and employment, insurance and self-insured defense, construction defect, education, personal injury, medical malpractice, investigations, business, and labor relations and negotiations.

In addition to her extensive pretrial and trial-support expertise in California courts, Ms. Buffington regularly conducts trainings, seminars and webinars for legal professionals.