JOHN J. WALKER, ESQ.

Partner

John is a graduate of the University of Southern California (B.A. Accounting & Finance, 1980) and Southwestern University School of Law (J.D., 1991). For over twenty-five years, John’s practice has been devoted to the art of trial advocacy and case management. John has extensive trial experience and is licensed to practice in both California (1991) and Illinois (1997). John’s extensive career includes working in the District Attorney’s office where he was part of the jailhouse informant litigation team which included gathering evidence and preparing habeus corpus cases for trial, after which he spent over 15 years with Wausau / Nationwide / Allied Trial Division, ultimately becoming the Managing Trial Attorney for Nationwide Insurance Company.  As Managing Trial Attorney, John managed offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, in excess of 40 litigation attorneys and their support staff and tried numerous cases to verdict in a variety of different venues and courthouses.

John is diligent and meticulous in his case handling and trial preparation and utilizes his background in accounting and finance as well as his years of legal experience in handling cases to develop case themes which begin in the discovery process and continue through effective cross-examinations of opposing parties and expert witnesses at trial. In addition to his former role as Managing Trial Attorney, John has been panel counsel for a number of large insurance carriers including Nationwide, Allied, Scottsdale, Farmland, Cal - Farm, James River Insurance, Markel Insurance Corp., Western Heritage and Farmers Insurance.

John specializes in civil litigation with a particular emphasis in personal injury, products liability, construction defect, general liability, premises liability, automobile, wrongful death, and insurance bad faith cases. 

John has received an AV Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest possible rating available in both legal ability and ethical standards. This rating reflects his high ethical standing and commitment to professional excellence as an attorney.

Email: john@walkerkirkpatrick.com

Jason A. Kirkpatrick, ESQ.

Partner

Jason Kirkpatrick is a graduate of Occidental College (B.A. Psychology, 1999) and the University of San Diego, School of Law (J.D., 2002). Jason was admitted to practice law in December of 2002, and since then has focused his career in the field of civil litigation and insurance defense. Jason has extensive experience handling complex litigation matters and has tried to verdict a number of high exposure cases for a variety of major insurance carriers including Markel Insurance, James River Insurance, Allied / Nationwide Insurance, State Farm, 21st Century, Progressive Insurance, and Mercury. 
 
Jason is a skilled civil litigator who personally involves himself in every aspect of his cases, and brings a combination of diligent investigative work and effective strategic planning to those cases he manages. He has used his effective planning and litigation management skills to successfully defend a variety of volatile and sensitive matters in the areas of construction defect litigation, pharmacy malpractice, recreational and sports injury cases, molestation cases, foster family liability cases, wrongful death cases, construction accident cases, and catastrophic injury cases.  

Jason has litigated cases throughout California, and has obtained excellent litigation results in virtually every court system in California, including both State and Federal Courts in Northern and Southern California as well as a number of specialty courts including the California Court of Appeals in various districts, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Probate court and the Office of Administrative Hearings which has jurisdiction over special education hearings and licensing disputes. Jason has successfully mediated and arbitrated hundreds of cases on behalf of his clients.

Jason’s friendly but firm style of litigation allows him to establish good rapport with his clients, witnesses and opposing counsel, who have contacted him for advice regarding legal strategy and case management long after their matters have concluded.  

Jason has received an AV Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards. This rating reflects his high ethical standing and commitment to professional excellence, which he has maintained each and every year since it was awarded in 2011. In 2016, Jason was recognized as a Distinguished Lawyer by the Expert Network, which identifies top rated professionals who have demonstrated superior influence, leadership, reputation and knowledge in their field of expertise.

Jason is admitted to practice in California, including the Central and Southern District Federal Courts as well as  the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  

Email: jason@walkerkirkpatrick.com

Carla J Sanchez, ESQ.

Associate

Carla earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2007 at the University of California Los Angeles, where she studied History and Political Science.  After graduating from UCLA, Carla went on to attend Southwestern Law School.   Among her many accomplishments, Carla was a two-time recipient of the CALI Award which is given to the highest scoring student in a law school class and was a recipient of the John J. Schumacher Scholarship and Dean’s Merit Scholarship, awarded to students with high academic achievements in law school.  In 2012, Carla graduated in the top 20% of her class at Southwestern School of Law, and has been a practicing attorney ever since.  

Although she is just beginning her career, Carla is already a formidable attorney.  Prior to joining the team at Walker & Kirkpatrick, Carla was employed by a respected plaintiffs’ law firm specializing in personal injury cases and labor and employment matters.  Carla’s experiences on both sides of the law have given her a unique advantage in litigating cases on behalf of Walker & Kirkpatrick’s clients.  

Carla is admitted to practice in all state courts of the State of California. Carla’s affiliations and memberships include the American Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and Beverly Hills Bar Association.  

Email: carla@walkerkirkpatrick.com

Cheryl Lowry

Office Administrator and Legal Assistant

As Office Administrator, Cheryl is an integral part of the Walker & Kirkpatrick team. After college, Cheryl earned her certification as a California Certified Shorthand Reporter and obtained years of experience specializing in the civil litigation arena.  Cheryl gained an excellent reputation as a highly sought-after court reporter and elected to focus her career on litigation management.  Cheryl worked her way up through the ranks at a number of major litigation firms in Orange County and Los Angeles.  Cheryl has worked with John and Jason since 2010 in all aspects of case management and trial preparation.

Cheryl has been a core member of Walker & Kirkpatrick since its inception as its Office Administrator and Legal Assistant and has brought her years of litigation experience and unrivaled level of detail to meet the firm’s objective of providing personalized and effective case management to its clients. 

In her free time, Cheryl enjoys watching baseball, football, and spending time with her husband, family and friends, and especially her two Persian cats.

Email: cheryl@walkerkirkpatrick.com