Dion N. Cominos

Firmwide Managing Partner Dion Cominos has been with Gordon & Rees since 1987 and has consistently been recognized as an outstanding practitioner by virtually every leading industry publication including Best Lawyers in America©, Martindale-Hubbell (where he has been distinguished as a top-rated, AV Preeminent lawyer) and being named a Super Lawyer® in California for each year of that program’s existence.

Mr. Cominos specializes in defending businesses and individuals in a wide variety of claims involving commercial disputes and professional liability matters including errors & omissions claims (including accountants, attorneys, financial planners, tax advisors, teachers, architects, engineers, and others).  He has extensive arbitration and trial experience in numerous civil and administrative proceedings in federal districts and state counties throughout California.  His background also encompasses all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations both in California and abroad, where he has served as both a mediator and arbitrator.  Mr. Cominos has also served as a guest lecturer/instructor at Hastings College of the Law.

In addition to being published in a number of legal journals and periodicals, he has spoken as a guest panelist at annual meetings of such organizations as the American Bar Association, the Association of Defense Counsel, and PLUS.

Admissions

California
United States District Courts, California
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Memberships

Mr. Cominos has served on a variety of steering committees for professional organizations including the Defense Research Institute (Professional Liability Section), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (Northern California Chapter), the Association of Defense Counsel (Northern California Construction Practice Chapter), and is a also a member of the Claims and Litigation Management (CLM) Alliance, the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association and the Business Law Practice Section of the California Bar Association.  In addition to being published in a number of legal journals and periodicals, he has spoken as a guest panelist at annual meetings of the American Bar Association, the Association of Defense Counsel, the DRI and PLUS.

Community Involvement

Mr. Cominos has been actively involved with the San Francisco charitable Foodbank program, and previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco.

Representative Experience

• Litigation

  Mr. Cominos specializes in defending businesses and individuals in a wide variety of claims involving commercial disputes and professional liability matters including:

  • Commercial/Business/Real Estate/Construction Litigation
  • Errors & Omissions Claims (including accountants, attorneys, financial planners, tax advisors, teachers, architects, engineers, etc.)
  • D&O Litigation
  • Unfair Competition/Unfair Debt Collection-FDCPA Claims/§17200 Lawsuits
  • Misappropriation/Trade Secret Matters
  • Securities Litigation
  • Commercial Contract/Business Torts
  • Consumer Class Actions
  • Franchise and Related Contractual Disputes
  • First Amendment/Media/Defamation Actions
  • Technology/Data Privacy/Security Claims

  
  He has also handled a broad variety of other claims involving construction, environmental site contamination/bodily injury, product liability, employment and insurance, and has arbitration and trial experience in numerous civil and administrative proceedings in federal districts and state counties throughout California.  In the arena of data privacy/security claims, Mr. Cominos has defended businesses and individuals in connection with numerous claims involving pretexting, identity theft, database hacking, improper dissemination of private information, and alleged violations of various state and federal statutes including the TCPA, the “Can-Spam” Act, California Business & Professions Code §17529, et seq., and many others.  

• Appellate/ADR/Administrative Matters

  In addition to his trial and arbitration work, Mr. Cominos has also successfully handled appellate cases before the California Supreme Court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the California State Court of Appeal, and reported decisions include Winston Square Homeowner's Assn. v. Centex West, Inc. (1988) 213 Cal.App.3d 282, and Wells v. One2One Learning Foundation (2006) 39 Cal.4th 1164.  Mr. Cominos also has extensive experience in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations both in California and abroad, has served as both a mediator and arbitrator, and has represented clients before administrative bodies such as planning commissions, city councils, boards of supervisors, health departments, OSHA, WCAB, HUD, DFEH, BAAQMD and various other disciplinary and professional boards.

Presentations

• Don't Let the Bytes Bite You: Ethics in the Digital Age, Gordon & Rees Legal Education Conference, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Hartford (October 2019)
• Reframing the Psychology of Victory in the Realm of Civil Litigation, Gordon & Rees Legal Education Conference, Los Angeles (June 2019)
• Handling “Tag Along” Employment Claims, Best Practices for Defending Against Ancillary Causes of Action Increasingly Included in EPL Lawsuits, Gordon & Rees Legal Education Conference, San Francisco and Los Angeles (2018)
• ETHICS – Successfully Navigating Through Ethical Minefields, Gordon & Rees Legal Education Conference, New York and Hartford (May 2018)

Education

J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law

• Twice received the American Jurisprudence award for academic excellence

B.A., University of California, Berkeley

Honors

Top Rated Lawyer-AV® Preeminent™,
Martindale-Hubbell

Best Lawyers in America® distinction in Construction Law (2021-2023) 

Super Lawyers® distinction in Civil Litigation Defense and Business Litigation (2004-2019, 2022, Law & Politics)