Andrew A. Servais is a Shareholder in Klinedinst’s San Diego office. Mr. Servais’ practice focuses on business and commercial litigation, complex litigation, and professional liability. As a litigator and trial attorney, Mr. Servais counsels local businesses, attorneys, and law firms in pre-litigation matters, multi-week jury trials, and bench trials. In addition, Mr. Servais has represented attorneys in claims of malpractice and malicious prosecution arising from numerous underlying practice areas, including alleged conflicts of interest in seven and eight-figure transactions involving business-to-business transactions, shareholder/LLC membership issues, real estate and trust/estate, tax planning, and complex marital dissolutions.

Mr. Servais also provides counsel to attorneys and law firms on a wide-range of matters, including State Bar of California actions, state and federal enforcement investigations, general risk management and ethics issues, criminal defense and cannabis regulation issues, as well as law firm partnership disputes and dissolutions.

On behalf of his clients, Mr. Servais has obtained dozens of pre-trial dismissals of claims through summary judgment, non-suit, and California’s Anti-SLAPP statute, with attorney fee awards resulting in well over six figures. Featured in the Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts of 2015, Mr. Servais was recognized for obtaining a $33.7 million verdict. Mr. Servais’s extensive litigation experience allows him to effectively and efficiently analyze legal issues confronting his clients. He provides clients with the information they need to assess the costs and benefits of proceeding at each stage of litigation.

Mr. Servais earned his Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Servais received several American Jurisprudence Awards, including those in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, and Aging Law and Public Policy. He also served as an Extern for the U.S District Judge of Nevada, the U.S. Magistrate Judge, and the Southern District U.S. Attorney’s Office, White Collar Division. Before law school, he gained legislative experience as a congressional aide in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Servais is an active member of his community, and has served as Chair of the San Diego County Bar Association’s (SDCBA) Legal Ethics Committee. He continues to serve as a member of this respected committee, regularly publishing articles and helping the SDCBA’s 10,000+ members navigate the ever-changing world of legal ethics.

Education

• California Western School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2005)
• University of San Diego (B.A., 2000)

Representative Cases

• First chairing a two-week trial representing a San Diego family law attorney and her firm sued for legal malpractice by their former client relating to the negotiation of a Marital Settlement Agreement in a $30+ million divorce resulting in a 12-0 verdict finding Mr. Servais’ clients were not negligent.
• First chairing two separate multi-day bench trials on behalf of law firm regarding interpretation of contingency fee agreement resulting in favorable declarations regarding entitlement to contingency fee on an over $6 million judgment. Mr. Servais obtained a favorable recovery after the opponent entered chapter 11 bankruptcy after Mr. Servais’ extensive litigation in bankruptcy court including successfully converting the proceeding from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 based on Debtor’s conduct and litigating conflicts of interests in relation to debtor, debtor’s entities and counsel for debtor.
• Lead Counsel in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of real estate litigation attorney where Plaintiffs claimed attorneys’ malpractice in defending a predatory lending/sham foreclosure lawsuit resulted in an over $30 million verdict again the former clients. Summary judgment dismissing the case was affirmed on appeal. 
• Lead counsel defending law firm in malicious prosecution action after commercial real estate developer prevailed in three underlying class actions alleging sale of unregistered securities. Mr. Servais obtained dismissal for firm and underlying class members via Anti-SLAPP motions establishing that the underlying claims had probable cause through presentation of volumes underlying testimony, pleadings and applicable SEC regulations and interpretative authorities. Mr. Servais briefed and argued appeal affirming result.
• Obtained defense award in arbitration on behalf of law firm and owner of local television station where claimant alleged conflicts of interests in business transaction and mishandling of RICO lawsuit caused 8 figure damages.
• Obtained favorable arbitration ruling for client regarding most valuable partnership asset in a two-phase arbitration to dissolve partnership.
• First chaired 6-week trial resulting in jury defense verdict in favor of 5 salesmen against former employer claiming defendants put company out of business by misappropriating trade secrets to start competing business. Defense verdict for 4 salesmen, verdict against fifth defendant who was former officer of Plaintiff corporation was less than 10% of Plaintiff’s over $5 million request to jury.