Principal Lukens Law Group

William M. Lukens 

William M. (“Bill”) Lukens is a 30 year AV-rated trial attorney specializing in lender liability, fraud, construction defect and general commercial litigation, with substantial jury and Court trial experience, primarily against financial institutions, accounting firms and insurance companies. Mr. Lukens was designated one of “San Francisco’s Top Attorneys-2011” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mr. Lukens has actively litigated in Northern and Southern California for over 40 years including the formation of trial teams that continue to hold the record for the highest jury verdicts in Sonoma and Monterey Counties.  Mr. Lukens, as lead attorney for the plaintiff in Kruse v. Bank of America, helped obtain with his co-plaintiffs over $37 million in combined jury verdicts against the bank, including substantial punitive awards.  In Conlan v. Wells Fargo, Mr. Lukens obtained a $60 million verdict against Wells Fargo including a punitive award that remains one of the highest ever attained against a major bank. Recently, Mr. Lukens, with his Group participants, has obtained numerous awards and settlements from banks, accounting and legal firms selling fraudulent investment/lending programs, including a $22 million award against MyCFO, Inc. a major accounting firm.

Mr. Lukens has participated in trial and appellate courts, both state and federal, in California; the United States Supreme Court; District of Oregon; Southern District of New York, District of Columbia, Central District of Arizona and the United States Court of International Trade. Mr. Lukens has been appointed as special counsel on numerous occasions in bankruptcy proceedings. His legal work has been featured in "Lender Liability: Strategies of Litigation," by Arnold J. Wolf (Trial Law Press 1989). 

Mr. Lukens graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, 1960, and the University of California, Hastings College of Law, 1964, where he was associate editor of the Hastings Law Journal, and published “The Collateral Order Doctrine.”  He practiced at the firm of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro from 1964 to 1970, as an active trial attorney and opened his own private practice specializing in commercial litigation in1971.


Consulting Attorneys

Parker A. Maddux     Advisory Member; U. C. Berkeley; Harvard Law School; Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, general litigation partner 1965 to 2000, General Litigation Counsel, Tandem Computer, 2001, General Counsel, Wine.com, 2002; Basalt, Colorado.

Arthur R. Formanek    Advisory Member; Claremont/McKenna; University of Chicago School of Business, MBA; U. C. Boalt Hall; Senior In House Counsel, El Paso Energy, 1975 to 2002; Senior In House Litigation Counsel, Walmart,  2002 to 2008; Bentonville, Arkansas.


Participating Outside Counsel

The following firms are independent firms who affiliate from time to time on complex litigation matters with the Lukens Law Group.

Jonak/Pugh

Jennifer L. Jonak
Ms. Jonak specializes in all facets of complex litigation, including patent, intellectual property, tax shelter and real estate related litigation.  Ms. Jonak supervises major patent litigation in the United States and numerous countries worldwide.  Ms. Jonak graduated from University of Virginia receiving a B.A., with highest honors; and University of Virginia School of Law. She practices in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including the United States Supreme Court, and International Trade Commission, Eastern District of Texas, District of Virginia, Central and Northern Districts of California.  Ms. Jonak co‑authored treatise supplements on Franchise Law and Corporate Acquisitions & Mergers for Mathew Bender, and co-chaired the North American Securities Administrators= Association Congressional Task Force on Earnings Claims in Franchising. She has contributed numerous articles to the National Law Journal and law reviews. She has received the distinguished attorney award from the California State Bar for her work on behalf of prisoner’s rights.

Louis H. Pugh
Louis H. Pugh specializes in intellectual property, patent and all facets of complex commercial litigation.  Mr. Pugh specialized in complex litigation at Morrison & Forster LLP, 1999-2006, graduated from William & Mary University, B.S. summa cum laude, and received his J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law, cum laude, where he served as editor of the Alaska Law Review. His practice includes all state and federal courts of California, Georgia and Virginia. 

Law Offices of Maureen M. McGuirl

Maureen M. McGuirl
Maureen M. McGuirl is a specialist in complex commercial Litigation; formerly Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; Fensterstock Partners, New York City; Barnard College; Columbia Law School; Poughkeepsie, New York.

Law Offices of Andrea R. Widburg

Andrea R. Widburg
Andrea R. Widburg is a specialist in complex commercial litigation; formerly Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges; U. C. Berkeley; University of Texas Law School; Corte Madera, California.


Paralegals

Erica Williams
Lead Legal Assistant/Research; Swarthmore/U.C. San Diego; UCLA School of Law; Appellate Specialist; Larkspur, California.

Alison E. Cordova
Administrator/paralegal; Columbia University; U. C. Hastings College of the Law; San Francisco, California.


Document Management and Trial Assistance Specialists

O'Connell & Associates
Daniel J. O’Connell