Daniel J. Kessler
Top rated Business Litigation attorney in Irvine, California
Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George LLPPractice Areas: Business Litigation, Employment Litigation; view more
Licensed in California since: 1994
Education: Whittier Law School
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Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George LLP
2020 Main StreetSuite 600
Irvine, CA 92614 Visit website
Details
As a partner at Burkhalter Kessler Clement & George LLP, Daniel J. Kessler is dedicated to providing legal representation to clients in Irvine, Westlake Village, Orange County, Los Angeles County, Southern California and statewide. He focuses his practice on business, commercial, real estate, labor and employment law, generally handling cases that involve employment litigation defense, employment pre-litigation investigations and advice, employee terminations, trade secrets, business fraud, commercial real estate and development, and land use and zoning matters.
In 1991, Mr. Kessler earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He then went on to receive a Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School in 1994, graduating magna cum laude.
For more than 20 years, Mr. Kessler has aggressively advocated on behalf of his clients. While he fights to ensure that their rights are upheld when necessary, he encourages his clients to participate in alternative dispute resolution when possible.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Kessler has achieved high rates of success, regularly securing multimillion-dollar verdicts for his clients. His successes include: A $70 million judgment against Universal Studios on behalf of the creators of the television series “Columbo,” Foxcroft Productions, Inc., and Fairmount Productions, Inc.; a $2.9 million fraud verdict with punitive damages; and a successful defense of his client from a $30.4 million claim in a commercial real estate case. Mr. Kessler's commitment to maintaining high standards of legal ethics while providing quality representation has helped him to receive the highest possible rating of AV Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell.
Beyond his work in the courtroom, Mr. Kessler is an active member of the legal community and regularly shares his legal knowledge with others through presentations and lectures. In addition to regular employment training seminars, he has served as an adjunct professor at Whittier Law School, teaching courses on trade secrets, and he has been a guest lecturer at Pepperdine University School of Law's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution.
*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Business Litigation, Employment Litigation: DefenseFocus areas
Employment Discrimination, Employment Law - Employer, Non-Compete Agreements, Retaliation, Trade Secret, Wrongful Termination
- 50% Business Litigation
- 50% Employment Litigation: Defense
First Admitted: 1994, California
Professional Webpage: https://www.bkcglaw.com/attorney/daniel-j-kessler/
- California, 1994
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California
- Robert A. Banyard Inn of Court, Past Board Member
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court Western District of California
- Complete defense verdict with award of attorney's fees in real estate dispute on motion for court judgment following 3 days of trial., 2021
- Summary judgment in favor of employer client in FEHA discrimination/wrongful termination case., 2023
- -Defense verdict on claim of racial harassment., 2017
- $4.3 million verdict against LLC member for breach fo fiduciary duty., 2017
- Ralphs Grocery Company, Trader Joe's, Red Mountain Retail Group
- Law Review: Whittier College School of Law Review, Editor, Whittier College School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- Selected to Best Lawyers 2022, Best Lawyers
- The National Registry of Who's Who
- Recipient of Numerous Honors, Competed Nationally on Moot Court, Whittier College School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- Honors: magna cum laude, Ranked Fourth in the Law School Class, Whittier College School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- Significant Punitive Damage Awards
- University of California, Berkeley, California B.A. - 1991 Major: Political Science
- Lecturer, Mediation, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Teaching Trade Secrets, Whittier Law School
- Commercial
- Employment
- Real Estate
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2025
Top Lists
Top 50: Orange County Super Lawyers: 2021 - 2024Additional sources of information about Daniel J. Kessler
See legal Q & A provided by Daniel J. Kessler
Q: I Have A Construction Dispute In California. What Can I Do?
A: Large-scale real estate projects can often result in disputes between the developer and contractor. For developers who are facing a construction … See all answers by Daniel Kessler