Paul Starita Gomez Trial Attorneys, San Diego

by Dan Baldwin

I love working with my team. I enjoy working with people who have the same zest for the practice and interest in helping our clients because there are people out there who don't have two nickels to rub together. Their lives have been catastrophically altered. They don't have insurance. They may not have a doctor. They need direction. They need assistance. And we've got the team that can do it for them,” says Paul Starita, Partner at Gomez Trial Attorneys.

His practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury and mass tort cases. Due much to his military career, he is focused and passionate about assisting veterans and their families who have been injured due to exposure to toxic contamination on military bases. He and his firm are currently involved in assisting those harmed by the toxic contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, which has received much coverage in the national media. The team is also currently pursuing a “legislative fix” to assist those similarly harmed by toxic contamination at former George Air Force Base.

After a long career in public service, Starita felt a pull to use his skills, talents, and considerable experience toward helping individual persons who have suffered catastrophic and life-altering injuries. “We’re on this planet together; maybe we should invest more time and effort into helping each other. Maybe we should work together closely to better all our lives. I’m fortunate to be in a position to do that. And in an important way that really affects people where they live,” he says.

Clients agree. “We are so happy with our decision to utilize the services of Gomez Trial Attorneys. They were so kind throughout our entire legal process. Paul Starita was particularly informative and kept us abreast of any changes and educated us on our options so we could make the best decision for our family. I would 100% recommend them to anyone! They really treated us like family. Thank you so much. We are so appreciative.” —Tess Harford

Personal injury attorneys work with individual people and families facing some of the most, if not the most challenging moments of their lives and often under tragic circumstances. Starita says keeping focused on the positive outcomes is essential in achieving those positive outcomes. “We can’t be swept up in the horrible and tragic events that really hammer our clients. You can’t waste time worrying because it's your focus that is key to your success. When your focus is on helping someone else, then all that other stuff just falls away.”

Starita credits much of his success to his experience with the United States Marine Corps. He served on active duty and in the Reserve for 30 years, earning the rank of Colonel. He served in various leadership and legal roles, including Military Trial Judge and Appellate Judge on the Navy-Marine Court of Criminal Appeals. He also served as a military prosecutor involving criminal conduct ranging from DUI to murder.

“My service as a United States Marine shaped me as a professional and as a person. Marines are all volunteers; we’re all in this thing together and it's a microcosm of society. And it doesn't matter what the color of your skin is, it doesn't matter what religion you are, your rich-or-poor background, or whether you’re a man, woman, whatever, none of that stuff matters. You're all in it together to achieve a common goal. That’s how you build an organization and win military campaigns. And that’s how you manage a law firm and win cases for your clients.”

In 1993, after graduating from law school, he served as a civilian law clerk on the Central Legal Staff at the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces where he reviewed records of trial from military criminal cases and briefed assignments of error to five civilian judges appointed by the President.

From 1994 to 1998, he served as a Military Prosecutor and Special Assistant United States Attorney at Marine Corps Base Hawaii investigating and prosecuting a wide variety of felonies and misdemeanors. This provided him with the opportunity to “cut his teeth” as a trial lawyer, where he tried more than twenty jury trials.

From 1998 to 1999, he attended the University of San Diego School of Law under the United States Marine Corps’ Special Education Program. This program has a highly competitive selection process and is fully funded by the Marine Corps. He earned a Master of Laws degree (cum laude) with a concentration in environmental law in May 1999.

That year the Marine Corps assigned him to serve as a regional environmental counsel at the Western Area Counsel Office, Camp Pendleton. From 1999 to 2002, he advised senior government officials and staff on environmental and land use compliance and litigation matters for installations in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Japan. He often negotiated on behalf of the Marine Corps with local, state, and federal regulators on compliance and enforcement matters arising from myriad environmental laws and regulations. He also served as agency counsel when the United States was subject to suit in Federal district court for actions taken by the Marine Corps and the Department of the Navy. In 2002, he transitioned from active duty to the Reserve and became a litigation associate at Newmeyer and Dillion in Newport Beach, California, where he represented individual landowners, real estate developers, a private water company, and other corporate clients in land use and environmental compliance and litigation matters in California State courts.

From 2004 to 2021, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, as a federal prosecutor and civil trial attorney. From 2004 to 2014, he served as federal prosecutor in the office’s Criminal Division where he investigated and prosecuted felony offenses involving corruption, drug trafficking and organized crime, human smuggling, money laundering, and violent crime. His practice included the application for domicile search warrants and for warrants authorizing the seizure of electronic communications (under the Stored Communications Act) as well as electronic surveillance governed by Title III (wiretaps).

From 2014 to 2021, he served as a civil trial attorney in USAO’s Civil Division. He defended the United States, its agencies, officers, and employees in a wide variety of litigation matters involving tort claims (industrial accidents, vehicle accidents, and medical malpractice), constitutional torts, and employment. Additionally, he prosecuted affirmative civil enforcement matters (qui tam actions) involving health care and procurement fraud as well as Controlled Substances Act violations.

From 2002 through 2022, he served in the Marine Corps Reserve in a wide variety of legal roles. Notably, during two decades of war, Paul was returned to active duty on two occasions. From 2006 to 2007, he was mobilized to defend Marines accused of war crimes stemming from combat operations in Iraq. In 2009, he was mobilized for approximately four months to serve on the legal staff at United States Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany. In 2010, he was selected to serve as a Reserve Military Judge, where he served for four years. During his tenure as a Military Judge, he was selected to serve as the Senior Military Judge for the Marine Corps Reserve and was promoted to Colonel. From 2014 to 2022, he served as the Reserve Staff Judge Advocate (I Marine Expeditionary Force), Branch

© Bauman Photographers

Carmela Birnbaum (Trial Attorney), Jessica Anderson (Post-Bar Law Clerk), Jackie Hillenbrand (Legal Assistant), Paul Starita (Partner), Amy Collins (Paralegal), Jack Branscome (Trial Attorney). Not pictured: Jacky Ortiz (Legal Assistant).

Head for Reserve Military Prosecutors (Headquarters Marine Corps), and the Reserve Officer in Charge of the Legal Services Support Section—West (Camp Pendleton), and Appellate Judge (Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, D.C.).

While Military Law is unique, the rules of evidence and procedure are essentially the same as federal and state criminal practice. However, the practice is different in that it's insular. But it is an amazing training ground. Starita says, “You learn how to try a case there, that's a great place because then you learn the same skill set that you're going to need, whether you're doing civil or criminal law in state court or federal court. Those experiences make for an incredible learning opportunity that I apply every day to my work. You must be sharp in those situations. Those years trained me to always ask important questions. Who is our client? What does our client really need? How can we best achieve that? Are we doing all we can? What have we missed? Where is the hidden opportunity?For me it’s focus—total focus—on serving our client. I very much appreciate John Gomez giving me the opportunity to do just that.”

Winning by Losing

One of Starita’s most interesting learning experiences stems from a recent run for public office. He ran for a seat on the San Diego County Superior Court in 2020. Although receiving a rating of “exceptionally qualified” from the San Diego County Bar Association, his bid was unsuccessful. Starita says the race was an exceptional opportunity to meet people from throughout society. The process reminded him of just how much he enjoyed and thrived on the one-on-one contact personal injury attorneys get. In retrospect, losing was perhaps a boon.

The matter was put into perspective by his daughter who said something profound. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, you know, I know you love public service. But let me just let you in on a little secret. The public isn't interested in being served. So, if you want to help people, do something where you can have individual client contact, you can get back to the practice of law, where you're helping real people with real problems.’ Her words and the whole run for office was an extraordinary experience that led me to where I am now.”

Starita is a first generation Italian-American and the first in his family to attend college. He is a 23year resident of San Diego who is married with two children. He enjoys physical fitness training and experiencing the outdoors. “I love to hike. I love to run off any kind of stress.” He enjoys country-western music, especially Garth Brooks.

He is also an avid history buff. One of his most memorable learning experiences occurred just after he had been promoted to colonel. He was selected for the National Security Course at the Navy War College, an intensive three-week course on national security. A knowledge of history is essential in national security work. The students had to read nineteen books and write three papers. “It just reminded me just how much I really love the history of the world and the history of our nation, and that there's a lot to be learned from that as an attorney, a citizen and a family man.”

“My experiences serving in the military and then as a civilian attorney help me think more about others than myself. The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis—always faithful. That belief extends though every facet of my life, especially now that I am so active in personal injury. That's not always faithful to me, that's faithful to those that you serve and those you serve with. It’s more than a motto to me; it’s a way of life.” n

Contact Paul Starita Gomez Trial Attorneys 655 W. Broadway, Suite 1700 San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 353-0535 www.thegomezfirm.com

Paul Starita