San Diego-based law firm Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek (SCMV) announced today that Michael Hervey, Jake Sesti, Allyson Werner and Lauren Wood have joined the firm as associates.
Hervey joined SCMV’s Business Department as a law clerk in 2020. Also a member of SCMV’s Estate Planning & Administration Department, he represents a wide range of clients, including high-net worth individuals in the areas of estate and gift tax liability, tax planning, trust formation and administration. Prior to joining SCMV, Hervey served as a legal intern at Children’s Legal Services and Citizen’s Climate Lobby and worked as a law clerk at Moore, Schulman & Moore. He received his law degree and Master’s in Taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sesti joins SCMV’s Litigation Department, where he assists clients in a wide range of complex litigation disputes. Before joining SCMV, Sesti was an associate with Grant & Kessler and an intern at Higgs, Fletcher & Mack. Prior to that, he served as a summer associate for Dentons Munich and worked as an intern for both the criminal and civil divisions for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Sesti received his law degree, magna cum laude, from California Western School of Law, where he was an editor for the California Western Law Review, and his bachelor’s degree in political science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Werner also joins SCMV’s Litigation Department, where she represents individual clients and diverse businesses on a wide range of litigation and appellate matters. Prior to joining SCMV, she was an associate at Sidley Austin LLP in New York City. She also served as a summer intern in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Werner is an active member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, American Inns of Court (Louis M. Welsh San Diego Chapter) and Francis Parker School Alumni Association. She received her law degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a teaching assistant for the first-year legal research and writing program, and her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in global studies and professional writing from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Wood joins SCMV’s Business Department. Her practice focuses on employee benefits and compliance, investment and taw law, international finance and tax planning and controversy. Before joining SCMV, she was an associate in International Tax Services at PwC. Prior to that, she was a law clerk and then an associate with Milikowsky Tax Law. Wood is a member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego and has authored articles for various business legal publications, including International Business Transactions Practitioner Treatise and Riverside Lawyer Magazine. She received her law degree and Master’s in Taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she received the Dean’s Honor Scholarship and earned a CALI Award in International Trade and Finance Law. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the University of California, Irvine.
About Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek
Founded in 1948, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek is dedicated to excellent client service while providing a full range of business and litigation legal services. A mid-sized firm with 35 attorneys, located in downtown San Diego’s Symphony Towers, Seltzer Caplan is ideally positioned to deliver the highest quality service to clients, regardless of the complexity of the legal issue.
The firm’s diverse areas of practice include: Appellate, Bankruptcy and Secured Transactions, Complex Trial Litigation, Corporate and Business, ERISA & Employee Benefits, Estate Planning and Taxation, Family, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Land Use and Environmental, Professional Liability, Real Property Transactions and Litigation and Specialized Criminal Defense.
SCMV’s clients are large national and international firms, mid-size companies and small business enterprises. They include families and individuals, financial institutions, commercial and residential real estate developers, manufacturers, hotel owners and operators, major retailers, contractors, architects and other professionals, including accountants and attorneys.
For more information, please visit www.scmv.com