Roger Downes

Roger Downes was admitted to the California State Bar in 1997. He has substantial experience in all aspects of civil and criminal litigation and has acted as lead attorney in numerous trials, arbitrations, and mediations. He also has extensive experience in handling worker's compensation defense matters. Through his management of hundreds of worker's compensation cases, he has taken many claimant and expert depositions, handled 15 administrative trials and participated in hundreds of hearings.

Prior to joining Vasquez Estrada & Conway LLP, Mr. Downes was a prosecutor at the Santa Cruz District Attorney's Office where he handled criminal matters and took to verdict 12 jury trials and 15 bench trials. He also began another 14 criminal jury trials while with this prosecutor's office and orally argued 3 criminal appellate matters.

Mr. Downes has experience in handling and managing personal injury defense and construction defect cases. His personal injury case handling includes all aspects from case inception through conclusion. He has successfully handled approximately 20 arbitrations and mediated many others, especially with respect to automobile liability matters. He has been involved in construction defect discovery and workup in many cases. Mr. Downes has also handled numerous asbestos defense cases including two matters that went to verdict in Los Angeles County.

Mr. Downes earned a Bachelor's Degree with Honors from the University of Delaware in 1991 before graduating cum laude from the Pepperdine School of Law in 1996. He is admitted to practice in all California state courts and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Mr. Downes was a co-author of "The Lawyer's Guide to Lead Paint, Asbestos and Chinese Drywall" American Bar Association (2010).