About NSHMS

The firm has obtained some of the largest jury verdicts and settlements on California’s Central Coast, as well as some of the largest clergy abuse settlements in the history of the scandal in the United States. The firm has also served as lead counsel in the prosecution and defense of numerous class action cases. 

One of the true pioneers in the field of Roman Catholic clergy childhood sexual abuse litigation, the firm was the first in the nation to obtain a pre-trial settlement in excess of one million dollars against a Catholic entity. The settlement was obtained on behalf of a young man who had been sexually abused as a child by a Franciscan Friar. In addition to defending and championing the rights of the survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the firm has been and continues to be proactive in efforts to protect children from and to prevent future acts of childhood sexual abuse.

The firm’s focus in this regard has been on educating and informing the public as to the identities and practices of both religious and secular organizations and individuals who have a demonstrated history of placing the welfare of children at risk. For example, the firm served as lead counsel in court proceedings that resulted in two ground-breaking decisions in the Los Angeles Superior Court. In those decisions, the firm obtained authorization for the publication of information contained in priest personnel files which the firm argued, and the court agreed, was critical to the public’s ability to identify both the perpetrators of clergy sexual abuse and the priests and other religious individuals and organizations who have taken affirmative steps to protect these perpetrators.

During its rich history, the firm has represented hundreds of clients and distinguished itself for its ability to be solution oriented and offer personal, one-on-one service. Each of the firm’s partners is committed to vigorously pursuing the rights of the firm’s clients in a broad spectrum of complex legal matters.