For 40 years, GMSR has been a leader in representing public entities and their employees in the appellate courts, including winning seven cases in the United States Supreme Court.
Whether on appeal, assisting at trial, or advising government officials contemplating legislative action, GMSR provides unique insight into the complex laws that impact public entities.
GMSR is the firm that our government leaders are turning to for advice on sensitive legal issues surrounding public health and safety.
Having represented public entities in over 300 appellate matters, GMSR’s lawyers combine a profound knowledge of the appellate courts with a broad and deep understanding of the special issues that confront state and local governments. As a result, GMSR attorneys are uniquely able to craft arguments that strongly articulate the public interest underlying government action – a key reason for their success on appeal.
In the U.S. Supreme Court, GMSR secured tougher standards for imposing injunctions on public entities (County of Los Angeles v. Humphries (2010) 562 U.S. 29); and broadened immunity for police officers who (1) execute search warrants (Messerschmidt v. Millender (2012) 565 U.S. 535) (2) enter a residence in hot pursuit of a suspect (Stanton v. Sims (2013) 571 U.S. 3), and (3) use force to handcuff a knife-wielding suspect (Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna (2021) 595 U.S. 1 (per curium)).
In the appellate courts, GMSR obtained affirmance holding that public utilities and municipalities owe pedestrians no duty to provide adequate street lighting (Pham et al. v. Southern California Edison Company (May 2, 2023, B316026) 2023 WL 3189810); and obtained reversal of an injunction barring the County from enforcing a Covid-19 pandemic outdoor restaurant dining ban (County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 478).
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© 2025 Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP.
All rights reserved. Disclaimer - Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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