Rita Gunasekaran

Partner, Haight Brown & Bonesteel

Rita Gunasekaran is a partner in Haight Brown & Bonesteel, and is the Chair of its Appellate Practice Group. She is certified as a specialist in appellate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Ms. Gunasekaran has filed over 250 appellate briefs and writ petitions, all arising from complex civil litigation, with many resulting in published decisions. The areas covered include employment law, legal malpractice, toxic torts, commercial litigation, personal injury and premises liability, insurance coverage, constitutional law, and family law.

Ms. Gunasekaran received her undergraduate and legal education at the University of Madras, India. After she was admitted to the California Bar in 1983, and prior to joining Haight Brown & Bonesteel in 1986, Ms. Gunasekaran worked as a research attorney at the Court of Appeal of the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles. Currently, she serves on the Appellate Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of California, and on the Executive Committee and Board of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. She is the past Chair of the State Bar of California Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission (1996), and of the Los Angeles County Bar's Appellate Courts Committee (1997-1999); past President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles (2001-2002); past Trustee-at-Large of the Los Angeles County Bar (2002-2004); and past officer of the Women Lawyers' Association of Los Angeles (1992-1994). Ms. Gunasekaran has served as a panelist on a number of legal seminars, with a focus on appellate law.

Ms. Gunasekaran is recognized among the Best Lawyers in America in Appellate Law (2008 to date), and among the top Appellate Lawyers of Southern California from 2004 to date by Super Lawyers. She received the Trailblazer Award from the National South Asian Bar in 2004, from the South Asian Bar Foundation of Los Angeles in 2005, and from the National Asian Pacific American Bar in 2007.