Gregory W. Jessner - Los Angeles, CA

Biography
Gregory W. Jessner is a founding partner at Phillips Jessner LLP. He has extensive experience litigating family law cases throughout California on behalf of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients since 2005. Mr. Jessner is a certified family law specialist and has been recognized as a Southern California "Super Lawyer" every year since 2012.
Mr. Jessner represents clients in all areas of family law, including premarital and postnuptial agreements, marital dissolution proceedings, paternity proceedings, and domestic violence restraining order proceedings. He has successfully litigated trials on behalf of clients and has also testified as an expert in malpractice actions against family law attorneys.
Before forming Phillips Jessner LLP, Mr. Jessner represented the United States at the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, holding a number of managerial positions including Chief, Criminal Complaints Section (1998-1999), Deputy Chief, Major Crimes Section (1994-1998), and Violent Crime Coordinator (1994-1998).
He received national recognition for his work as lead counsel for the prosecution in a case involving the indictment of forty members of the Aryan Brotherhood, believed to be the largest federal capital prosecution in U.S. history. He also successfully prosecuted two Jewish Defense League members who plotted to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City. While handling notable and complex cases, he maintained an unbroken record of success at trial.
From 1985 to 1989, Mr. Jessner served as a Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
A former trial advocacy instructor for the Attorney General's Advocacy Institute, Mr. Jessner has lectured in numerous courses for the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Education.
Mr. Jessner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982. He received a Juris Doctor in 1985 from Boalt Hall School of Law, where he was winner of the 1983 Moot Court Award for Best Brief, served as research assistant to professors Melvin Eisenberg and Michael Traynor, and served as an associate editor of the California Law Review.

Past Positions
• United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California, Assistant United States Attorney, 1989
• United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California, Chief, Criminal Complaints Section, 1998 to 1999
• United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California, Deputy Chief, Major Crimes Section, 1994 to 1998
• United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California, Violent Crime Coordinator, 1994 to 1998
• Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Deputy District Attorney, 1985 to 1989
• Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Senior Law Clerk, 1985 to 1985
• United States Attorney's Office, San Francisco, California, Summer Law Clerk, 1984 to 1984
• United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California, Legal Management Evaluator

Current Employment Position
• Partner

Practice Areas
• Family Law

Bar Admissions
• California, 1985

Education
• Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, California
• Juris Doctor - 06/1985
• Honors: 1983 Moot Court Award for Best Brief
• Honors: Research Assistant to Professor Melvin Eisenberg
• Honors: Research Assistant to Professor Michael Traynor
• University of California, Berkeley
• Bachelor of Arts - 06/1982
• Honors: With Distinction
• Honors: Member, Honor Students Society
• Major: Economics

Honors
• Assistant United States Attorney, Director's Award for Superior Performance (Third-Highest Award in Department of Justice), United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California
• Supervisor, Special Achievement Award for Excellence, United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California
• Special Achievement Award for Sustained Superior Performance of Duty, United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, California

Classes & Seminars
• Trial Advocacy Instructor, Attorney General's Advocacy Institute
• Lecturer in Numerous Courses, Department of Justice's Office of Legal Education