Carpenter & Zuckerman Legal Team

John C. Carpenter is co-founder of Carpenter & Zuckerman. John's practice focuses on helping clients with the gravest injuries – especially traumatic brain injuries – recover the money they need to re-establish their lives.

Paul S. Zuckerman co-founded Carpenter & Zuckerman in an effort to help injury victims protect themselves from large, manipulative insurance companies and get the fair compensation they deserve.

Robert J. Ounjian, Esq. obtained his law degree from Southwestern Law School in 2000.  His practice has focused on general liability and medical malpractice litigation with an emphasis in birth injuries.

Pej believes in his core that being a trial lawyer is a noble calling. He has dedicated his career to standing up to insurance companies and large corporations on behalf of injured people.

Sark Ohanian, Esq. has been with Carpenter & Zuckerman since 2000. He practices personal injury and employment litigation, with an emphasis on discrimination and life-changing injuries. 

Steven Lance Mazza has over three decades of experience successfully representing injury victims against the insurance companies that seek to take advantage of them. Steve has taken over 125 cases to trial.

Daniel Benji’s favorite hobby is fighting the insurance companies that try to take advantage of injured people. As a California personal injury lawyer, Mr. Benji litigates all types of accident and injury cases throughout the state.

John P. Kristensen joined Carpenter & Zuckerman after 9 years of running his own plaintiffs’ law firm, Kristensen LLP. John specializes in litigating products liability, civil rights, employment law, sex offense, and consumer class action cases.

Aaron Stiegler is a compassionate advocate, who loves standing up for the rights of injured individuals. Endorsed by his peers for excellence in personal injury litigation, he has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of his clients.

Greg Coolidge joined Carpenter & Zuckerman as an attorney in October 2013. Prior to joining the firm, Greg had practiced as an attorney for thirteen years during which he litigated more than 100 toxic injury cases on behalf of workers suffering from various diseases caused by their exposure to toxic chemical products.

For over four decades, Gary has focused on legal research and writing. Prior to joining Carpenter & Zuckerman, Gary played a key role in the aftermath of the sensational Doris Day litigation.  Gary wrote much of the briefing on behalf of Ms. Day’s former attorney/business advisor who successfully sued his insurance carriers for bad faith and his legal counsel for malpractice.

Lance is a born trial attorney, with one goal in life, to become the best trial attorney that ever lived. This goal is what brought him to Carpenter & Zuckerman to learn from the very best. Lance is a member of the CZ Law Special Ops Trial Team.

Steve Spencer is a skilled litigator, with over 30 years of experience handling cases throughout California, as well as several other states. Steve is an accomplished trial attorney, having conducted well in excess of 100 jury trials.

Howard Blumenthal has been a licensed attorney in California for over 25 years. His practice has focussed primarily on personal injury civil litigation.

Alina S. Vulic  is a skilled litigation attorney who is fully committed to the pursuit of justice for her clients. Alina joined the Carpenter & Zuckerman team in 2022.

Andrea Solis is a bilingual personal injury attorney who ensures her clients are treated with respect and dignity all while seeking fair compensation for their wrongful injuries.

Asa Eaton is an associate attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman who stands up for the rights and well-being of injury victims and their loved ones. He is committed to helping his clients obtain maximum compensation so they can properly recover from their injuries and losses. Asa joined Carpenter & Zuckerman in 2018.

Ashkan Zamani is a skilled personal injury attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman who is dedicated to serving as a strong advocate for civility, justice, and helping those who are in need. It is his mission to advocate for people who do not have a voice of their own and to take a stand for justice where justice is nowhere to be found.

Benjamin G. Berkley is a personal injury lawyer who strategically leverages his legal knowledge to advocate for his clients, often achieving maximum settlements.

Benjamin Berkley strategically leverages his legal knowledge to advocate for his clients. He is versed in the full spectrum of personal injury law, from slip and fall incidents to car accidents and traumatic brain injury cases.

Brian Toppila has represented injured people for 30 years, handling cases throughout California. He has conducted numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals on behalf of injured clients. Brian heads Carpenter & Zuckerman's Koreatown office.

The idea of “paying it forward” articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson is and has been a driving force in Carlos’ career and personal life. As a bilingual attorney and son of Mexican and Cuban immigrants, Carlos champions giving authentic voice to individuals and communities in need, including those from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.

Disha Bhagwat is a passionate California personal injury attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman who is determined to bring justice to those who have been wronged. 

Edward Cherkezian is a skilled California personal injury lawyer who stands up against billion-dollar insurance companies in order to protect the rights and best interests of injury victims. During his time at Carpenter & Zuckerman, Edward has taken and defended hundreds of depositions, litigated hundreds of personal injury cases, argued hundreds of motions, and obtained millions of dollars in settlements for clients.

Edward Hovannisian is proud to be a personal injury attorney at CZ Law. Early in his career, Eddie made an intentional decision to effect meaningful change, rather than simply representing the interests of insurance companies and entrenched financial institutions. He is steadfastly dedicated to the protection of people’s rights and the enforcement of corporate responsibilities. 

Evan Jacobi is a personal injury lawyer who passionately represents his clients through all stages of litigation, vigilantly protecting their rights.

Evan Jacobi is committed to effectively advocating on behalf of his clients. He vehemently represents his clients through all stages of litigation, vigilantly protecting their rights and interests.

Fahd Z. Ali is a personal injury lawyer who fiercely advocates for his clients, working tirelessly to ensure they receive the maximum compensation for their injuries. He has recovered more than $50 million for plaintiffs.

Frank Mihalic is a personal injury lawyer who takes pride in the details and fights decisively to obtain the maximum compensation possible for his clients.

During the course of his career thus far, Frank has built a reputation for delivering excellent results for his clients across the board, with a particular focus on products liability, employment, and discrimination matters.

Justice Turner is a trial attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman. Justice concentrates his practice in the areas of civil rights, serious personal injury litigation, and business/entertainment law including entity formation and contract law.

Katherine A. Smith is a personal injury lawyer who is fiercely committed to the advocacy of injury victims’ rights. She is passionately motivated to protect and serve the vulnerable and underrepresented.

Lauren C. Martin is an experienced personal injury attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman. An extremely driven and results-oriented litigator, she has the determination and legal expertise to fight for justice on behalf of injury victims.

Leon Bassil is a personal injury lawyer who fights for those who cannot fight for themselves. He started out as a defense attorney for insurance companies and businesses but later switched to representing plaintiffs.

Mario Martinez is an associate attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman. Mario came to CZ Law in August 2017 as a law clerk and remained in that position until he finished law school and passed the bar exam. Mario received his JD from Southwestern Law School in May 2018 where he attended the evening program and at the same time maintained a full-time job.

Mark L. Iodice, Esq. obtained his law degree from California Western School of Law and undergraduate from the University of Colorado.  His practice focuses on automobile collisions, premise liability, medical malpractice litigation, motorcycle collisions, sexual torts, dog bites, and general liability cases.

Joining Carpenter & Zuckerman Law in 2019, Matthew Singer has worked as a trial lawyer on a broad range of personal injury cases. He leverages his legal expertise to give voice to the voiceless and is fueled by a zealous desire to advocate for the most vulnerable among us.

Megan Gyongyos is a trial lawyer who has nearly a decade of experience handling civil rights, personal injury, and wrongful death cases in state and federal courts in California. Prior to joining Carpenter & Zuckerman, Megan dedicated her career to the litigation of excessive force cases against police officers. During that time, Megan second-chaired 15 trials in state and federal courts in California.

Michael “Mikey” Geragos is a third-generation Los Angeles trial attorney who fights to ensure that injury victims and their families are fairly compensated for their losses. Prior to working at Carpenter & Zuckerman, Mikey practiced civil litigation, including personal injury law. 

Nima Shirazi is a trial attorney at Carpenter & Zuckerman. Nima’s extensive background handling auto accident, motorcycle accident, and premises liability cases has shaped his role as a zealous advocate for his clients.

Sasha Jeanette Skaf is an associate attorney with Carpenter & Zuckerman. Sasha joined the firm in 2018 after gaining experience at a business litigation defense firm in Los Angeles. Sasha left the defense side in favor of plaintiff’s work, seeking justice and to make injured plaintiffs whole again.

Timothy Peabody, Jr. is a trial lawyer at Carpenter & Zuckerman who attentively listens to his clients’ stories, empathizes with their pain, and maintains personal communication while fighting for justice on their behalf.

Vanessa Franco is an associate attorney with Carpenter & Zuckerman. Vanessa joined the firm in 2019 after finishing her legal education at New York Law School. During her career at Carpenter & Zuckerman, Vanessa has become a passionate, aggressive, and determined attorney in providing the best representation to clients