Jennifer Brooks Lawyer Of The Year Award

John Lowenthal, Esq.

2024-2025
Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year

After graduating law school and admission to the Bar in 1985, John embarked on a career as a civil trial lawyer, starting out as an associate with MacLachlan, Burford & Arias in San Bernardino.  He next joined Stanfield and Warner where he practiced for over 10 years.  In 1996 the firm merged with Mower, Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck; for the next 4 years, he served as co-managing partner in San Bernardino.  In 2000 he joined Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, serving as its Inland Empire managing partner for over 20 years.  John is also co-chair of the firm’s General Liability Practice Team, made up of over 400 attorneys practicing in 27 states.

His practice primarily includes litigating and trying the defense of catastrophic injury, wrongful death and other high exposure cases resulting from construction site accidents, premises liability, products liability, commercial and personal vehicle accidents, electrocution, oil field and drilling accidents, fires, explosions, exposure to chemicals and other toxins as well as boating and other recreational vehicle/activity accidents.  John also handles professional liability matters on behalf of architects, engineers, insurance agents/brokers, real estate agents/brokers and attorneys.  He is frequently called upon to “parachute” into cases shortly before trial and take over as lead counsel.

John was elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in 2007 and served as San Bernardino/Riverside Chapter President in 2017.  In 2019 he received the Arthur E. Kelly Civility Award for consistently demonstrating the highest levels of civility and professionalism in the practice of law.  He was a member of the San Bernardino County Bar Association Board of Directors for 6 years and served as President in 2010.  A-V rated by Martindale-Hubbell, he has also been selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer and listed in Best Lawyers in America.  John is a founding member of the Honorable Joseph B. Cambell American Inn of Court and he frequently presents on trial presentation and tactics, litigation skills and civility.

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Cory Weck, Esq.

2023-2024
Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year

Cory Weck was raised in the San Bernardino Mountains in the little town of Crestline just up off of Lake Gregory.  Born to Los Angeles City firefighter and a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy he lived on the mountain from Pre-School through High School.  He attended Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead where he played football, baseball and ran track.  Cory was the starting tailback for the varsity team for three years and played catcher and centerfield for the varsity baseball team for three years as well.  In track, he ran the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints as well as anchored the 4X100 meter team.  He was also a member of the academic decathlon team and was involved in the student leadership of the school.  When he graduated from Rim he was selected by the Ken Hubbs Foundation as the top student athlete in San Bernardino County.  The Ken Hubbs award was awarded only once a year to one student in the county.

After high school, Cory attended Cornell University and majored in Economics.  He was member of the fraternity Delta Upsilon for three years as well as a member of the EMS squad.  Prior to graduation, Cory signed on to be a Marine Corps officer.  After Cornell he attended OCS in Quantico and the basic infantry officer school where he graduated near the top of his class.

During his early years in the Marine Corps in addition to his duties as a Marine he attended law school at the University of San Diego where he participated on the Mock Trial team and various other student organizations.  Upon graduation and passing the California bar he was sent to the Naval War College in Newport Island to become a certified Judge Advocate.

During his first tour as a lawyer in the Marine Corps he was assigned to Legal Team Echo at Camp Pendleton.  Camp Pendleton was the busiest trial shop in the entire Department of Defense.  His first assignment was as a defense attorney where he tried his first contested case just two weeks after arriving at the base.  A year and a half later he was selected to be a Headquarters Company commander for one of the largest units aboard Camp Pendleton.  After a yearlong successful tour as a company commander he was sent the Legal Team Delta as a prosecutor, where he was selected by the American Bar Association as the Marine Corps Top Young Lawyer of the year.

When his son Jake was born, he and his wife decided to leave active duty and join a civilian law firm.   Unbeknownst to his wife, the only resume he sent out of San Diego County was to a law firm called Welebir and McCune.  He was invited up by the two partners for an interview.   He accepted the position as associate, but remained in the Marine Corps as an Active Reservist.  Balancing life as a young associate in a trial firm and the life of an active reservist was challenging, but managed to serve another 15 years in uniform before retiring in 2017.

Cory is now a partner with McCune Law Group where he leads their personal injury division.  He’s been selected by SuperLawyers as one of the Top 5% of personal injury attorneys in Southern California as well as Best Lawyers in America.  He is also a member of the Top 100 Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association.  In 2019, Cory was picked by his peers as the Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire as the “Trial Lawyer of the Year”.

Cory and his wife Lori have resided in Redlands for 20 years where they remain active in fundraising for several local charities like the Redlands Bowl.  Their son Jake just returned from active duty in Guam and is now pursuing a career in law enforcement.

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Daren Lipinsky, Esq.

2022-2023
Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year

For over 25 years, Mr. Lipinsky has successfully represented Inland Empire workers in all areas of employment litigation, including cases involving sexual harassment, disability and pregnancy discrimination, race, age, sexual orientation and gender discrimination, California Family Rights Act violations, Wage and Hour violations, retaliation, breach of contract, and wrongful termination in violation of public policy. His aggressive and dedicated approach to the litigation process and rights of employees has resulted in numerous substantial and unprecedented successes against some of the nation’s largest employers.

Mr. Lipinsky has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America” by the prestigious National Trial Lawyers organization. He has also been recognized by Inland Empire Magazine’s “Top Lawyers in the Inland Empire” every year since 2010, is “AV-preeminent” rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has been honored as a “Super Lawyer” every year since 2012, has been named as one of the Best Lawyers in California by U.S. News and World Reports, the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Journal, and American Lawyer Media, and has been recognized for his litigation accomplishments in multiple years by the California Employment Lawyers Association. In 2013, Mr. Lipinsky was named a finalist for the Consumer Attorneys of California’s “Streetfighter of the Year Award.” For the past seven consecutive years, Mr. Lipinsky has been named “California Whistleblower Attorney of the Year” by Corporate Intl Magazine. In 2022, Mr. Lipinsky received the Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire’s William M. Shernoff Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.

Mr. Lipinsky currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Consumer Attorneys of California. He also served as the President of the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association, as President of the Consumer Attorney of the Inland Empire, as an Executive Board Member for the University of La Verne Department Legal Studies, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Lipinsky is a longstanding member of the California Employment Lawyers Association and National Employment Lawyers Association, and has spoken at conferences throughout California on employment law and civil litigation issues. Mr. Lipinsky is co-author of “Inside the Minds: Representing Employees in Sexual Harassment Cases,” Thompson Reuters (2012) and has appeared as a featured legal commentator on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

In 2018, Mr. Lipinsky was selected by California State Senator Connie Leyva and the Consumer Attorneys of California to assist in drafting and providing expert testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on SB820, which provides that acts underlying claims in an administrative or civil action for sexual harassment under California Civil Code section 51.9, employment-related harassment or discrimination based on sex, failure to prevent such discrimination or harassment, or an act of retaliation for reporting such harassment or discrimination, cannot be restricted by use of a non-disclosure agreements. Mr. Lipinsky’s expert testimony assisted in the passage of this bill, becoming the first of its kind in the nation.
In 2019, Mr. Lipinsky was inducted as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. The College of Labor & Employment Lawyers is a non-profit professional association honoring the leading lawyers nationwide in the practice of Labor and Employment Law. Fellows are recognized as distinguished members of the labor and employment community who promote achievement, advancement and excellence in the practice by setting standards of professionalism and civility, by sharing their experience and knowledge and by acting as a resource for academia, the government, the judiciary and the community at large.

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Marbi Burnette, Esq.

2021-2022
Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year

Marbi was born and raised in a small rural town in North Carolina. Her family relocated to California after she graduated from high school. Marbi received her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton and went on to receive her Juris Doctorate degree from Santa Clara University School of Law.

After graduating from law school Marbi worked in civil litigation for a few years. She quickly realized that civil law was not her cup of tea and began seeking other employment opportunities. In 1988 she landed in the Office of the District Attorney and remained there for 33 years. Marbi retired from the DA’s office in August 2021.

Like most Deputies District Attorney, Marbi had many different assignments while in the office. She was on both the misdemeanor and felony trial staffs. During her tenure with the office, she was assigned to the Narcotics Enforcement Division, the Domestic Violence Unit, and general prosecutions, as well as a three-year assignment in the Child Support Division. Her longest assignment after rotating between the San Bernardino, Rancho, Chino and Child Support divisions was the misdemeanor pretrial calendar in the Rancho division. Marbi was the senior pretrial deputy for over fifteen years in the Rancho division. In this assignment Marbi perfected her skills as a negotiator. Defense attorneys would wait in line just to have a seat at her table to negotiate their cases. Pro per defendants would often return to the courthouse to let Marbi know how well they were doing on probation or that they had enrolled in college or gotten their life together, married and had children. It was not unusual for judges and attorneys, both prosecutors and defense attorneys, to seek Marbi’s input for suggestions of fair and alternative resolutions on cases that were not even assigned to her.

Marbi was not just a strong negotiator, ensuring that the Office of the District Attorney was represented well, she embodied the definition of a prosecutor:  walking humbly and seeking justice. Marbi did not need a cape to make her a superhero. Her super- power was a ginormous heart filled with a strong desire to do the right thing every single day. She understood the power she held as a prosecutor and exercised great care to never misuse it. Although she was filled with a strong sense of right and wrong, she was equally filled with compassion, fairness, equity and justice for everyone in the criminal justice system. This alone made her a force to be reckoned with and caused her to be crowned the “Queen of Pretrials” in San Bernardino County.

Marbi and her husband are the proud parents of two children. Her daughter Marya is a third-year law student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Her son Alexzander was recently graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. He is also a certified personal trainer.

Marbi is currently enjoying retirement and looking forward to it being as rewarding as her years as a Deputy District Attorney. She hopes to travel, do lots of reading and crafting, and spend time with her family, especially her 85-year-old father and 83-year-old mother.

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Bryan Reid, Esq.

2019-2020
Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year

Bryan Reid is a partner in the San Bernardino office of Lewis Brisbois and vice-chair of the Long-Term Care & Elder Law Practice. Mr. Reid’s civil trial practice focuses on the defense of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare and long-term care professionals and organizations. He also has experience litigating cases in the field of sports and recreation liability having represented some of the most well-known names in professional sports. Mr. Reid graduated from the California State University Fullerton where he majored in Communications and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988. Bryan Reid attended Southwestern University School of Law and obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1991. He was selected as one of the top 100 Civil Defense Litigators for Southern California by America’s Top 100 and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He currently serves as President of CAL-ABOTA. He is a member on the Board of Trustees for the Inland Wellness Information Network, a board member of the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation and past president of the Redlands Sunrise Rotary. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers.