Judith L. Alex | John A. Kelley | Peter L. Vestal

JOHN A. KELLEY, Associate [Top]

John handles business disputes on behalf of both individual and corporate clients, assists individuals in pursuing employment discrimination and personal injury claims, and advises corporate clients concerning intellectual property matters. John holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Hastings Law Journal. From 1997 to 1998, he served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Sam C. Pointer, Jr., Chief United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama. Prior to joining Sequoia Law Group, John was associated with Brown & Bain (Palo Alto) and Morrison & Foerster (San Francisco). John has been a member of the California State Bar since 1998. His recent articles include Litigating Civilly, The Recorder, Sept. 26, 2007.

John serves on the board of directors of the San Francisco Choral Artists and the San Francisco Community Music Center.

PETER L. VESTAL, Partner [Top]

A founding partner of the firm, Peter has practiced law in San Francisco since 1992. He provides general counsel services to businesses, including advice about entity formation and financing, business transactions, mergers & acquisitions and employment matters. His civil litigation experience includes business and commercial disputes, consumer fraud, personal injury and employment claims.

Peter holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He has taught legal writing at UC Hastings and has served as a seminar lecturer for the California State Bar, California Lawyers for the Arts, the San Francisco Legal Professionals Association, and Lorman Education Services. Peter also serves as a judicial arbitrator and Early Settlement Program panelist for the San Francisco Superior Court. His recent articles include: "You Should Know Better: California Adopts the Sophisticated User Defense," Forum, July/August 2008; "Litigating Civilly," The Recorder, Sept. 26, 2007 (reprinted in Plaintiff, January 2008); "A License to Bean?--Avila broadens primary assumption of risk doctrine," The Recorder, Nov. 8, 2006, at 4; and "Gone With the Wind--As CISG Supercedes the UCC for International Sales of Goods, What Your Clients Need to Know," 14 California International Practitioner, no. 1 (2005). He appeared in "Small Biz How To: Be Patient for Right Deal When Selling Your Business," San Francisco Business Times, July 18, 2008, at p. 24.

Peter currently serves on the board of directors of Episcopal Charities and St. Luke's School. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of Streetside Stories, Inc., a nonprofit literacy arts program for San Francisco students. Peter continues to serve as a member of Streetside's advisory board, as well as a member of the advisory board of the General Assistance Advocacy Project, a nonprofit organization providing public benefits counseling to homeless and marginally housed San Franciscans.