Reviewed by Megan T. Burns, Mirador Law
The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) has named Mirador Law partners Megan T. Burns and Emily L. Dahm, together with co-counsel Alan Charles Dell’Ario, finalists for the 2026 Street Fighter of the Year award. The recognition is for their work in Jimenez and Gonzalez v. New Haven Unified School District, a case brought against a public school district in southern Alameda County. CAOC has published the full finalist list, covering both Street Fighter of the Year and Consumer Attorney of the Year, on its 2026 Award Finalists page.
Four teams are finalists in the Street Fighter category this year. The winner will be announced on November 14, 2026 at CAOC’s Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
CAOC is the statewide association of plaintiff trial lawyers in California. Its Street Fighter of the Year award recognizes the small practitioner: by CAOC’s criteria, a lawyer at a firm of no more than five attorneys, or a lawyer who has been a member of the bar for less than ten years, who achieves a notable result in court. CAOC describes the award as honouring work that reflects the everyday struggles of the small practitioner in California.
That is a different measure from CAOC’s Consumer Attorney of the Year award, which recognizes a result that assisted consumers broadly or changed California consumer law. Street Fighter is about what a small team accomplished against the resources on the other side of the table.
For a firm the size of Mirador Law, that framing matters. Cases against public entities are among the hardest a small plaintiff firm can take on. The defendant has institutional counsel, a claims process built into statute, and immunity arguments available at every stage. Being named a finalist means CAOC’s awards committee looked at that matchup and the work behind it.
CAOC’s public summary describes the case as one in which a school district failed to prevent a foreseeable attack on campus. New Haven Unified School District serves Union City and part of south Hayward in Alameda County.
Out of respect for the families involved, and consistent with the firm’s practice on every matter, Mirador Law is not publishing case details beyond what CAOC has already made public. Readers who want the full summary can read it on CAOC’s finalist page.
What the case represents is the kind of work the firm does regularly: holding an institution accountable when a preventable harm happens to someone in its care. That covers school and campus injuries, unsafe premises, negligent security, and abuse and neglect matters. It is difficult work but Mirador Law is committed to the challenge. Public entity cases run on a different clock than an ordinary injury claim, which is covered in the FAQ below.
CAOC lists three attorneys on this finalist entry.
Megan T. Burns, managing partner at Mirador Law, is a trial lawyer whose practice covers catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and claims against institutions. She is active in the Alameda County Bar Association and in the local legal community. Read her attorney profile.
Emily L. Dahm, partner at Mirador Law, works alongside Megan T. Burns on the firm’s institutional accountability and serious injury matters. Read her attorney profile.
Alan Charles Dell’Ario is an appellate attorney based in Napa who runs his own practice. He served as co-counsel on this matter. He is not a Mirador Law attorney, and the firm is glad to see his contribution recognised alongside its own.
Mirador Law has been trying cases in the East Bay since 1973, working from its Pleasanton headquarters with offices in Oakland and Newark and serving clients across Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro and the Tri-Valley. The firm’s partners have roughly four decades of combined trial experience and close to a hundred jury trials between them, and secured two of California’s Top 50 plaintiff jury verdicts for 2024. Mirador Law is women-owned and LGBTQ+-owned and was named a 2026 Business of Pride honoree.
A finalist nomination from the state’s plaintiff trial bar is peer recognition, not a marketing claim. It is CAOC members and its awards committee assessing work for which other trial lawyers understand the difficulty in reaching the successful outcome. That is the standard the firm holds itself to, and it reflects how the firm approaches every case: listen first, fight second.
If your child was hurt at school, or you were injured on public property or by a public employee, the rules are not the same as a claim against a private business or driver. Three points matter most.
The deadline is short. Before you can sue a California public entity, you generally have to file an administrative claim with that entity within six months of the injury under Government Code section 911.2. That is six months, not two years. Missing it can end a claim before it starts.
There is a second clock after the claim. If the public entity rejects your claim in writing, Government Code section 945.6 generally gives you six months from the date that notice is personally delivered or mailed to file suit. Ordinary personal injury claims that do not involve a public entity are governed by the two-year deadline in Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
Shared fault does not end your case. California uses a pure comparative negligence system, so if you or your child are found partly responsible, recovery is reduced by that share rather than barred outright.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured, we offer free and confidential consultations at all three of our offices or by phone.
Pleasanton (headquarters): 4750 Willow Road, Ste. 275, Pleasanton, CA 94588 | (925) 460-8484
Oakland: 1901 Harrison St, Ste 1100, Oakland, CA | (510) 785-8400
Newark: 39899 Balentine Dr, Ste 200, Newark, CA | (510) 785-8400
Serving Pleasanton, Fremont/Newark, and Oakland across the East Bay.
Real people. Real problems. Real results. We listen first, fight second.
CAOC named four finalist teams for 2026: Jimenez and Gonzalez v. New Haven Unified School District (Megan T. Burns, Emily L. Dahm and Alan Charles Dell’Ario); Soto, et al. v. City of Torrance, et al. (Michael S. Carrillo, Christian Contreras and Laura M. Jimenez); Munguia v. County of San Bernardino (Daniel Kramer, Brandon Salumbides and Stuart B. Esner); and E.I. v. El Segundo Unified School District (Christa H. Ramey, Siannah Collado, Schyler S. Katz, Shea Murphy and Holly N. Boyer). The full list is on CAOC’s 2026 Award Finalists page. Congratulations to all of the nominees!
No. Mirador Law is one of four finalists. CAOC will announce the 2026 winner on November 14, 2026 at its Annual Installation and Awards Dinner at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
CAOC gives the award to a small practitioner, defined as a lawyer at a firm of no more than five attorneys or a lawyer admitted to the bar for less than ten years, who achieves a notable result in court. CAOC describes it as recognizing work that reflects the everyday struggles of the small practitioner in California.
No. Alan Charles Dell’Ario is a Certified Specialist in Appellate Law with his own practice in Napa, California. He served as co-counsel on Jimenez and Gonzalez v. New Haven Unified School District and is credited by CAOC alongside the two Mirador Law partners.
Generally six months from the date of the injury to file an administrative claim with the district under Government Code section 911.2. If the district rejects the claim in writing, Government Code section 945.6 generally allows six months from that notice to file suit. These deadlines are shorter than the general two-year personal injury deadline, so speak with a lawyer quickly.
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Different rules can apply to claims involving minors, so confirm your specific deadline with a California-licensed attorney.
The firm works across Alameda County and the wider East Bay from its Pleasanton headquarters, with offices in Oakland and Newark, and serves clients in Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, Dublin, Livermore and the Tri-Valley.
This article is general information about California personal injury law and about a professional recognition, and is not legal advice tailored to your situation. Statutory citations are to the California Government Code and Code of Civil Procedure as amended to date. A finalist nomination is a professional recognition by the Consumer Attorneys of California and is not a guarantee, warranty or prediction of the outcome of any other case. Prior results depend on the specific facts and law of each matter and do not guarantee or predict a similar result. For advice on your circumstances, consult a California-licensed attorney.
This communication may be considered attorney advertising. Megan T. Burns is the attorney responsible for the content of this page. Mirador Law, PC, 4750 Willow Road, Ste. 275, Pleasanton, CA 94588 | (925) 460-8484 | miradorlaw.com
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