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Matthew P. Guichard

Matthew P. Guichard is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and founder of Guichard, Teng, Portillo & Garrett. With offices in Walnut Creek and San Francisco, the firm has served clients in Northern California since 1994.

Mr. Guichard specializes in general civil litigation and trial work, with a special emphasis on catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, victims of sexual molestation and sexual assaults, nursing home care, and  victims of elder abuse.

Mr. Guichard regularly serves as the Hearing Officer in Coroner’s Inquests through out the State of California. He serves as a State Bar Fee Arbitrator. He is a member of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. He is the former Chair of the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce &  Visitors Bureau. He is the Chair of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Advisory Fire Commission. He is a member of the Walnut Creek Community Emergency response Team (CERT). He is a member of the “100 Club” of Contra Costa County. He is a former President of the Robert G. McGrath American Inn of Court. He is a former Board Member of the Rotary Club of Walnut Creek, former Board Member of Yours Humanly, former Board Member of Youth Homes and a  former Board Member of Child Assault Prevention.

Mr. Guichard is admitted to practice in the State of California, the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and all United States District Courts in California. He earned his J.D. from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. After earning his J.D. he earned a Certificate in Advanced International Legal Studies at Salzburg University, Salzburg, Austria. He then joined the Danish law firm of Lars Christensen, Kyed & Partners in Odense, Denmark where his practice focused on international license agreements.

Upon returning from Denmark, Mr. Guichard served as a deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County, California. During his seven year career as a Deputy District Attorney, Mr. Guichard managed the homicide and sexual assault teams. He has a lifetime Community College Teaching Credential, and taught for a number of years at  Los Medanos Community College.

In 1990 Mr. Guichard joined the San Francisco Office of Ropers, Majeski, Kohn, Bentley, Wagner & Kane, where his practice focused on general civil litigation. In 1993 he opened and managed the firm’s Sacramento office.

In 1996 Mr. Guichard formed his own law firm which today is Guichard, Teng, Portillo & Garrett.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Guichard hosts a weekly YouTube series called "No Holds Barred" discussing a wide range of timely and entertaining legal issues. He was a regular lecturer for the State Bar and University of California CEB Program. He authors  the popular “Civil Jury Verdicts” and “Bar Soap” columns in the monthly Contra Costa Lawyer Magazine. Mr. Guichard is a licensed “Ham” radio operator. For years he has coached youth sports.

Prior to obtaining his law degree, Mr. Guichard spent a number of years employed by major publishing companies in the United States with a focus on marketing and public relations.

Erika Portillo is a highly experienced immigration lawyer whose interest and passion in law makes her a skillful advocate on behalf of her clients. Ms. Portillo’s knowledge and experience in immigration law and her passion for the subject have helped many foreign nationals secure immigration status and pursue their dreams in the United States.

Ms. Portillo joined Guichard, Teng, Portillo & Garrett in 2005, and is admitted to practice in the State of California, the U.S. District Court Northern District and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Portillo was admitted to the practice of law in Mexico in 1999. While in Mexico, Ms. Portillo practiced criminal law as a prosecutor in the State of Morelos and then transitioned into the practice of civil law.

The complex immigration process is often difficult to navigate. Ms. Portillo’s work as a compassionate immigration attorney is enhanced by her experience as a government attorney in Mexico. She has experience in family immigration, removal defense, U Nonimmigrant visas, VAWA cases, asylum, and naturalization, among other immigration matters. Her experience in the subject allows her to comprehensively advise clients on the full range of immigration options and risks.

Born and raised in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, Ms. Portillo earned her Master of Laws in United States Legal Studies from Golden Gate University School of Law, and her J.D. from La Universidad Autonama del Estado the Morelos in Mexico.

In addition to her very active law practice, Ms. Portillo volunteers her time doing pro-bono representation at the Immigration Court in San Francisco as part of the “Attorney of the Day” Program offered by the San Francisco Bar Association.

Ms. Portillo is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a participant in the advisory council for AILA NorCal, a member of the Contra Costa County Bar Association, a member of the Women’s Section of the Contra Costa County Bar Association, and a member of the One Hundred Club. She is also the former president of the Hispanic Cancer Association.

Ms. Portillo has written articles for the Contra Costa Lawyer Magazine, the California Psychological Association Magazine, among others. She has been a speaker at several conferences, including the Contra Costa Leadership Program, the Contra Costa Bar Association, JFK University, the Hispanic Chamber of Contra Costa, among others.

Ms. Portillo is fluent in English and Spanish.

Christopher Garrett is an experienced litigator with a particular focus on business litigation and personal injury claims. He handles matters ranging from disputes within small or closely-held businesses, in which flexibility and economy is at a premium, to complex, high-stakes litigation with multiple parties, and complicated financial, technical, and legal issues. Regardless of the size or scope of the matter, Mr. Garrett provides diligent, outcome-oriented representation that seeks to resolve disputes in a sensible, cost-effective way where possible—while still providing vigorous advocacy when necessary.

He also has significant experience defending and prosecuting wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury claims and has secured multiple six- and seven-figure judgments and settlements.

Christopher Teng is Of Counsel at Guichard, Teng, Portillo & Garrett.  He is a business lawyer who focuses on business formations, transactions, and corporate governance.  He also handles business and contractual disputes in mediated settlements and litigation.

Mr. Teng was born and raised in Singapore where he was a former Naval Officer and Pilot trainee with the Singapore Navy and Air Force respectively.  He earned a Diploma in Marine Engineering in 1983 and sailed on a container ship as an engineering cadet with Neptune Orient Lines before he attended law school in England.  He graduated with Second Class Upper Division Honors in law at the Queen Mary and Westfield College, the University of London in 1992.  He then received a Masters's degree (LLM) in Transnational Business Practice from McGeorge School of Law in 1994.

He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995.  He has worked for the past 25 years at large and boutique law firms in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and San Diego gaining experience in handling complex civil litigation, a wide range of business transactions, corporate and employment matters, and real estate transactions.  His unique background and experience enable him to navigate and spot complex issues that often trouble business clients, enabling him to counsel clients to avoid potential or deal with actual disputes.

Mr. Teng is active in various local business and professional organizations.

Mr. Lim was born and raised in Singapore where he attended the premiere high school, Raffles Institution. After completing mandatory service in the Singapore Armed Forces, he pursued a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering at the University of Manchester, England, graduating 5th in his class. He then completed an M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California.

After working as an R&D engineer for seven years, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area where he attended law school at the University of California. Mr. Lim is admitted to the California State Bar, the Federal District Court, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a Registered Patent Attorney. He is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

For the past couple of decades, he has been a key contributor to the success of numerous Silicon Valley startups and large corporations. In addition to orchestrating the filing of several hundred patents with the United States Patent Office, he has helped strategize and build Patent Portfolios for corporations such as Sun Microsystems, and also technology startups resulting in several successful acquisitions and IPOs, e.g., Overture (acquired by Yahoo!), VXtreme (acquired by Microsoft), ThinkLink (acquired by Microsoft), Istante (acquired by Oracle), Scientific Learning Corporation (IPO), Demandtec (IPO & acquired by IBM for $440M), and most recently Mercury Payment System (acquired by Vantiv for $1.6B).

In addition to practicing intellectual property law, Mr. Lim previously served several years as a Pro Tem Judge at the Santa Clara Superior Court. He currently serves on the Board of Youth Homes (foster children shelter) and is a long-time volunteer with the Sheriff Emergency Services Unit.

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