Bernanke to give deposition in AIG bailout lawsuit
A U.S. judge has ordered that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke can be questioned in a lawsuit against the government filed by the former head of American International Group Inc.
Education
Law School/Year: University of San Diego School of Law, 2002
Other Graduate School/Year: Masters of Laws in Taxation, 2003
College/Year: University of San Diego, 1998
Bar Admissions
California
Practice Areas
Criminal Law; Real Estate; Taxation
Major Cases
Shamoun has represented thousands of clients before the IRS, FTB, SBOE and EDD in a variety of civil and criminal matters, saving clients millions of dollars in liabilities. He represented a client in district court, contesting the assessment of an $8 million trust fund recovery penalty. Shamoun resolved a Section 475 mark-to-market audit covering five tax years, saving the client over half-a-million dollars. He also represented a client facing 37 months in jail and $225,000 in forfeiture for money laundering. The client pled guilty to Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirements, received no jail time, and had the restitution reduced by more than $100,000.
Professional Background
Shamoun received his bachelor’s in Accountancy at USD and returned to USD to receive his Juris Doctor and LLM in Taxation. After law school, he started RJS LAW, San Diego’s preeminent tax controversy law firm. His accounting background, along with his experience as a small business owner, gave him an unrivaled perspective from which to understand both the position of the government and of the client. RJS Law has since grown into the largest tax controversy firm in San Diego, with a team of nearly 20, comprised of associate attorneys, law clerks, and administrative staff.
Professional Affiliations
Aside from RJS Law, Shamoun owns an extensive and diverse portfolio of very successful businesses. He is the owner of the Charcoal House and Junction Steakhouses in East County, as well as one convenience store, a Subway franchise, and a laundromat in Ocean Beach. He also has invested in various real estate properties, highlighted by his purchase of the 32,500-square-foot RJ Shamoun Building in downtown San Diego, across from the San Diego Civic Theatre. He formerly served as general counsel for a regional supermarket conglomerate with 13 stores and more than 800 employees.
Personal Affiliations
Shamoun is heavily involved in the Ocean Beach community, where he owns a number of properties, serving as an elected member of the Ocean Beach Planning Board. He continues to support USD as a prominent alumni, providing law clerk positions to USD law students to enhance their educational opportunities. He is also involved with several charitable organizations, being an ardent supporter of, and serving as landlord to, the USO, and recently being named the Honorary Chair for the Grossmont Hospital Foundation Gala.
Personal Background
Shamoun is a true San Diegan. He was born and raised in San Diego and attended Grossmont High School. He then went on to complete his Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy, J.D., and L.L.M. in Taxation at USD. He remains a loyal supporter of USD. He is a prominent member of the Chaldean Community, and very active in East County where he currently lives with his wife, Melanie, and their daughters Mariella and Audriana. He credits his parents for his success, and thanks them for their undying support and love, and for instilling in him the work ethic and business principles that have made RJS Law so successful.
Aug. 14, 2013 -- Reporter Doug Sherwin talks with attorney Lonny Zilberman, a partner with Wilson Turner Kosmo LLP and a 2013 Top Attorney, about sexual harassment lawsuits and the nuances of these types of cases.
A U.S. judge has ordered that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke can be questioned in a lawsuit against the government filed by the former head of American International Group Inc.
Partner liability has emerged as one of the most important issues for law firms and is increasingly the crucial factor that determines building selection and the structure of other economic lease terms. Arguments over liability complicate — even kill — otherwise easy lease transactions. Law firm decision-makers contemplating a relocation or renewal would be well-served to understand and carefully consider how they intend to deal with partner liability from the outset.
Top Attorneys 2013 pays tribute to San Diego County's legal cream of the crop. It is the culmination of a lengthy peer voting process that began in April with the announcement of a call for nominations. San Diego County lawyers were asked who among their peers -- with whom they had professional experience -- were worthy of recognition.
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June, it opened up more than 1,000 federal benefits and responsibilities to legally married same-sex couples.
Thomas Guernsey has been at the job as Thomas Jefferson School of Law's new dean and president for less than two months and he's already made quite an impression.
Recently, I received calls from two human resources managers regarding articles in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. They were concerned about the WSJ’s claim that the position of legal secretary is extinct and USA Today’s assertion that the growth of temporary hiring is a negative devolvement.
Established in 2001, Morris, Sullivan & Lemkul was founded by Shawn Morris and Mike Sullivan. Shawn and Mike are former partners of Wingert Grebing, one of San Diego's oldest and most respected law firms.
The U.S. Department of Treasury recently announced that it is delaying until 2015 the enforcement of the so-called “employer mandate” provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA” or “Obamacare”), which were supposed to take effect in 2014.
#1. Put all commission agreements in writing (Labor Code section 2751).
RJS Law is a full-service law firm that can help resolve your personal, small-business or corporate tax problems with the Internal Revenue Service and California state tax authorities.
As the practice of law adapts to meet the changing needs of clients and organizations, opportunities exist to develop partnerships between law firms and law schools. Together, firms and schools can prepare profession-ready graduates and meet the growing need for legal services. California Western School of Law, San Diego’s oldest law school, is poised to lead the way in this national effort.
The University of San Diego School of Law develops resources and clinics that offer practical training to law students while making it possible for them to give back to the community. With San Diego County’s estimated veteran population of 250,000 and more than 2 million veterans living in California, there is no doubt that many have and will benefit from the school’s Initiative to Protect Student Veterans.
California’s employers are burdened with a long list of onerous regulations, so it’s no surprise that many employers fail to recognize the daunting requirements of the California Labor Code -- until it’s too late.
Gomez Iagmin Trial Attorneys is a plaintiff's only law firm based in downtown San Diego, specializing in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, complex product liability and mass torts.
The attorneys at CaseyGerry specialize in serious personal injury and traumatic brain injury cases, and are at the forefront of the complex medical issues related to brain injury. These include chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease thought to be caused by repeat concussions or blows to the head, and second impact syndrome, a condition in which the brain swells rapidly after a person suffers a second concussion.
Ralph Nader has a new cause.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has declared that, at least when it comes to voting rights, the U.S. Supreme Court is guilty of wishful thinking. He is also showing both how difficult and how important it is to overcome that kind of thinking.
A federal jury in Oregon awarded $18.6 million to a woman who spent two years unsuccessfully trying to get Equifax Information Services to fix major mistakes on her credit report.
A coalition of environmental groups is suing the Cuomo administration over dairy farm regulations intended to bolster the state's growing yogurt industry, the groups announced Monday.
It was late at night on Feb. 27, 2001, and Penn State's then-president, Graham Spanier, one of academia's most prominent administrators, typed a brief email to two other top administrators as they debated how to respond to a thorny situation.
FedEx Corp., the world’s largest cargo airline, will pay $21.5 million to settle a lawsuit over claims that it overcharged customers by billing for deliveries to businesses and governments at higher residential rates.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |