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Christopher Whelan
With a distinguished forty-six-year career marked by relentless pursuit of justice and an impressive track record of success, Christopher H. Whelan is recognized as one of California's leading plaintiff's employment lawyers. A respected member of the legal community, he has served on the Executive Board for Sacramento County Bar Labor and Employment Section; 19
years on the Executive Board of California Employment Lawyers Assoc. (CELA); past head of National Employment Lawyers (NELA) Sacramento chapter; Capitol City Trial Lawyers (CCTLA) Board of Dir. for approx. 23 years. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Lawyers (ABOTA), Advocate level, and a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment
Lawyers.
Whelan's dedication to his craft is evident in his numerous accolades, including recognition by the Daily Journal, Best Lawyers in America, Martindale Hubble (Preeminent Attorney ranking) and as the recipient of prestigious awards from the CELA 2014 Joe Posner Award, CCTLA
Advocate of the year for 2000, and 2011, and a 2017 Co-Recipient of the Morton Friedman Humanitarian Award. He was nominated for the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) 2012 “Street Fighter of the Year,” and he was ABOTA’s Sacramento Valley’s Chapter, 2012 Trial Attorney of the Year, and its 2018 Nominee for California Trial Lawyer of the Year.
A graduate of UCLA (B.A. Economics) and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (J.D.), Whelan has devoted his career to championing the rights of employees, earning the nickname "The Defamation King" for his unparalleled expertise in employment/defamation
cases. His work ethic and innovative approach to litigation have not only earned him the respect of his peers but have also resulted in groundbreaking verdicts that have advanced the field of employment law. Some of his significant cases include Roby v. McKesson HBOC (the largest employment verdict in the nation for 2004, a top 100 verdict in U.S.) and King v USNBA (largest California defamation verdict in 2017, and a top 100 verdict in U.S.). He has obtained 13 seven and eight figure verdicts, 15 punitive damage awards and 10 published cases including three California Supreme Court cases, Richards v. CH2M Hill (2001) 26 Cal.4th 798, State Dept. of Health Services v. Sup. Ct. (McGinnis) (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1026 and Roby v. McKesson HBOC (2009) 47 Cal.4th 686.
As an undergraduate Chris Whelan was a member of UCLA's judo team. That activity has been replaced by litigation and trials. Beyond his legal prowess, Whelan is an avid rose gardener of Old Garden and English roses and longtime member of the American Rose Society. He also manages and cares for his 110-year-old olive grove and his pistachio orchard in the Central Valley. He is a member of The Society of the Cincinnati and his propositus, and 5th GGF, Lt. Pierre Boileau, was an original member. He mentors numerous attorneys throughout the state including four of his nephews. His diverse interests and commitment to his community reflect his multifaceted approach to life and law.
Donia Pestana
Donia Pestana joined the Law Offices of Christopher H. Whelan, Inc. as legal secretary in 2011 while at the same time also attending California State University-Sacramento. In 2011, she was on the Dean’s Honor List and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She continued working at the Law Offices of Christopher H. Whelan as a paralegal, while also attending McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. She received her Juris Doctorate from McGeorge in 2017.
During her career Mrs. Pestana has assisted in a number of jury trials resulting in multi-million-dollar verdicts. (For example: Sallustio v. Kemper defamation, $5.6 million verdict, and King v. US Bank a wrongful termination and defamation verdict of $24,000,000.) Mrs. Pestana has assisted the firm in handling a number of single plaintiff wrongful termination, discrimination and defamation cases. She has handled a wide variety of aspects of the cases including drafting complaints, propounding and responding to written discovery, drafting and opposing motions,
preparing for and chairing in a number of jury trials and arbitrations including the arbitration, Gonzalez v. Morning Star Co., which resulted in a judgment of $8,983,549.00. Mrs. Pestana is committed to providing justice for her clients and holding employers accountable.
Mrs. Pestana is a member of the California State Bar, Capitol City Trial Lawyers (CCTLA), and California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”), the largest statewide organization of advocates of employee rights. Mrs. Pestana is fluent in Farsi and has spent most of her life in Sacramento. When she is not advocating for her clients she can be found spending time with her husband and two children.
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