In Memoriam (1945 – 2022)
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CONTACT MECONTACT THE FIRMIn Memoriam (1945 – 2022)
In baseball, there are “triple threat” players, who can lead their teams in hitting, running, and fielding. In the law, similarly, litigators who excel in multiple areas of specialty are in a class by themselves.
Mickey was one of the lead attorneys in a consolidated group of over 12,000 fire victims of the Witch and Guejito Fires in San Diego in 2007. He and his group successfully resolved law suits against SDG&E involving facts similar to those which contributed to the ignition and spread of the Wild Fires in Northern California. The Plaintiffs Consolidated Group, including McGuire’s Firm, recovered in excess of $100,000,000 in damages for their clients.
John F. “Mickey” McGuire has successfully represented plaintiffs in subject areas as diverse as construction defects, landslide and subsidence claims, unfair business practices, products liability, franchise disputes, partnership dissolution, medical and legal malpractice, personal injury, insurance company fraud and bad faith claims.
Mr. McGuire was born and raised in Rockaway Beach, New York. His family began calling him Mickey because his grandfather “John” and father “Johnny” all lived in the same house. To avoid confusion at the call to dinner, his aunt began calling him Mickey, after a streetwise tough kid of the same name, played in the movies by Mickey Rooney.
Mickey is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and also holds a Master’s Degree in mass communications. During a tour of duty in Southeast Asia, he was responsible for shepherding war correspondents to and from active combat areas. During his 14 month tour of duty, he was the recipient of three combat medals for valor under fire, including the Purple Heart. Mickey completed his Naval service at the Pentagon, where for three years he was the press officer for Secretaries of Defense Laird, Richardson and Schlesinger.
After his discharge with the rank of Lieutenant, he attended law school at Marquette University where his uncle Al was the head basketball coach. He distinguished himself as a legal student with awards including St. Thomas More Scholar, a member of the championship National Moot Court Team and Law Review. Upon his graduation he was awarded the Order of the Barrister for his accomplishments in civil and criminal procedure and trial techniques. He completed all required courses six months ahead of schedule and graduated cum laude in 1975.
After four successful years on the defense, he joined Mike and Vince as a partner on March 17, 1979, during the firm’s first year in business.
Just as “triple threat” players are consistently honored by their peers by selection for all star teams, Mickey has received four “Outstanding Trial Lawyer” awards for trial work on behalf of hundreds of families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by landslides, earthquakes or construction defects. He has been recognized in Woodward White’s Best Lawyers in America since its inception in 1987 in the categories of Commercial, Bet-the-Company, Mass Tort and Personal Injury litigation. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a past editor of Landslide and Subsidence Liability, published by the Regents of the University of California, and has served as a Judge Pro Tem, expert witness, arbitrator, mediator, lecturer and panelist in trial technique seminars given across the country.
In 2009 Mickey received the Daniel T. Broderick Award for Civility, Integrity and Professionalism from the San Diego Bar Association (he was nominated by the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego/American Board of Trial Advocates/Association of Business Trial Lawyers and San Diego Defense Lawyers), and was named one of San Diego’s Top Influentials by the Daily Transcript. In 2008 before the Arizona Supreme Court Mickey successfully won a reversal of The Lofts at Fillmore Condominium Association v. Reliance Commercial Construction, Inc.
McGuire is a hands-on litigator who makes every effort to become intimately familiar with the details of the matters he prosecutes. He compares the role of the modern day plaintiff’s attorney with that of a Paladin of Charlemagne’s court — a knight who pledged his allegiance not to the king, but to the victims of injustice.
Mickey loves all water sports, biking, hiking, amateur and professional theater, golf, and being a grandad. He has six grown children and nine grandchildren and lives in North County with his wife Jodie.