Chalier, Helen Griff

Elaine has been a civil litigator for over thirty years. She has handled defense and prosecution of cases in all phases and forums, both judicial and administrative. She has negotiated settlements, mediated, and arbitrated many cases and tried many complex business cases, both to the bench and to the jury, in both state and federal courts. Elaine has also represented her business and agency clients in many appeals. She has saved and won millions of dollars for clients.

Although Elaine has been in private practice for most of her career, she also spent several years serving as General Counsel for a Water District and as a Deputy City Attorney handling complex litigation. While Elaine's practice is very diverse, she has areas of concentration in business disputes, financial institutions, employment, contracts, real property, contractors, public entities, water, environmental, natural resources, construction, trust and will contests, home owners associations, education, and insurance.

Elaine was born in Canton, China and received her B.A. (with distinction) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971 and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis in 1977. Her honors include memberships in Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi and serving as judicial clerk for Hon. Roger Conner and Hon. Robert Irwin of the Alaska Supreme Court and Hon. Donald Froeb of the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Elaine is past president of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego, was the host of the first delegation of lawyers from the People's Republic of China, and served as the Chair of the Minority Affairs Committee of the San Diego County Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Chinese Community Service Center of San Diego. Elaine has taught courses in discovery and trial practice for Continuing Education for the Bar and has given seminars to landlords and property managers and employers.

Elaine is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, their highest rating of skill and integrity, indicating very high to pre-eminent legal ability and very high ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the bar.