Profile
Ian C. Fusselman, Esq. is a skilled mediator with extensive experience as a civil litigator and Superior Court mediation panelist. As a mediator, he has been successful in helping litigants resolve their disputes in a variety of matters, including personal injury, insurance coverage, employment, and real estate. Mr. Fusselman’s mediation experience is enhanced by his depth of experience as an attorney with a focus on complex litigation, including catastrophic personal injury cases, insurance litigation, construction and landslide litigation, aviation law, and mass torts. During his years as a defense attorney, his clients included Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Cessna Aircraft Corporation, Robinsons May, and Progressive Insurance and he worked with several insurance carriers, including Associated Aviation Underwriters, Chubb Insurance, The Hartford, and Horace Mann Insurance. As a plaintiff’s attorney, he helped to recover more than $185 million on behalf of his clients, including several multi-million dollar recoveries.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Fusselman began his career as a chef at a world-class seafood resaurant in Newport Beach, managing two kitchens and a staff of 50. He later joined a small construction firm, helping it grow from a one-man operation into a company with sales in excess of $1 million a year. While working full-time in construction, Mr. Fusselman completed his undergraduate degree and then attended law school at the University of Southern California. During his 20 years of practice, he focused on complex litigation, including catastrophic aviation and automobile accidents. He represented the target defendant in the litigation arising out of the plane crash resulting in the death of folk singer John Denver.
In his free time, Mr. Fusselman enjoys flying as an instrument-rated private pilot. His interest in aviation was sparked while serving as a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and he obtained a private pilot’s license at age 18.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Catastrophic Personal Injury
- Aviation Law
- Construction Defect and Landslides
- Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith
- Eminent Domain/Inverse Condemnation
- Mass Tort Litigation
- Government Liability
- Medical Malpractice
- Product Liability
- Business & Commercial Contracts
EDUCATION
Juris Doctorate – University of Southern California School of Law, Los Angeles (1998)
- High Honors: Thesis – “A Hard Look at Gate Keeping – Joiner v. General Electric”
- Honors: Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Gifts Wills and Trusts
Bachelor of Arts, Philosphy – California State University, Long Beach (1995)
- Honors: Four Semesters on Dean’s List
MEDIATION/ARBITRATION TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu
- “Mediating the Litigated Case” – Six-Day (42 hours) Mediation Training (2014)
National Conflict Resolution Center, San Diego
- “Advanced Mediation Skills” – Four-Day (32 hours) Mediation Training (2016)
- “Introductory Mediation Skills” – Four-Day (32 hours) Mediation Training (2015)
Professional Experience
- ADR Services, Inc., Mediator (2018-Present)
- Orange County Superior Court, Civil Mediation Panelist (2018-Present)
- San Diego Superior Court, Civil Mediation Panelist (2016-Present)
- San Diego County Bar Association, Fee Arbitration Committee (2016-2018)
- San Diego County Bar Association, Client Relations Committee (2015-2018)
- San Diego Superior Court, Small Claims Division, Volunteer Mediator (2015-2018)
LEGAL EXPERIENCE
Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire, San Diego – Partner (2012-2018); Associate (2004-2012)
- Solo and first chair jury trial and arbitration experience. Significant experience in catastrophic injury, insurance coverage and bad faith, landslide, construction defect, aviation, medical malpractice and mass tort litigation. Helped to obtain more than $185 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients.
Murchison & Cumming, San Diego – Associate Attorney (2001-2004)
- Substantial law and motion experience, including multiple successful motions for summary judgment and demurrers. Significant experience in road design, premises liability, catastrophic injury, aviation, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Representative carriers: Chubb Insurance, The Hartford, Horace Mann Insurance.
Belcher Henzie & Biegenzahn, Los Angeles – Associate Attorney (1998-2001)
- Significant experience in product liability, aviation, catastrophic injury, insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. Representative clients: Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Cessna Aircraft Company, Robinsons-May, Progressive Insurance.
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters Super Lawyer Magazine (2014-2019)
- Top 50 in San Diego (2016)
- Top Verdict – Top 100 Settlements in California (2016)
- Top Verdict – Top 50 Personal Injury Settlements in California (2016)
- Best of the Bar, San Diego Business Journal (2014)
- San Diego Top Attorneys, San Diego Daily Transcript (2013)
ACTIVITIES AND LICENSES
- Evidence Column Editor, Trial Bar News, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego (2008-2018)
- American Inns of Court, William B. Enright Chapter, San Diego (2005-2018)
- Master Status in 2015
- Presentation Leader, “Admissibility of Electronically Stored Information” (2016); “Expert Depositions” (2016); “Jury Persuasion” (2013); “Jury Selection” (2007);
- Invited Panelist, Oral Argument Presentation: Sargon v. USC (2016)
- Invited Panelist, “Everything You Need to Know: Motions for Summary Judgment”, San Diego County Bar Association (2012)
- Admitted to practice before all California State Courts, the U.S. Central and Southern California Federal District Courts, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; Pro hac vice admission to Arizona
- Private Pilot: Single Engine Land; Instrument Rating; Complex, High Performance and Tailwheel Endorsements