Who Are We?

Warren C. Dean, Jr.

Founding Partner

Warren C. Dean has served as a California State Bar delegate, a faculty member for the Hastings College of Trial Advocacy, and a regular CEB panelist on liability litigation matters for over 20 years.  He has been a member of Orange County Trial Lawyers Association for several years and is a long time member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.  He is a consultant author of the torts section of the Bancroft-Whitney treatise, California Civil Practice, and has been regularly recognized as one of California’s Super Lawyers (2006-present).    Warren C. Dean, Jr. received his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 1973.  His undergraduate degree is in business from Cal. State Fullerton, where he was also a member of the intercollegiate basketball team.   

Warren C. Dean, Jr. is a founding partner at Rigg & Dean.  The first 22 years of his practice involved liability defense work including emphasis in product liability cases.  The firm grew to over 25 attorneys.  For the last 16 years Warren C. Dean, Jr. has been a sole practitioner limiting his practice to plaintiff’s personal injury matters involving serious injuries and death.

Dennis K Wheeler

Of Counsel

Mr. Wheeler has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1982 and served on the Board of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel from 1990 to 1994.  Mr. Wheeler has tried over 50 cases to verdict.  Dennis K. Wheeler received his Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California in 1972 and his undergraduate degree in Economics/International Relations from the same university in 1969. Dennis K. Wheeler is Of Counsel at Rigg & Dean.  The first 38 years of his practice involved libility defense work with an emphasis on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, school district litigation and general liability litigation.  Mr. Wheeler was the managing partner of Haight, Brown & Bonesteel from 2005 to 2010 and retired from the firm in January of 2011.  He then joined his law school classmate Warren C. Dean, Jr in his solo practice representing plaintiffs in personal injury matters involving serious injury and death.

Martha Binder

Attorney

Martha Binder received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1983 from Albion College in Albion, Michigan.  She thereafter received a teaching credential from California State University, Long Beach.  After several years of teaching elementary school, she obtained a paralegal certificate.  She began a career as a paralegal for Rigg and Dean in 1989.  She became motivated a few years later to attend law school.  She graduated from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California in 1996 where she earned two American Jurisprudence awards for Criminal Law and Legal Writing.  She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1997 and has remained working with Rigg and Dean for over 23 years.  She enjoys her direct contact with clients, plaintiffs in personal injury matters and having a role in helping them get back on their feet after suffering, in many cases, serious and life threatening injuries.  Apart from the law practice, Martha is married with two children and is active in both road and mountain biking.  She is a participant with a road cycling club with weekly training rides and periodic challenge rides.