Patricia L. Glaser

She knows how to pick and choose her battles - but if she goes to trial, Glaser said she's always ready for a fight.

"If you don't like to fight, then I think you might be a nicer person than I am, but I think you're at a disadvantage," said Glaser, a partner and litigation department head at Glaser Weil. "To be arguably successful as a trial lawyer, you need to enjoy the fight to some extent."

The tough litigator lives up to her talk. This year, she won two unanimous jury verdicts and one bench verdict in three related wrongful termination and wage and hour disputes filed against Herb Simon, real estate magnate and owner of the Indiana Pacers. The jury verdicts came back after less than an hour of deliberation, she said. Du Jacques v. Simon et al., BC435462 (L.A. County Super. Ct., filed April 8, 2010) and Young et al. v. Simon et al., BC433329, BC434287 (L.A. County Super. Ct., filed March 22, 2010).

Glaser said her success in the case was a "product of being right."

"Our client was fortunate to have the means to fight cases we thought had no factual or legal underpinnings," she said.

But for Glaser, every case she handles is just as significant as the next. She wouldn't rank Simon's litigation above a $27.8 million judgment she secured for Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry Nicholas in a suit with a real estate developer. FBP Investments LP et al. v. Sea Prestigio LLC et al., 30-2010-00420336 (Orange County Super. Ct., filed Oct. 27, 2010).

And, she said, Nicholas' case doesn't trump her litigation on behalf of legal services site LegalZoom.com Inc., which is suing competitor Rocket Lawyer Inc. for alleged false and misleading advertising, trademark infringement and unfair competition. LegalZoom.com v. Rocket Lawyer, CV12-9942 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 20, 2012).

"Every case a client brings me and I accept is an important case, because it's important to them," Glaser said.

- Kylie Reynolds