Samantha E. Dorey

Litigation

Irvine

Samantha Dorey is a founding partner of Everett Dorey LLP, a full-service civil litigation firm known for representing a diverse clientele, including multi-national corporations, non-profits, cities, public agencies and school districts.

Her expertise lies in complex civil litigation, where she specializes in catastrophic injury, public entity defense, employment law, mass tort, asbestos litigation and environmental law.

Her career was notably influenced by her time working in chambers with 4th District Court of Appeal Justice Kathleen O'Leary, who Dorey said, "showed me early in my career the power of unapologetically owning your space at the table and valuing your own voice and legal instinct."

Dorey's legal acumen was on full display in a high-profile case representing the city of Costa Mesa.

"As trial counsel for the city of Costa Mesa ... we successfully defended city ordinances which hold sober living providers accountable to their vulnerable clients and our community," she said. "When the ordinances were challenged by the for-profit sober living home industry, the jury returned a unanimous defense in favor of the city of Costa Mesa."

The plaintiff argued that these ordinances discriminated against individuals battling addiction, but Dorey effectively led the jury to understand that the ordinances were designed to protect, rather than discriminate against, the residents of sober living homes. The jury ultimately returned a defense verdict, affirming the city's position and the ordinances' intent to benefit those suffering from addiction.

"This was a 'must win' trial for the city, its constituents and cities throughout the state of California impacted by this highly publicized issue," Dorey said. "The city of Costa Mesa's ordinance was being targeted in eight separate federal lawsuits, while other cities in the County and State wanted to implement similar ordinances but feared the prohibitive expense of lengthy, expensive litigation. Cities throughout the state were relying on Costa Mesa to take on the burden to defend the constitutionality of the ordinances, which are necessary to protect the very population that the sober living home industry serves."

In addition to her caseload, Dorey serves on the board of directors for the Public Law Center, a nonprofit providing free legal services to low-income residents and other nonprofits in Orange County.