David J. Noonan
INDUSTRY LEADER
David J. Noonan has amassed an impressive career over four decades, successfully representing high profile clients, receiving numerous recognitions from distinguished organizations and serving in leadership positions in San Diego’s major legal organizations.
Before becoming one of the founding partners of Noonan Lance Boyer & Banach, he was a founding partner at the award-winning law firm of Kirby Noonan Lance & Hoge, where he managed a diverse client roster that included America’s Cup yacht races, professional athletes, Fortune 500 companies and a former Playmate of the Year. He has an impressive trial record, having represented corporations in defense of major antitrust, securities, banking and product liability actions. Noonan has played a vital role in securing multimillion dollar judgments for plaintiffs in complex cases involving consumer class actions, antitrust claims and professional misconduct charges.
He has served as president of the San Diego County Bar Association, the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, the San Diego County Bar Foundation and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), San Diego Chapter. Noonan is a member of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
He is a past recipient of the Daniel T. Broderick Award for trial experience and professionalism, as recognized by the four major trial organizations in San Diego. Noonan has been named one of the “Best Lawyers in America” for commercial litigation for the past 20 years and is now also listed for legal malpractice defense and Bet-the-Company Litigation. He was thrice named as San Diego Lawyer of the Year for Bet-the-Company Litigation and once as San Diego Lawyer of the Year for Legal Malpractice Defense. Super Lawyers also listed Noonan as one of the Top 10 Lawyers in San Diego in six editions.
Office
NoonanLance
701 Island Avenue, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101
Contact Info
Email: dnoonan@noonanlance.com
Phone: 619-780-0880
Fax: 619-780-0877
Education
- Syracuse University, J.D., (cum laude), 1972
- Colby College, B.A., 1969
Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Central California
- U.S. District Court, Northern California
- U.S. District Court, Southern California
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District
Industry & Community Involvement
- San Diego County Bar Association (President: 1993, Board Member: 1990-1993)
- American Bar Association
- State Bar of California
- San Diego County Bar Foundation (President: 1995, Board Member: 1990-1995)
- American Board of Trial Advocates (Inducted: 1992, President of San Diego Chapter: 2006)
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers (Inducted: 1998)
- American Inns of Court – Louis Welsh Chapter (Executive Committee Member: 1998-2009)
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program (President: 2005-2008, Board Member: 1996-present)
Awards & Recognition
- AV® Peer Review rating, Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory
- Business (Commercial) Litigation, Best Lawyers: 1995-2020, 2023
- Defense: Legal Malpractice, Best Lawyers: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024
- Bet the Company Litigation, Best Lawyers: 2007-2020, 2023, 2024
- Antitrust Law, Best Lawyers: 2020, 2023, 2024
- “San Diego Lawyer of the Year: Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants,” Best Lawyers: 2017, 2024
- “Southern California Lawyer of the Year: Bet the Company Litigation,” Best Lawyers: 2011
- “San Diego Lawyer of the Year: Bet the Company Litigation,” Best Lawyers: 2009, 2011, 2019
- Super Lawyers: 2007-2024
- Top 10 Southern California Super Lawyers – San Diego Edition: 2007-2010, 2019-2023
- Top 50 Southern California Super Lawyers – San Diego Edition: 2007-2015, 2018-2024
- “Top Lawyers,” San Diego Magazine: 2017-2018
- Daniel T. Broderick Award, awarded jointly by the San Diego Chapters of ABOTA, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Consumer Attorneys and Defense Lawyers for Professionalism and Integrity in Trial Practice
- “Lifetime Achievement: America’s Top 100 Attorneys, Southern California”
Litigation Practice Areas & Notable Cases
Antitrust
Noonan’s antitrust case experience includes successfully defending ARCO as lead counsel in one of the largest consumer class actions in California history, which sought damages for claimed antitrust in violations in the retail sale of gasoline. He also acted as co-lead counsel for a group of Fortune 500 companies in the successful prosecution of antitrust claims for recovery of overcharges due to price fixing in the copper market, and served as co-trial counsel for Sempra Energy in the Continental Forge consumer class action natural gas antitrust cases.
Professional Liability
Noonan regularly represents other attorneys and those facing professional liability issues. In an ethics/e-discovery trial, he effectively defended a group of lawyers against misconduct charges relating to document production in the much publicized Qualcomm sanctions proceedings.
Securities
Securities is an especially intricate area of litigation, as it involves many laws and often high stakes that Noonan is adept at.
Business
Business litigation is a frequent practice area for Noonan. In one case, he achieved a string of favorable judgments and verdicts on behalf of Wells Fargo and a predecessor bank, following trial in both state and federal court in representative actions brought by thousands of investors in the failed Pioneer Mortgage Company.
Bet-the-Company
Bet-the-Company litigation is a complex, high-stakes practice where the survival of a company is at risk. It is a specialty of Noonan’s and the firm’s overall, for which he has won many top awards.
Additional Practice Areas
Noonan has experience in numerous other practice areas, including class actions. For example, he successfully obtained a defense jury verdict as trial counsel for Ralphs Grocery Company in a consumer class action brought against Southern California’s three major grocery retailers that alleged price maintenance in the sale of eggs. Noonan also represented California consumers as lead trial counsel in a class action lawsuit against a manufacturer of an ephedra dietary supplement for false and misleading print and television advertisements, obtaining a judgment for $12.5 million in restitution and injunctive relief.
