Gary S. Barthel

Gary Barthel concentrates his practice in the areas of civil and criminal litigation and military law.

Mr. Barthel's civil practice includes assisting clients in matters involving sports law, contracts, collections, protective orders, property damage, personal injury, real estate, landlord tenant disputes, business litigation and government contracting.

Mr. Barthel's criminal law practice includes defending clients before civilian and military courts.  He also represents clients before military administrative separation boards, military disability evaluation boards, security clearance appeal hearings, and a variety of Veteran Administration proceedings.

Pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Mr. Barthel is frequently appointed by the California Superior Court to confirm a military member's active duty status for the court when a servicemember is a named defendant in a civil matter.

Mr. Barthel came to Higgs Fletcher & Mack with extensive litigation and leadership experience following 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.  As a Marine Corps "Mustang" he has the unique experience of having served both as an enlisted Marine and a Marine officer.  Mr. Barthel's military duties included serving with the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Athens, Greece.  Mr. Barthel also served on Secret Service details for the U.S. Secretary of State and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

During his Marine Corps career, Mr. Barthel gained extensive litigation experience as a federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.  His criminal litigation experience includes numerous jury trials for a variety of offenses including capital murder, homicides, rape, assaults, drug offenses, and fraud.  While serving with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Alexandria, Virginia, he was responsible for prosecuting drug importation cases and civilians who committed criminal offenses aboard military installations.  While serving with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Barthel gained appellate litigation experience briefing and arguing cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Later in his Marine Corps career, Mr. Barthel received his LL.M. in Military Law and served as general counsel to several Commanding Generals and their staff.  Mr. Barthel was responsible for providing legal advice and training on a variety of legal issues including the law of war, command investigations, criminal law, sexual harassment, administrative proceedings, claims made against the government, the release of government information, and government ethics.  Simultaneously, Mr. Barthel also managed the command law office comprised of 15 attorneys and 40 support staff who were responsible for providing legal services to commands, service members, retirees, and their dependents in a variety of legal areas including criminal law, contracts, real estate, landlord tenant, family law, estate planning.

Mr. Barthel has lectured on a variety of military legal topics including "Handling Media and Ethics in a High Profile Case" and has been a guest lecturer at the Naval Justice School, Newport, RI on topics involving military justice.  Mr. Barthel is also a frequent speaker in the area of amateur sports law.

Mr. Barthel is the President of the Veterans Bar Association.  He is also a member of the Military Law Committee and Co-Chair of the Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association. 

Mr. Barthel's hobbies include running, hiking, and golf.  His personal accomplishments include completing the original Marathon from Marathon, Greece to Athens, Greece, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.