Gary S. Barthel

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

Mr. Barthel’s civil litigation practice includes cases involving breach of contract, debt collection, protective orders, property damage, personal injury, products liability, and real estate and landlord tenant disputes.

Mr. Barthel’s military law practice includes defending military service members before military courts, administrative separation boards, disability evaluation boards, and security clearance appeals.  He 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.  He is a member of the Military Law Section, San Diego County Bar Association, and a Board Member of the Veterans Bar Association.

Mr. Barthel’s sports law practice includes creating business plans and negotiating contracts involving athletes with disabilities, modeling, media production, publication rights, and amateur athletes.  He was a key organizer of the Conseil International du Sport Militarie World Wrestling Championships and was responsible for all matters concerning delegations from 13 countries that participated in the Military World Wrestling Championships.  Mr. Barthel is currently Co-Chairperson for the San Diego County Bar Association, Entertainment and Sports Law Section and frequently speaks on a variety of topics including “Prosecuting Stalking Cases Involving Celebrities” and “Preservation of Amateur Athlete Status.”

Mr. Barthel came to Higgs, Fletcher & Mack with extensive litigation and leadership experience following 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He served with the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Athens, Greece.  He 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, drugs and rape.  While serving with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Alexandria, Virginia, he gained appellate litigation experience briefing and arguing cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.  Mr. Barthel also has extensive experience with military administrative proceedings. As general counsel to several Commanding Generals and their staff he was responsible for providing legal advice and training on a variety of military issues including command investigations, criminal law, administrative separations, claims against the government, and release of government information.  Simultaneously, he managed a legal office comprised of 15 attorneys who were responsible for providing legal services to commands, service members, retirees, and their dependants in a variety of legal areas including criminal law, contracts, real estate, landlord tenant, family law, and estate planning.

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.

• LL.M., Military Law, The Judge Advocate General’s School, U.S. Army at University of Virginia (1999)
• J.D., Whittier College School of Law (1986)
• B.A., Augsburg College (1983)

• California
• Minnesota
• U.S. District Court
• U.S. Courts for the Armed Services

• State Bar of California
• State Bar of Minnesota
• American Bar Association
• San Diego County Bar Association
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers of San Diego
• Defense Research Institute
• Association of Southern California Defense Counsel
• Sports Lawyers Association
• Veterans Bar Association