Welcome to the Board
The CCCBA welcomed four new members to its board of directors for 2019.
Cary McReynolds
Cary McReynolds has practiced as the principal of CDM LAW in Danville since 2012. His practice is centered in litigation—primarily real estate, construction, and business—and general legal matters for his varied client base. In all matters, Cary leverages technology in minimizing client costs to maximize results.
Cary moved from Southern California to Contra Costa County during high school. He attended University of California at Los Angeles, where he graduated in 1994 with a B.A. in Economics. At the University of Oregon, School of Law, Cary interned for the Hon. Albert E. Radcliffe, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon. Upon graduation in 1997, he took the California Bar and served as the Compliance Officer and General Counsel for SIFE, a billion-dollar mutual fund, until its sale in 2002.
Cary then practiced at the Solid Waste and Land Use firm Anderson and Bonnifield in Concord. Thereafter he joined Peterson, Martin & Reynolds, a boutique litigation firm in San Francisco, focusing on real estate broker defense.
In addition to serving on the CCCBA Board of Directors, Cary is an Independent Director for Newton Center, an IRC 501(c)(3) California nonprofit benefit corporation providing after-school education and enrichment programs. As well, he volunteers as a discovery facilitator and pro tem judge for Contra Costa County.
Cary, his wife Michelle, and son Chase, along with their two German Shepherds Maya and Ella, live in Lafayette where you will often find him cooking meats on his smoker, building bicycles, and ever-upgrading his stereo equipment.
Cary is honored to serve on the CCCBA Board of Directors where he will commit himself to continuing the excellence of prior CCCBA boards.
David Pearson
David Pearson is an attorney with a wealth of experience obtained over his 27-year career. After graduating from University of Nevada-Reno, where he met his wife, David attended U.C. Hastings and then worked at a law firm in Fresno, California where he primarily handled insurance defense matters centered on bodily injury cases and construction defect matters. He also was the only associate to work with the one non-insurance defense partner who represented most of the large single-family homebuilders in Fresno handling their corporate and real estate transactional matters. This started him on his career representing businesses and their owners as outside general counsel handling both litigation and transactional matters.
Since striking out on his own in 1996, David has represented businesses in numerous fields. Over the years, David has defended clients against class action wage and hour matters, numerous commercial cases both in Superior Court and in binding arbitration and has handled many merger and acquisition matters on both the buy and sell sides in addition to day-to-day contract review and drafting, entity formation, and general business advice.
David has been long involved in giving back to the community. He has been a Rotarian since 2003. He has been extensively involved with the CCCBA having been President of both the Solo/Small Firm practice and Business sections. He served as an editorial board member and Co-Editor of the Contra Costa Lawyer over 15 years and is one of the board members for the Fee Arbitration Committee. David serves the Contra Costa County Superior Court as a discovery facilitator. David is a current member and past president of the Robert G. McGrath American Inns of Court, Contra Costa County’s branch of the American Inns of Court.
David and his wife Rita live in Walnut Creek with their two dogs and their daughter’s cat, at least until their daughter graduates from Saint Mary’s College in 2019 and can take her cat with her.
Michael S. Pierson
Michael S. Pierson has been practicing law in Contra Costa County since 2011. He is a partner at Key Counsel, P.C., which has offices in Walnut Creek and Antioch. His firm focuses in the areas of civil litigation, criminal, probate, conservatorship and guardianships. In addition to his admission to the California Bar, Michael is also admitted to practice in the United States Federal Court in both the Northern and Eastern Districts.
Michael is a Bay Area native, who grew up in Oakland and San Jose. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he worked in the entertainment industry in the areas of music, film, and gaming. He was fortunate enough to work with some of the biggest names and companies in entertainment.
Michael is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his B.A. in Political Science. He earned his law degree from John F. Kennedy University School of Law. As a proud graduate of JFKU, Michael returned to the School of Law as an employee. During his employment with the University, Michael was very active in the recruitment and development of many current and future Contra Costa County attorneys and served in the position as a law professor of legal writing and research.
Michael is also an active member of the CCCBA and a member of the Criminal Law, Barristers, Estate Planning & Probate, and Litigation sections. Michael is an active member of the Robert G. McGrath American Inns of Court and other civic organizations. He is very active in his community and enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.
Rachael Zeiph
Rachael Zeiph has been practicing Family Law since 1998. She is a San Francisco native, and has lived in the Bay Area all her life. She is the proud parent of two children, Sophia and William.
Rachael attended San Francisco State University and received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a concentration on Criminal Justice in 1995. She graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude.
Rachael obtained her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1998. One fun fact about Rachael, the hospital where she was born was literally across the street from USF law school! Obtaining a law degree was a lifelong dream for Rachael, though becoming an attorney was her “third career” having worked in the insurance industry, and public relations/marketing for a major Silicon Valley firm prior to her entry into the legal profession.
Rachael served two terms on the CCCBA Family Law Section and ran the Brown Bag Lunch Series for several years. The Brown Bag Lunch Series was a free program for attorneys, therapists and other professionals in the family law field to receive updated education on various issues.
Outside of her professional life, Rachael currently serves on the Acalanes Boosters Board. She has also spent numerous years working with the Cub Scouts as the Advancement Chairperson. She has been a supportive mother of her children in sports, particularly enjoying the eight years of baseball her son played with Pleasant Hill Baseball Association.
Rachael enjoys spending time with her children (one teenager left!), walking and hiking with her dogs Daisy & Blue, and is an avid quilter.