Overview
Thomas Barajas is a litigation associate in Glaser Weil’s San Diego office whose practice focuses on providing effective and efficient resolution to general commercial litigation and real estate litigation matters.
Thomas approaches his work with consideration and vigor with the ultimate goal of optimizing client results. Thorough in his preparation, he offers pragmatic counsel that enables clients to make informed business decisions.
Thomas has a particular depth of experience in:
- General commercial litigation and contract disputes
- Real estate litigation
- Construction litigation
Prior to joining Glaser Weil, Thomas practiced law at a Chambers-ranked law firm in San Diego. There, Thomas worked on a range of matters, including real property disputes involving leases and purchase agreements, contract disputes involving packaging of canned beverages, and public and private construction projects. During this time, Thomas gained experience working on all aspects of litigation: propounding and responding to written discovery; drafting pre- and post-trial motions; representing clients in court; negotiating and drafting settlement agreements; and defending favorable verdicts on appeal.
During law school, Thomas served as a judicial extern to the Hon. Nita L. Stormes, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of California, and the Hon. Thomas J. Whelan, U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of California. He earned his J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law, where he graduated cum laude and also served as an associate editor on the San Diego International Law Journal.
Results
Thomas’ notable experience includes his representation of:
- A real estate company and its managing member as part of a trial team in a 22-day jury trial involving a plaintiff’s claims of breach of an option agreement for the purchase of real property, resulting in a total defense verdict for the member and minimal recovery against the holding company in an amount less than the company’s pre-trial Code of Civil Procedure 998 settlement offer (thereby flipping entitlement to attorneys’ fees and costs).*
- A real estate company in obtaining a favorable settlement against an adjacent owner of real property in a dispute involving the company’s discovery of an unrecorded encumbrance purporting to limit the company’s full beneficial use of the property.*
- A real estate company in unlawful detainer lawsuits against commercial tenants to leverage favorable settlement for each dispute.*
- A beverage co-packer in obtaining favorable settlements relating to the production and manufacture of canned beverages.*
- A prime contractor as part of a trial team in a total defense verdict for the client resulting in recovery of attorneys’ fees and court and expert costs against plaintiff.*
- A project owner in obtaining a favorable settlement on the eve of arbitration against a general contractor involving the construction of a luxury hotel.*
*Denotes prior firm experience.
Judicial Externships
- Judicial Extern to the Honorable Nita L. Stormes, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2020
- Judicial Extern to the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2019
Services
Education
- University of San Diego School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2021
- California State University, San Marcos, B.A., summa cum laude, 2017
Admissions
- California
Languages
- Spanish
