Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP partner Erika Contreras and attorney Lyssa Roberts have been named to the Daily Journal’s 2026 Top Women Lawyers list. The annual recognition honors more than 100 of California’s most accomplished women attorneys for their outstanding achievements and leadership in the legal profession.
In its profile of Ms. Contreras, the Daily Journal highlighted her work in personal injury litigation, including a recent confidential $4.9 million settlement she secured on behalf of a motorcyclist whose path was obstructed by a minivan that entered a major roadway from a driveway and blocked his right of way. The client, a 50-year-old assembly-line worker, struggled to articulate the lasting impact of his injuries due in part to cultural inhibitions.
“In California, a lot of clients speak Spanish, and my fluency in that language helps me establish a cultural and linguistic connection,” Ms. Contreras told the Daily Journal. “It was painful for him, but we drew out the suffering he continued to experience and how he struggled with mobility issues. We got him to talk about what that meant to him. The settlement we achieved left him able to help his family and himself.”
The Daily Journal’s feature on Ms. Roberts focused on her leadership in high-profile wildfire litigation. She currently serves on the Steering Committees in both the Eaton Fire and Maui Fire litigations and discussed how her experiences representing disaster victims have shaped her approach to advocacy.
Ms. Roberts reflected on working with families who lost loved ones in the 2017 Thomas Fire and the subsequent Montecito mudslides, describing how those cases transformed the way she approaches damages presentations.
“The stories were unlike anything I have ever heard in my career,” Ms. Roberts told the Daily Journal.
Over several years, she worked closely with survivors to document the lives of those who died and helped develop innovative methods for presenting non-economic damages, often through compelling video evidence. The litigation ultimately resulted in significant settlements for the affected families.
“I use my voice to speak for people in the worst moment of their lives,” Ms. Roberts said.
Subscribers can learn more about the Daily Journal’s 2026 Top Women Lawyers at dailyjournal.com.