Joan E. Lewis-Heard

Senior Associate

Joan Lewis- Heard, Esq. started practicing law in 1986 and has litigated all types of civil cases including employment law, real estate, personal injury, and business litigation matters.  Having represented and defended everything from Fortune 500 corporations to start-up "mom & pop" businesses, Joan has gained a wealth of knowledge enabling her to assist any community Association of any size in litigation of nearly every type of matter that may arise in community associations. Evidence of Joan's expertise is ample in her writings, found on SwedelsonGottlieb's HOA Law Blog, and her numerous successful trial "wins":

• Condo or HOA Foreclosed-What To Do With Abandoned Property In California
• Renting Storage Space to Owners
• How to Perfect an Assignment of Rents Clause in CC&Rs

Joan has litigated and obtained defense verdicts while defending large and small cases and has prosecuted both large and small cases, the largest having the distinction of one of the top 10 verdicts in California and one of the top 50 in the country in 2001. 

Whether the Association is large or small and whether the monetary impact is large or small, Joan realizes every issue is important to those associations and their Boards involved in litigation and gives her utmost attention to every detail. 

As a former professor of appellate advocacy as an Adjunct Law Professor at Loyola Law School, Joan uses her appellate skills in her litigation practice, having brought and responded to numerous matters in the Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court. Joan's standing as a superior attorney was confirmed in 2014, having been named in the February 2014 issue of the International Top 100 magazine as one of the top 100 lawyers throughout the country.

Joan was raised in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, and attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where she graduated with honors, with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983.  Joan obtained her Juris Doctor from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1986 and was admitted to the California Bar also in 1986. She is also admitted to practice before the federal United States District Courts for the Central, Northern, Southern, and Eastern districts of California. When not at the office, Joan enjoys a good episode of General Hospital and spending time with her family.

Contact Joan at [email protected] or 800.372.2207 x203.