A Tradition of Service

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek believes in community service—a tradition maintained with dedication since our firm was founded. Our attorneys and staff take pride in volunteering and serving on boards and committees of a wide range of organizations, from social services and the arts, to health care and civic organizations. We also provide financial support to a substantial number of such organizations.

We Stand Behind San Diego®

Community Service Spotlights

San Diego Blood Bank

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek is proud to be an active supporter of the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB), a critical element of San Diego’s healthcare system.

SDBB is dedicated to providing a reliable supply of blood to our community, collecting approximately 100,000 units of blood products annually. An independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, SDBB serves hospitals in San Diego, Orange, Imperial and Los Angeles counties with blood transfusion products and reference laboratory services. SDBB currently operates six local donor centers and 10 bloodmobiles, hosting approximately 2,000 mobile blood drives each year. SDBB’s Cell Therapy Program provides lifesaving stem cell transplants to patients worldwide.

San Diego Blood Bank CEO David Wellis, PhD.

Junior League of San Diego

Shareholder Andrea Myers has taken our commitment to community service to heart in serving as the Fund Development Director for the Junior League of San Diego, an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Andrea designed and re-launched the organization’s Food & Wine Festival into a new multi-faceted signature fundraiser. Under Andrea’s leadership, The Junior League of San Diego Food and Wine Festival: A Kentucky Derby Affair! drew even more chefs, breweries and wineries from all over the area. Leveraging media partnerships to increase pre-event exposure and giving a greater role to corporate sponsors and partners via year-long contracts, Andrea’s team exceeded expectations by increasing overall revenue by 142 percent over the past three years. Tickets now sell out prior to the event and attendance has doubled. The Food & Wine Festival held annually in May, has been such a success that the efforts of the Junior League of San Diego were nationally recognized at the 93rd Annual Conference of The Association of Junior Leagues International.

San Diego Symphony

One of our most enjoyable programs is our sponsorship of San Diego Symphony violinist Pei-Chin Tsai through the Symphony’s Partner with a Player program. Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek has been an enthusiastic Partner with a Player since 2004, and has sponsored Ms. Tsai since 2012.

Pei-Chin Tsai and SCMV President Bob Caplan

Building Strong Relationships

Whether you are a San Diego-based organization, a company doing business in the San Diego region, or an individual with complex estate planning issues, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek has the experience and expertise to represent your interests. With over seven decades of counseling businesses and individuals, we deliver the highest-quality service to our clients, regardless of the complexity of the legal issue.

Our clients include large national and international firms, mid-size and small business enterprises, public and private-held companies, non-profits, families, and individuals. 

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek‘s commitment to client focus and providing the best representation possible led us to organize into industry groups in addition to legal practice areas. These industry groups cut across practice areas and legal specialties, and reflect our firm’s long-held belief, borne out by experience, that the practice of law is centered on helping clients achieve the best possible outcomes.

We invite you to read about some of the successful relationships we have built and maintained with our clients.

San Diego Aviators

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek is proud to represent the San Diego Aviators, our local World Team Tennis (WTT) franchise and act as a sponsor to the organization. The winning Aviators team plays on center court at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, with seating for 1,400 fans. The Aviators is one of eight teams across the U.S. in the WTT league.

In addition to offering exciting tennis matches featuring world renowned players, the Aviators also have programs for children and adults.

The Ambassador Program is built for high school and college students to learn about working with a professional tennis team. Participants help spread the word about the Aviators, sell tickets, and help on match days. The team also has opening for ball kids to help during the matches. Adults volunteers are always needed and very welcomed.

The Aviators 2020 season opens in July. If you are looking for a fun family activity, we encourage you to take in a match and root on the San Diego team.

Bartell Hotels

Bartell Hotels’ Richard Bartell and SCMV’s Brian Seltzer

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek has proudly represented San Diego hotel owner/operator Bartell Hotels since 1995.  Brian Seltzer, shown here with Bartell President and CEO Richard Bartell, leads the SCMV team providing real estate, corporate, land use, tax and estate planning services to the Bartell family. The family owned business, founded in 1967, owns and operates a number of iconic San Diego hotel properties, including Humphreys Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island, awarded "Favorite Staycation Location" in the San Diego Union Tribune's "Best of" Reader's Choice Poll for 2017.

 

Grossmont Center

SCMV's Matt Seltzer & Grossmont Center’s Nik Parrish

We were honored to represent regional shopping mall Grossmont Center in a transaction recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Top Real Estate Deals of 2015 – in fact, it was named the Most Innovative Deal of the Year.  In that deal, attorney Matt Seltzer represented Rainbow Investment Co., the owner of Grossmont Center and a neighboring medical office project and the company’s principals, long-time clients Stephen and Larry Cushman, in negotiating more than 100 leases over the course of nearly two years with such tenants as Target, Wal-Mart, Sports Authority, CVS, Reading Cinemas and Barnes & Noble.

Grossmont Center has served the San Diego community from its La Mesa location since 1961. With 100 distinctive stores, over 20 restaurants, 10 large movie screens and unique events throughout the year, the center continues to be a favorite destination for generations of San Diegans.
 

Torrey Pines Bank

Torrey Pines Bank executives (l-r):
Gary Cady, Francesca Castagnola, John Maguire

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek has been honored to represent Torrey Pines Bank for 11 years. Founded in 2003, Torrey Pines Bank is focused on providing customers with direct access to local experts who can help advance their businesses and the local economy. The bank has 11 offices throughout San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. It is a recipient of the Peak Performance Award (National University School of Business), one of only 35 California banks recognized by the Findley Reports for achieving “Super Premier” performance and recently received a “Superior” ranking, the highest category and “simply the best by all measures” (IDC Management’s fourth quarter report of Bank Management Review). Executives attribute the bank’s success to its prudent banking practices, financial capacity, strong focus on customers and commitment to providing them with leading bankers who hail from the areas in which they serve.

“As a division of a $10 billion bank, Torrey Pines Bank has the capacity and flexibility to accommodate middle market businesses with the same high level of personalized service on which we have built our strong reputation,” said CEO Gary Cady. “Our service is our calling card, and we are committed to addressing the diverse needs of local organizations.”

Our Professionals

At Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, we pride ourselves on our collegial work environment, our dedication to performance of the highest level of professional work, and our commitment to integrity in the practice of law.

We recognize that long-term relationships with clients remain an important anchor in the practice of law, and our attorneys are encouraged to nurture client relationships. Our attorneys aspire to become trusted advisors and advocates for the diverse individual and corporate clients who seek our counsel in virtually all areas of the law. Both our litigation and business transactional practice groups are thriving, and we have an abundance of interesting and important legal work.

We are dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity and diversity. By making those principles a top priority, we have created a work environment based on respect and inclusion, allowing us to capitalize the potential of all employees. Please read the San Diego County Bar Association’s Diversity Pledge* which we have signed.

In building and continuing to grow our firm, we seek to hire experienced attorneys who can add strength, depth or a new dimension to our practice, and capabilities for client service.  We also seek to attract recent law school graduates who not only are (or wish to become) consummate professionals, but also bring important personal dimensions to the practice of law.

While our attorneys have top-flight professional resumes, we particularly seek to recruit well-rounded individuals who will contribute energy, creativity, initiative, diligence, and good judgment to the practice of law, and the service of clients. We actively encourage our young attorneys to take on increasing levels of responsibility and leadership as soon as they are ready, able, and willing to do so.

San Diego is the nation’s eighth largest city and aptly calls itself “America’s Finest City.” The climate and quality of life here are unparalleled, and the economy is diverse and growing. The city is a technology hub, with many private and publicly held technology companies headquartered here.  San Diego’s moderate year-round climate encourages outdoor sports such as tennis, golf, fishing, hiking, bicycling, surfing, swimming, and sailing. Our city is home to several outstanding four-year universities and is recognized as a fine arts mecca. We are proud of our community and immensely enjoy living and practicing law in San Diego.

*The San Diego County Bar Association created a Diversity Pledge in 2007, to serve as a guideline for fostering diversity within the legal profession in San Diego and to re-focus efforts within the legal profession on promoting diversity in the hiring, retention and advancement of attorneys within law firms and corporate legal departments and emphasizing diversity in leadership positions.

Commitment & Trust

At Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek, we understand that legal issues are often difficult. As a client of our firm, you will be treated with respect. We believe that the practice of law is about learning all we can about our clients’ businesses, and helping clients as both attorneys and trusted advisors.

From the first strategy session, you will be a vital part of the decision-making process, including staffing, priorities, and costs, and you will receive ongoing, high-level communication throughout our work with you. Our attorneys are fully committed to finding the best possible outcome that meets your goals.

While we pride ourselves in keeping our clients from the anguish and expense of litigation whenever possible, when necessary, our litigation attorneys are known for their skilled and aggressive courtroom representation.

We are here to help our clients with many of their legal needs. Given our broad range of legal services, we can assist clients with business, personal, and family related matters. This allows you, when the need arises, to work with a law firm that you know and trust.

Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek believes our clients deserve every advantage, so we have invested significantly in technology to ensure your needs are met in a timely, cost-effective, and efficient manner. In a profession where precision and speed can make all the difference, we make it a priority to keep up with technology, and our clients gain the advantages a technological edge brings to the legal arena.

More than 70 Years of Client & Community Service

Since our founding by Norman Seltzer and Ben Rubin in 1948, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek has served as dedicated advocates for our clients and the San Diego community.  Mr. Seltzer and Mr. Rubin initially focused on real property matters and quickly became known as the premier real estate and land-use attorneys in San Diego. Over the years, as the legal needs of our clients expanded, we also expanded by adding attorneys and practice areas ranging from litigation to estate planning, tax, intellectual property, cross-border and business law, plus many others.

Today, one-half of our shareholder attorneys have been with Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek for 20 years or more. Mr. Seltzer’s son, Brian Seltzer, is a shareholder, our Chief Executive officer and Chairman of the Board, and Mr. Seltzer’s grandson, Matthew Seltzer, is also a shareholder.

Mr. Seltzer believed in being active in the community, a legacy that continues today at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek.  Mr. Seltzer served on numerous boards throughout his life, including the City of San Diego’s Park and Recreation Board, the University of San Diego School of Law, San Diego Community Foundation, Mercy Hospital Foundation, and the City of San Diego’s Charter Revision Commission.  Our firm’s attorneys have continued Mr. Seltzer’s legacy of community service and involvement by actively participating in many civic, charitable, and legal organizations. A proud supporter of San Diego arts, it was fitting when our firm moved to the San Diego Symphony Towers in 1991.

As one of the largest and oldest San Diego–based law firms, Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek is an acknowledged leader in the representation of businesses and families locally, nationally, and internationally.

Trusted Advisors

Since our founding in 1948, our attorneys have continued to set industry benchmarks for client dedication, expertise, value, and success. Businesses, families, and individuals repeatedly turn to SCMV to serve as their trusted advisors.

As member of the Law Firm Alliance, a worldwide organization of carefully-selected law firms, we provide quality representation around the globe that rivals that of any international law firm.

Our highly talented attorneys and staff are committed to taking the best approach to achieve meaningful results. We scale our services to meet the particular goals of each client by communicating directly and frequently with our clients and staying active and hands-on in all matters. 

SCMV attorneys represent the values we see in our successful clients - strong character, entrepreneurial drive, and dedicated community leadership. Our firm is proud to give back to our community through volunteerism, pro bono work, and financial support of numerous nonprofit and civic organizations. SCMV stands behind many of the most important civic, business, and legal organizations in our community. 

We strive for a diverse workplace that reflects the communities and clients we serve. Young attorneys are drawn to our firm by the opportunity to work side-by-side with seasoned professionals while learning to be future legal and community leaders. 

Our attorneys understand the importance of the work we do, and we are honored that many clients have put their trust in SCMV for seven decades. We take pride in being one of San Diego’s oldest and most recognized law firms, and we look forward to serving our clients for decades to come.