Luke Wagner concentrates his practice on civil litigation, including general liability, premises liability, and personal injury matters. He has experience litigating complex, multi-party and high-exposure cases and has handled all phases of litigation, including pleadings, discovery, depositions, motion practice and mediation. Luke has represented clients in both plaintiff and defense matters and has experience managing litigation strategy, communicating with opposing counsel and preparing carrier reports and legal briefs.

In addition, Luke has experience handling wage and hour class action matters and brings a strong background in legal technology and data analysis. He has worked extensively with eDiscovery platforms and has experience implementing artificial intelligence tools in legal practice, as well as developing data-driven workflows to improve efficiency and case management.

Prior to joining Segal McCambridge, Luke practiced with California-based litigation firms where he handled civil defense matters involving personal injury, premises liability, habitability and construction defect claims, as well as plaintiff-side employment class actions. Earlier in his career, he worked as an eDiscovery consultant for a Fortune 500 company, managing large-scale data review and production for complex litigation matters, and also served as a hearing officer handling unemployment claims and issuing rulings following formal proceedings.

Luke earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he concentrated in business and corporate law and served as an Articles Editor for the San Diego International Law Journal. He also holds an LL.M. in taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law and a B.A. in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also achieved a perfect score in Stanford’s online Machine Learning Course hosted by Coursera, which is designed for Silicon Valley AI software engineers. 

Luke lives in Orange County, California near where he grew up. He loves the great outdoors and volunteers weekly with his church’s special needs ministry.

Honors

  • Coursera Machine Learning Course, Stanford Online, perfect score, 2020
  • Wiley W. Manuel Award for providing pro bono legal services to the poor or disadvantaged, 2019
  • Winner of Tax Analysts Annual Student Writing Competition, 2016
  • Eagle Scout, Bronze Palm, 2009

Professional & Civic Involvement

  • California Bar Association
  • Mariners Church Special Needs Ministry volunteer, 2024 – Present

Practice Highlights

  • Secured transfer of a wrongful death action involving a trucking accident with multiple fatalities from California to Oregon, significantly reducing potential exposure based on applicable state law.
  • Defended a wrongful death matter involving allegations initially suspected to be terrorism, resulting in dismissal of criminal implications and favorable civil resolution following investigation and discovery.
  • Defended a wrongful death case involving a pedestrian fatality, including deposition of responding law enforcement and development of liability defenses based on accident circumstances.
  • Represented a class of nurses in a wage and hour action against a medical facility involving unpaid work claims.

Publications

  • “Crisis and Deferral: How World Events Influence Subpart F,” Tax Notes, 2016