Gary Schons
Of Counsel, Best Best and KriegerPrior to joining BB&K, Gary served as deputy district attorney and senior advisor for Law & Policy in the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. In this role, he advised the District Attorney and her executive staff on legal, public integrity, legislative and policy issues and provided legal assistance to all 300 deputy district attorneys in the office.
From 2010-2016, Gary served as trial counsel for the Commission on Judicial Performance. He was responsible for conducting all formal proceedings initiated by the Commission to impose discipline on judges and other judicial officers in California.
From 1976-2011, Gary was a member of the Criminal Division of the California Attorney General’s Office in San Diego. During his career there, he served as deputy attorney general in the Appeals, Writs & Trial Section, in the Special Prosecutions Unit and as head of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit, which he established. Gary was cross-designated as a special assistant United States Attorney in the Central and Southern districts of California. In 1991, the Attorney General promoted Gary to senior assistant attorney general and head of the Criminal Division in San Diego. In that role, he supervised 75 deputy attorneys general who handled felony appeals and habeas corpus and trial matters, including numerous public integrity-related prosecutions. The office handled some 1,500 cases annually and was responsible for more than 200 death penalty appeals.
Gary is an active member of the California District Attorneys Association, lecturing and authoring articles for the association. He is also active in the San Diego County Bar Association, where he served on the Judicial Elections Evaluation and Legal Ethics committees. Gary is a long time member of the University of San Diego School of Law Board of Visitors and past president of the Law Alumni Association. He is admitted to practice law in the State of California.