Margaret L. Sell

Margaret Sell is a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. Ms. Sell has engaged in the practice of law for over 25 years. She focuses her practice on subrogation, product liability, warranty, construction and commercial litigation.  Ms. Sell has represented insurance companies, manufacturers and suppliers of automobiles, pumps, guns, storage units, and various automotive parts, including tires, mufflers and brakes. She has represented the same major automotive manufacturer for many years.

Ms. Sell has obtained positive results on behalf of her clients in cases involving fires, floods and other forms of property damage.  She has represented insurers, owners, manufacturers, suppliers, developers, general contractors, grading and excavation suppliers and contractors, heating and air conditioning contractors, electrical contractors, tile manufacturers and contractors, roofing contractors, window manufacturers and many others involved in both residential and commercial construction.

Ms. Sell has successfully represented landlords in disputes filed in multiple jurisdictions following strict rent ordinance laws, such as San Francisco and Berkeley, California.  She has also represented manufacturers, suppliers and contractors in the automotive, refrigeration, refinery, air conditioning and construction industries.  She is regularly able to obtain minimal settlements in the Lemon Law matters she handles for her automotive client, and obtained voluntary dismissals or minimal settlements in the asbestos cases she previously handled for the manufacturers and suppliers of automotive parts, refrigeration units, compressors, boilers, air conditioning units, gears, couplings and stress relief products.

While in law school, Ms. Sell served as an intern in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.  She also served as an intern for Justice Timothy A. Reardon of the California Court of Appeals.

Ms. Sell began her practice with the San Francisco firm, Lynch, Gilardi & Grummer, where she was successful in the defense of many clients in construction and products liability, personal injury and employment litigation. She then switched to the other side of the table and worked with the firm of Grotefeld Denenberg, where she successfully represented insurance companies in the pursuit of subrogation recovery arising out of fire, water and other property damage losses. Ms. Sell then returned to the defense world when she joined the San Francisco office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis.  In 2016, Ms. Sell became a partner at, and later an owner of, the San Rafael firm of Parton & Sell.  Most recently, in 2021, Ms. Sell returned to subrogation when she joined Grotefeld Hoffmann, where she has resumed her successful representation of various insurance companies in their pursuit of subrogation recovery arising out of fire, water and other property damage losses.