About Us

Firm History & Philosophy

Nettesheim Law (formerly Nettesheim & Nettesheim) was founded by Christoph and Christine Nettesheim in 2004.  They met in law school in 1993 and were married in 1994.  Their practice is based in Ventura, California and they litigate cases in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and throughout California.  Since late 2014, the firm name changed to simply Nettesheim Law.

In 1992, the California Legislature formally recognized that a significant number of elders and dependent adults have disabilities, including mental and verbal limitations, which make them unable to ask for help and protection.  It declared that, because elders and dependant adults are especially vulnerable, they are more subject to abuse, neglect, and abandonment.  It passed the Elder and Dependant Adult Civil Protection Act, which proclaimed that California has a responsibility to protect its elders and dependant adults and it called on California's attorneys to take up this worthy cause.

At Nettesheim Law, we believe that the elders in our society should be protected and revered.  We believe that seniors have the right to respect and dignity as they age, no matter how vulnerable they may be.  Our attorneys are committed to vindicating the rights of elders and to preventing elder abuse by providing compassionate legal representation for seniors and their families.  We are dedicated to educating seniors, their families, health care providers, and other attorneys about elder abuse law, elder abuse prevention resources, and the signs of elder abuse.

For further information, please see our elder abuse and long-term care facilities, financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, resources for consumers, and resources for California lawyers pages.

Our Attorneys

Christoph T. Nettesheim

Firm member Christoph T. Nettesheim focuses his practice on personal injury, elder abuse, nursing home abuse and neglect, and financial elder abuse litigation.  Mr. Nettesheim was admitted to practice law in California in 1995 and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.  He earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1995 and his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Services degree from Georgetown University in 1988.

Mr. Nettesheim is a founding ambassador advocate for CANHR, the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.  Mr. Nettesheim has also been a member of the National Center on Elder Abuse, the Ventura County Bar Association, the Ventura Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the American Inns of Court.  He was a co-founder of the Public Interest Law Foundation at Loyola Law School where he won the American Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Law.  Mr. Nettesheim is fluent in English and has some proficiency in both German and Spanish.

In 2008, Mr. Nettesheim was nominated Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association.  He is a regular speaker at legal conferences on the subject of elder abuse, including for the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, for the CPA/Law Society, and for the American Inns of Court.

Mr. Nettesheim has had published Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions in both elder abuse and business litigation, including: Covenant Care v. Superior Court (Inclan) (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 928, 107 Cal.Rptr.2nd 291 (which was ultimately reviewed and affirmed by the Supreme Court at 32 Cal.4 771 (2004)); Berti v. Santa Barbara Beach Properties, LP (2006) 145 Cal.4th 74, (rev. denied 2007); S.B. Beach Properties v. Berti (2006) 39 Cal.4th 374.