Onik Ovanesian brings a wealth of courtroom experience to his civil litigation practice, honed through years of prosecuting complex felony cases as a Deputy District Attorney in both Tulare and Los Angeles Counties. He now represents public entities in high-stakes civil matters—including catastrophic personal injury, police liability, and employment law—and has handled cases involving six- to eight-figure exposure.
As a Deputy District Attorney in Tulare County, Onik was assigned to the Gang Violence Division, where he prosecuted serious and violent felony offenses, including gang related crimes and career criminal cases. His caseload included a vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run case that drew local media attention. Onik later continued his prosecutorial work in Los Angeles County, handling serious felony matters, such as unemployment insurance fraud. Over the course of his prosecutorial career, Onik tried 14 jury trials to verdict, involving charges such as arson, gang violence, driving under the influence of a drug, driving under the influence of alcohol, child abuse, assault with firearms, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, drug trafficking, possession of an assault weapon, burglary, and robbery.
Onik earned dual bachelor's degrees in Political Science and English from the University of California, Irvine, along with a minor in Conflict Resolution. He received his Juris Doctor from Southwestern Law School, where he externed for the Honorable David V. Herriford and the Honorable Georgina T. Rizk (Ret.). Onik has also served on the Southwestern Law Review and graduated with Public Service Distinction for his extensive work in the public sector. His academic achievements earned him selection to the competitive American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Fellowship Program. Through that program, he gained valuable exposure to both plaintiff and defense trial firms and shadowed the Honorable Michael L. Stern (Ret.) and the Honorable Richard E. Rico (Ret.).
Onik developed his civil litigation skills with the firm Cheong, Denove, Rowell, Bennett, and Hapuarachy, where he handled medical
malpractice, premises liability, and personal injury cases. There, he first-chaired a bench trial involving claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and stalking, in which the judge awarded the Plaintiff $250,000. Currently at Hurrell Cantrall LLP, his work focuses on representing public entities in complex civil litigation involving catastrophic injury, police litigation, and employment law.
Admissions
- California
Education
- University of California, Irvine, B.A. ; Political Science and English, 2014.
- Southwestern Law School , J.D., 2017.