Bio

Dominic Pechota

Dominic is a seasoned trial lawyer handling cases nationwide. With 21 years of civil trial practice, he serves as the managing partner of the firm’s Iowa and Minneapolis offices.

In 2025, Dominic obtained a $700,000 settlement for a client who sustained serious hand and facial injuries after tripping over a hazardous entryway at a rural Minnesota bar (despite a .217 BAC). In 2022, Dominic secured two fully collectible excess-policy jury verdicts: a $962,500 verdict in Charles City—nearly four times State Farm’s policy limit—and a $457,476 verdict in Iowa City for a client with a healed, nonsurgical compression fracture, exceeding the top pre-trial offer by more than six times.

Also in 2022, Dominic and his partner, Nick Rowley, secured a $10 million settlement for the family of a migrant worker who died after being engulfed in soybeans at an Iowa grain facility that violated OSHA regulations. Previously, in 2016, Dominic and partner Rod Ritner obtained a $1.2 million verdict against Farm Bureau Property & Casualty—the largest civil injury verdict in Winneshiek County history. In the last nine years, Dominic has secured in excess of $125 million in collected recoveries for personal injury and medical malpractice clients.

Dominic earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, receiving dual degrees in English and Political Science. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he completed a judicial externship with the Honorable Ronald E. Longstaff, former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. He is admitted to practice in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and has been granted special admission to practice in Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Illinois. Dominic previously served on the Board of Governors for the Iowa Association of Justice.

Born in Martin, South Dakota, and raised in Rapid City, Dominic enjoys coaching youth basketball, golfing, and fishing in his spare time.

Bio

Erin L. Powers

Erin Powers is a dedicated trial attorney known for her compassion, sharp legal analysis, and relentless advocacy. With nearly two decades of courtroom experience, Erin has secured landmark verdicts and settlements in cases involving wrongful death, medical malpractice, toxic exposure, and catastrophic injury.

Erin graduated in the top ten percent of her class at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, in 2006, where she honed her trial skills as a member of the nationally recognized Byrne Trial Advocacy Team. During law school, she clerked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office as a certified law clerk, handling more than 30 juvenile and adult adjudications and earning recognition for her courtroom advocacy.

Following graduation, Erin worked as a litigation associate at a Los Angeles law firm specializing in public law and complex civil litigation. She distinguished herself as both a city prosecutor and litigator, developing the strong trial foundation that would define her career.

In 2010, Erin relocated to Colorado, where she continued practicing law after being admitted to the state bar. She quickly made an impact as a county attorney, taking the lead in a complex federal civil rights case headed for trial within her first six months. Over the next six years, she advised the county sheriff’s office, built a reputation as a skilled trial lawyer, and handled high-stakes state and federal litigation.

Erin’s career is marked by high-profile results and a reputation as a fearless advocate for individuals and families harmed by corporate negligence, unsafe products, and reckless behavior.

Representative Results

• $110.8 million verdict for wrongful death in a road rage incident (San Bernardino, CA)

• $63 million verdict against Chevron Corporation for toxic exposure leading to multiple myeloma (California)

• $26 million settlement for a toddler permanently scarred by unsafe chlorine levels at a Myrtle Beach resort

• $18.5 million confidential medical malpractice settlement (Oregon)

• $15 million shop wrongful death settlement (Indiana)

• $25 million confidential post-verdict settlement

Publications & Media

• Daily Journal: $63 Million Jury Award for a Man Who Developed Cancer 
• Herald Standard: Chevron Executive Questioned by Erin Powers
• Inland Empire Law Weekly: Jury finds $110 million verdict in officer-caused fatal crash

When not at work, you will find Erin camping, off-roading, and exploring with her husband and two kids.  

Bio

Eva Silva

Bay Area native Eva Silva brings over 11 years of legal experience to her role at Schaar & Silva LLP. After earning her undergraduate degree from California State University, Hayward (now California State University, East Bay), Eva earned her JD from Santa Clara University School of Law, where she was an active participant in the school’s Moot Court and Law Review. During a summer clerkship at the personal injury law firm of Van Der Walde & Associates (now Caputo & Van Der Walde), Eva discovered her passion for personal injury law. Contrary to the negative stereotypes that many people have about personal injury practices, Eva was moved by her clients’ stories of their lives having changed—sometimes forever—in a second, due to someone else’s negligence. Feeling a strong desire to help people who had been harmed, Eva committed to practicing personal injury law, and she still feels that same drive and commitment today.

After graduating from law school, Eva stayed with Caputo & Van Der Walde for 13 years, before co-founding Schaar & Silva LLP with fellow attorney Dan Schaar in 2017. In her role as Managing Attorney, Eva combines her experience second-chairing cases, coordinating a legal research and writing department, and opposing countless Motions for Summary Judgment. Eva is a member of Consumer Attorneys of California, the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association, and the Santa Clara County Bar Association. For the past several years, she has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star – an honor reserved for 2.5% of attorneys who are under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years. In 2016, Eva and her partner Dan Schaar were nominated for the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers’ Association’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award.

When not at the office or in court, Eva enjoys spending time with her husband and two young daughters. Her interests include snowboarding and hiking, and she enjoys getting to know every one of Schaar & Silva’s clients as a person with a unique story.

Bio

Dan schaar

Dan is a trial lawyer who specializes in representing people in catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters. He only represents people. He does not represent corporations. He does not represent insurance companies. Raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, he left home and attended San Jose State University as a Division I soccer player.

After college, but before deciding to attend law school, Dan spent several years living and working on the island of Grand Cayman. During that time, he was a PADI Master SCUBA Instructor and also earned his USCG 50 Ton Master Captain’s License, logging over 5,000 SCUBA dives and over 4,500 hours at sea.

After returning stateside, he earned his JD from Santa Clara University, where he served as President of the Student Bar Association and was also a member of the school’s Trial Team, which was limited to ten members. During law school, Dan had the opportunity to intern with the Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender. Taking on the challenge of representing real clients, real human beings, in a courtroom was a turning point for him, helping him realize his true purpose and calling in this profession.

With almost twenty years of courtroom experience, Dan’s results speak for themselves. He’s racked up numerous six-, seven-, and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. In his home county of Santa Cruz, California, of the five largest plaintiffs’ verdicts in the county’s history, Dan was lead trial counsel on three of them, including one of the largest verdicts in California history for an injured bicyclist ($6.7 million). Dan’s practice extends beyond the Santa Cruz area. In 2024, he was part of a trial team that secured a massive $15 million verdict in Dallas, Texas, for an undocumented worker who suffered third-degree burns over 40% of his body. He was also trial counsel on an $18.5 million settlement for a nursing home abuse survivor in California. Dan always takes a personalized, empathetic approach to each of his clients; he gets to know their stories personally, which helps him convey their losses in court and pursue the justice they deserve.

Dan thrives on a challenge. He’s often sought out for consultations on personal injury cases across the country, known for turning “unwinnable” cases into success stories. He travels the country with Nick and Courtney Rowley as an instructor with Trial By Human.

A huge advocate of maintaining a proper work-life balance so he can provide the best representation for his clients, Dan loves spending time outdoors in the Santa Cruz area with his wife and kids when he’s not at work. You’ll often find him in the water with his kids surfing or out riding bikes during the summer months, and up in the mountains snowboarding and skiing during the winter.

Bio

Laura Thompson

Laura was born and raised right in beautiful Northeast Iowa.  She earned her bachelor of arts degree at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with a major in English with a Writing Emphasis and a minor in Classical Studies.  In 2016, Laura moved from Iowa out to Los Angeles, California, where she began to work on Nick Rowley’s Special Ops Team while also attending Pepperdine School of Law in Malibu, California.  Laura received her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine in 2019, passed the California Bar, and continued to practice on the Special Ops Team.  In Summer 2020, Laura returned home to Northeast Iowa, became an Iowa attorney, and has enjoyed every moment being back.

Over the past five years, Laura has honed her practice by getting countless cases worked up and ready for trial.  From the initial client meeting to the reading of the jury verdict and beyond, there is an incredible amount of effort that goes into building a rock-solid case – and Laura is prepared for every step of the way.  She has been fighting for injured plaintiffs since day one and her experience lies in personal injury and medical malpractice.  Presently, Laura is licensed to practice in California and Iowa in both state and federal court.

When not in the office, Laura enjoys spending time with her family and hiking the many bluffs of Decorah with her papillon, Bella.