About Us

Dennis E. Wagner, Esq.

Dennis E. Wagner has been practicing law since 1981 and has extensive experience in a wide range of legal areas. In 2006 he was appointed as Interim County Counsel for the County of San Bernardino and oversaw a staff of approximately 100 employees and a budget in excess of $9,000,000. He was instrumental in providing leadership to the County Counsel Office during the time frame that a search was conducted for a permanent replacement for the Office. Prior to forming the firm of Wagner & Pelayes, LLP, he was a Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Bernardino for 10 years. He has represented many of the County departments, department heads, and their employees during that time including the representation of the Superior Court for the County of San Bernardino and members of the Judicial Bench. During this time, he tried a number of cases and appeared before the State Appellate Courts, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court.

Prior to joining the Office of County Counsel for San Bernardino County, he worked for the law firm of Roberts & Morgan and was involved in handling insurance defense matters and the defense of public entities and their employees. His work for public entities included the City of Riverside, City of Corona, and the County of Riverside. He has handled insurance defense for a wide range of company’s including Farmers, Ohio Casualty, Aetna, Fireman's Fund, Home Insurance Co., AIG, and others.

Dennis is also licensed to practice law in the States of Nevada and Texas. During the 1980's, Dennis practiced law in Nevada and represented a number of business clients for their corporate needs which included real estate development and business litigation. Dennis is a member the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) which is the only trial lawyers association, which specifically dedicates itself to preserving the right to trial by jury. ABOTA limits its membership to those attorneys who meet a minimum number of jury trials and possess the ethics and civility required of its membership. Dennis is on the Board of Directors for the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, which covers Riverside and San Bernardino counties for attorneys who regularly practice in federal court. Dennis participates at seminars as a presenter on a wide range of topics, including appellate practice and governmental issues. Dennis is an instructor at the San Bernardino Sheriffs Academy and teaches Civil Liabilities to law enforcement officers and supervisors. Dennis has appeared on PBS radio and television to discuss various legal topics of interest to the general public.
 

Tristan G. Pelayes, Esq.

Tristan has been an attorney since 2000. Prior to forming Wagner & Pelayes LLP, Tristan Pelayes was a Deputy County Counsel for the County of San Bernardino for over four years. Due to his extensive law enforcement background, Tristan was assigned to the county's litigation unit, primarily representing the County of San Bernardino's Sheriff's Department and its deputies in all aspects of civil litigation. This included the defense of excessive force, wrongful arrest and wrongful prosecution allegations, officer-involved shootings, and any other type of police misconduct. Tristan has also represented other county departments such as the District Attorney's Office and Probation Department against allegations of civil rights violations and other related state torts. Before that, Tristan was an associate at Kinkle, Rodiger, and Spriggs in Riverside, focusing primarily on insurance defense. Tristan has extensive jury trial experience in state and federal courts.

Before becoming an attorney, Tristan was a deputy sheriff for the County of San Bernardino for over fourteen years. His assignments included corrections, patrol, narcotics, SWAT, homicide, and the department's civil liabilities division. He was also an investigator for the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

In 2001, the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association named Tristan the Latino Lawyer of the Year. He was also twice the recipient of the Wiley Manuel Award from the California State Bar for his pro bono work within the Inland Empire.

Tristan was a council member and the mayor of the City of Adelanto from 2000 to 2003, where he was instrumental in replacing the troubled police department with contract services from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Tristan has extensive expertise in all aspects of governmental issues at State, County and City levels. He served on several boards at the county level. Tristan enlisted in the United States Army in 1984 and received an Honorable Discharge in 1987.

Tristan is an instructor at the San Bernardino Sheriffs Academy and teaches Civil Liabilities to law enforcement officers and supervisors. He has appeared on various radio and television programs to discuss general legal topics.