Douglas Mahaffey, the owner of The Mahaffey Group, started in 1983 in working for oil companies during college that developed into handling oil and gas lease issues and real estate title issues. He received a full scholarship to Pepperdine University School of Law where he graduated with honors and was active in the Moot Court Program. He worked for the General Counsel and University Vice Presidents in Real Estate and Education law.

Starting in 1985, he was hired by Booth Mitchel Strange & Smith, a 100 lawyer LA/OC litigation firm that he worked under the main litigation partners. Approximately four weeks after being sworn in, he presented by himself a two week jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, representing the Defendant in a personal injury case. From 1986, he has selected juries and taken through verdict, over fifty long cause jury trials, most of which he has presented by himself.

In those trials he has represented both Plaintiffs and defendants, and during the years 2004-2005 he was the only Orange County attorney to have back to back punitive damage verdicts over 1 million dollars from three separate juries. He has tried multiple jury trials cases lasting over three or four weeks in State Court, Federal Court, Bankruptcy Court, and handled numerous administrative hearings.

In 1990, he started his own law firm and has practiced as the owner of a three to eight attorney firm since 1990.