FOUNDING PARTNER
Mr. Bridgford is a successful trial attorney with 35 years of experience and has obtained significant financial awards for his clients in jury trials, judge trials, arbitrations, mediations, appeals and pre-litigation disputes, all as first chair.
He presently acts as plaintiff’s counsel in the following mass tort and class action litigation:
Mass tort 2017 Las Vegas shooting lead with more than 200 death and injury cases
Mass tort Northern California and Southern California wild fires (currently represents more than 5,000 victims of the 2017 and 2018 fires)
Class actions on defective copper pipe cases for product defect (over 15 class actions)
Class action wage hour reporting time issue (over 10 class actions)
Wrongful death construction and train-related accidents (largest death recovery in Placentia Yorba Linda train crash)
Mr. Bridgford also represents individuals and businesses in breach of contracts, business/commercial fraud, construction defect, construction delay, real estate contracts, real estate fraud, and broker/finder actions. He has handled high value estates (beneficiary/trustee disputes), insurance bad faith and coverage, unfair competition, trade secrets/intellectual property, wrongful termination, personal injury, and high value auto accidents. Liability exposure on these cases has ranged from $500,000 to $13.5 billion dollars.
He graduated from Stanford undergrad with a B.A. in Economics and a perfect GPA in 1982 and Stanford Law School in 1985. Before starting his firm, he was an attorney at Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in the firm’s Los Angeles and Orange County offices as well as Hamilton & Samuels in Newport Beach. Prior to his work in private practice, he was an extern in the White House Office of Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C.
LEGAL EXPERIENCE:
Representing both plaintiff and defense, Mr. Bridgford has handled numerous trials, arbitrations, mediations, appeals and pre-litigation dispute involving:
breach of contracts
partnership disputes
business/commercial fraud
construction defect
construction delay
real estate contracts
real estate fraud
broker/finder
estates (beneficiary/trustee disputes)
insurance bad faith and coverage
unfair competition
trade secrets/intellectual property
wrongful termination
personal injury claims
public utility litigation
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND AWARDS:
2022 U.S. News Best Lawyers
2014 Man of Character Award, Boy Scouts of America
2011 American Diabetes Association Father of the Year Award
2009 National Philanthropy Foundation Award for Orange County
University of California, Irvine Foundation, Board Member
University of California, Irvine School of Law, Chair of Deans Advisory Board
University of California, Irvine School of Law, Board of Visitors
Civil Justice Research Initiative at UC Irvine School of Law, Founding Member
Orange County Second Harvest Food Bank, Board Member
St. Jude Hospital, President’s Circle member
The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation
Our Lady Queen of Angels Parrish Building Fund
Urban Compass
ACADEMIC RECORD:
Stanford University Law School – J.D., 1985
Stanford University – B.A. in Economics, 1982
Phi Beta Kappa
PRACTICE AREAS:
Business Litigation
Mass Tort Litigation
Wildfire and Utility Litigation
Plaintiff Consumer Class Actions
Insurance Litigation
Bad Faith and Coverage
Real Estate Litigation
Construction Defect Litigation - Over $9.0 million in recovery in Copper Pipe Leaks Litigation
Trust and Estate Litigation
Employment
Plaintiff Employee Wage and Hour Class Actions
Trade Secrets
Unfair Competition
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS:
California State Bar
All U.S. District Courts in California
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
