Emeryville Personal Injury Lawyers

For 38 years has represented catastrophically injured persons throughout Northern California. Workers' compensation, industrial accidents, death claims, orthopedic injuries, amputations, CRPS, TBI, PTSD. The Goforth & Lucas Law Partnership helps injured workers level the playing field against insurance carriers and their army of lawyers.

Mr. Light firmly believes in the power of empathy and humanity. His strength of empathy and unique personal experience with tragedy has allowed him to connect with clients who’ve suffered their own profound losses. Mr. Light is honored to represent and advocate for individuals and families suffering from the universe of challenges that inherently follow a traumatic brain injury.

Nobody expects or can anticipate what follows a brain injury, even a “mild” trauma. Growing up, Mr. Light was reminded on a daily basis of the strength, determination, love, patience and understanding necessary to endure the aftermath of a life-altering event....

Senior managing shareholder Michael Baum has successfully led the national law firm of Wisner Baum through thousands of major cases against some of the largest companies in the world. Since opening its doors in 1973, the firm has earned more than $4 billion in verdicts and settlements for clients. Under Michael’s leadership, Wisner Baum has cultivated a reputation as staunch advocates that can be counted on to aggressively litigate cases to obtain the maximum results for their clients. Call Wisner Baum today to schedule a free consultation with Attorney Baum.

Mr. Luna holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Management and Marketing from San Francisco State University and went to the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he graduated with honors and was appointed a member of the Traynor Honor Society. In addition, Mr. Luna received a coveted Witkin Award for studies conducted in International Banking.

After graduating from law school, Mr. Luna worked in a boutique civil litigation and general practice firm in Fresno, CA and then went on to work with a couple of different Workers' Compensation firms in the Bay Area (doing both applicants and...

With more than 40 years of legal experience, Andrew Schwartz has handled countless cases for clients ranging from serious injuries and personal injury to product liability law at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook. A 1975 graduate from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Mr. Schwartz has been admitted to the Federal and California Bars and the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout his legal career, he’s achieved numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for injured clients, including a $5.6 million jury verdict that was considered one of the top 100 jury verdicts in California in 2017. In addition to holding memberships...

Dawn is a highly experienced litigator and trial lawyer with extensive knowledge and skill in litigating personal injury and wrongful death cases. She has 24 years of experience successfully resolving personal injury claims in her client’s favor. Dawn founded The Hassell Law Group in 1999 and has practiced personal injury law in California for the past 24 years. She holds an undefeated record at trial and in arbitration on behalf of her clients. She served as a distinguished Member of the Board of Directors of The San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association from 2002-2012. Dawn has used her extensive negotiation and litigation experience...

Attorney John Fetto was born in New York, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Hastings, where he specialized in trial advocacy. Mr. Fetto is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, and the Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association. It did not take Attorney Fetto long to realize that his passion was personal injury law, and he has been representing clients for 26 years. During this time,...

I am responsible for all matters handled by my office. Paralegals, law clerks and associates may be utilized in appropriate situations, but the buck stops with me. Intentionally remaining small has enabled me to continue to provide unparalleled personal attention and confidentiality. My clients are the reason I am here, and I work hard for the best results possible. I am honored by the trust placed in me, and strive to maintain it at the highest level. You are entitled to understand the law applicable to your matter and the options available, as well as my best advice. I have...

Frances M. Phares is of counsel to Wisner Baum where she concentrates her practice on pharmaceutical product liability, toxic tort cases and major transportation accidents. Known for the caring attentiveness she brings to each case, Fran has been honored with the Martindale Hubbell Client Champion Silver award and the Avvo Clients’ Choice award. To schedule a free consultation, contact Wisner Baum today.

Throughout her career, Sandra Ribera Speed, ESQ has played a pivotal role in numerous high profile and multimillion dollar cases and settlements. She was a young member of the legal team that represented The Notorius B.I.G. which filed a $360 million wrongful death claim against the LAPD. Ms. Speed has also represented Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, in a number of issues, including a wrongful death action. Recently, Ms. Ribera Speed has focused on victims of sexual abuse. She obtained a seven figure settlement against Kink.com in favor of three performers in the porn industry who...

Joe Appel has specialized in personal injury cases for more than 30 years. He’s seen it, tried it, and won it, both in state and federal courts. Joe graduated from St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also played basketball for the Galloping Gaels for four years. At graduation Joe received the Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. He then attended and graduated from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1979. Joe was admitted to the California and Federal Courts in the same year. He has been a member...

Thomas M. O'Connor is a founding partner of the firm and currently focuses his practice on Criminal Defense and Personal Injury. As a partner in OâConnor, Runckel & O'Malley LLP, Mr. O'Connor regularly litigates personal injury and wrongful death actions and defends clients in all misdemeanor and felony matters. Mr. O'Connor is a 5th generation San Francisco native and comes from a long line of distinguished attorneys. His grandfather and namesake, Thomas Martin O'Connor, held the office of City Attorney of San Francisco from 1961 until he retired in 1977. His great-grandfather, also Thomas Martin O'Connor, was...

Leigh E. Johnson is a practicing trial lawyer, and principal of “Trial Whisperer” Trial Consulting. Leigh is dedicated to assisting lawyers preparing for trial in both civil and criminal arenas. Her expertise is in developing an effective storyline that serves as the vortex for opposing counsel. She accurately identifies issues and reconstructs them to achieve positive outcomes within a variety of legal forums from arbitration to trial. Leigh’s philosophy is that in order to obtain the best results regardless of forum, you should always prepare your case as if it were going to trial. Leigh’s passion and primary focus...

Christian Pedersen was born in Seattle and raised in Solano County. He graduated in Brigham Young University majoring in finance, and then was admitted to Arizona State’s law school and MBA program. While in school, Mr. Pedersen earned a certificate in Law, Science, and Technology from the Sandra Day O’Connor school of law, and worked in a legal clinic that provided legal services to startup businesses. Mr. Pedersen focused on entrepreneurship and solar energy technology. Mr. Pedersen worked in the solar industry performing transactional legal work and business analytics. After drafting thousands of documents, Mr. Pedersen decided...

Anderson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Political Science from University of California Davis in 2014 and his Juris Doctorate from Berkeley Law in 2018. In law school, Anderson externed with Justice Nathan D. Mihara at the California Court of Appeal, Sixth District. He was also involved with the community, volunteering with the Asian Law Alliance, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, and with the Community Economic Justice unit at the East Bay Community Law Center. Outside of the office, Anderson enjoys spending time with his family, being outdoors, and playing sports.

Jenny Tiu received her B.S. degree in Physiological Science from UCLA. During her undergraduate studies, she was a research assistant at UCLA for both spinal cord injury and atherosclerosis research. Ms. Tiu then earned her J.D. degree at Golden Gate University School of Law with an emphasis in Public Interest Law. During law school, she interned for the San Francisco City Attorney's Office in the Juvenile Dependency Unit. She then went on to intern for the Solano County Alternate Public Defender's Office in the Juvenile Dependency Unit and later in the Misdemeanor Unit. After being...

My law practice focuses on representing injury and death victims and their families. Many of my cases have involved personal injury, car accidents, accidental death, wrongful death, truck accidents, big-rig accidents, motorcycle accidents, products liability, defective products, dog bites, nursing home injuries, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and dangerous property. I have been highly successful in favorably resolving my clients' cases and obtaining monetary compensation for my clients for over 22 years. My clients have suffered catastrophic injuries, death of a family member, serious injuries requiring hospitalization or surgery and many other types of injuries including coma, brain injuries, quadriplegia, triplegia, loss of...

Attorney Adam M. Carlson is managing partner at Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook. While he is skilled in various areas of law, he focuses the majority of his practice handling cases related to wrongful death, civil rights, and personal injury. He believes that tailoring each case to each client’s needs is key to providing aggressive and compassionate legal representation.

Before joining the firm, Carlson served as an intake assistant for our team, where he was responsible for fielding calls from potential clients. It was at this time that Carlson decided he wanted to do more. He found that he was passionate...

For more than 30 years, Mike Appel has devoted his practice exclusively to personal injury and wrongful death cases. He represents clients throughout California, both in State and Federal courts. Born and raised in Redondo Beach, Mike attended St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga, California, where he majored in English. He was an editor of the college’s literary magazine, "The Phoenix." He also played rugby for the Gaels, and was a member of the team that went on the first annual rugby tour of the East Coast. Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. At graduation he also received...

Shahrad Milanfar is a Trial Attorney and Mediator who has focused his career on serious personal injury, automotive, asbestos and other types of product liability, transportation/ trucking, and habitability cases. Since the beginning of his career, Shahrad has worked on catastrophic injury cases such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), serious orthopedic injuries, including quadriplegia and paraplegia.

Shahrad gained his trial and courtroom experience while working with the district attorney’s office and as a civil trial attorney. He has handled cases form inception to verdict as the primary trial attorney. Over the past 20+ years, Shahrad has managed serious personal injury and...

Joseph A. Motta was born and raised in the East Bay. He attended St. Mary’s College and graduated in 1984. He graduated from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in 1987. Joe’s legal career started as a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County; from 1988 to 2004. There, he handled thousands of cases. He was a trial attorney on every team including Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Homicide. He supervised the Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Assault Teams; as a supervisor, he maintained his own load of serious cases. As a deputy D.A., Joe prosecuted a number of high...

David L. Fiol received his BA in Government from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in 1984 and graduated from the Harvard Law School (Cambridge, MA) with his JD in 1988. He spent the first ten years of his career litigating aviation accident and other wrongful death and personal injury cases for a firm in New York City. He represented clients and family members injured by everything from automobile accidents to small private plane crashes to major disasters including the bombing and crash of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During his tenure there he also litigated, insurance coverage, real estate...

Mr. Prutton graduated with high honors in 1979 from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Forestry. He received his law degree in 1982 (J.D. cum laude) from one of the top schools in the country, the University of Illinois College of Law. From 1982 - 1985 he practiced law with Baxter & Hammond in Grand Rapids, Michigan representing insurance companies and corporations. From 1985 - 1987 he represented similar interests while an associate with Low, Ball & Lynch in San Francisco. In 1987, Mr. Prutton opened his own law office in the Bay Area, switched sides...

Jacob Shapiro grew up with a disabled father and attributes his interest in helping injured people to his upbringing. After graduating as a valedictorian from Cupertino High School, Mr. Shapiro attended UC Berkeley where he was a Regent Scholar, Alumni Scholar and finished with High Honors majoring in Political Science. He went on to graduate summa cum laude from Santa Clara Law School obtaining American Jurisprudence Awards for being at the top of his class in Torts, the field in which he practices exclusively, and Business Organizations. Mr. Shapiro was also the Best Oral Advocate in...

***Please note than any testimonials or endorsements found on this page do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your specific matter.*** Katie has over a decade of experience practicing general civil and employment litigation, representing individuals and small businesses in litigation, arbitration and administrative proceedings before state and local agencies. Katie has successfully handled cases in state and federal courts involving a comprehensive array of claims, including wage and hour, breach of contract; workplace harassment; discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, national origin, religious creed, and other protected categories; retaliation; violations of the...

Personal Injury Attorney - owner of the Law Office of Micheal A. Thompson. Admitted to the CA State Bar in 1985. Graduate of UCLA Law School.

After 22 years as a trial attorney, I have decided to limit my practice to furthering the cause of disability access and ending disability discrimination in the workplace, at home and in public places. If you are disabled temporarily or permanently, you have special rights but no government agency to enforce them. If you think you have been the victim of discrimination, call us now for a free consultation.

Thomas has a passion for the law as it relates to personal injury and worker's compensation. His current practice at the Appel Law Firm LLP focuses on representing those involved in personal injury claims, as well as worker's compensation and other related matters. During law school, Thomas served as a judicial extern for Judge Timothy A. Reardon of the First District of the California Court of Appeal. He was a member of the University of San Francisco Advanced Advocacy teams for two years and served as the Social Chair on the Advanced Advocacy Board. Thomas also was a member...

Martin was born in 1974 in Gdynia, Poland which, at the time, was a nominally independent communist dictatorship occupied by the USSR. The economic conditions were generally bleak under communist rule. They became even worse in 1981 when the Polish government, at the request of the USSR, crushed the Solidarity movement and imprisoned its leaders for seeking political and economic change.

Twenty-four-year career of cost-efficient litigation, management, and resolution of large dockets of a wide variety of thorny, high-exposure disputes up to $200 million. More than twelve years focused on employment law, with previous experience in intellectual property, products liability, and insured claims. Entrusted to: • Weigh risks and benefits of legal proceedings and assessment of settlement strategies • Run efficient teams with emphasis on streamlining processes and developing internal talent to full potential • Legal research, writing, argument of motions including summary judgment, class certification • Manage experts, reduce legal spend, and win on a shoe-string budget • Handle all aspects of...