Richard Bridgford is a successful trial attorney with over 36 years of experience who has obtained multiple 7 and 8-figure financial awards for his clients in jury trials, judge trials, arbitrations, mediations, appeals and settlements.
Mr. Bridgford presently acts as plaintiff’s counsel in the following serious personal injury/wrongful death/mass tort and class action litigation:
Recent Representative Cases
- Las Vegas MGM Shooting. Filed the first wrongful death case, represented approximately 150 clients, and played a significant role in obtaining an $800 Million settlement from MGM.
- Northern California Wildfires vs. PG&E. Handled over $1 Billion in claims in the North Bay Fires 2017; Paradise Fire 2018; Kincade Fire 2019; and Dixie Fire 2021. Instrumental with co-counsel in obtaining a $13.5 Billion settlement with PG&E in the 2017/2018 Wildfires.
- Southern California Wildfires vs. SCE. Thomas Fire 2017; Woolsey Fire 2018; Creek Fire 2020; and 2018 Mudslides from Thomas Fire. Instrumental in obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of clients.
- Wildfires. Represented clients on over $1 Billion in Wildfire claims.
- Class Actions. Eight-figure recovery in class actions on defective copper pipe cases forproduct defect (over 15 class actions).
- Serious Personal Injury/Wrongful Death, Construction and Train-Related Accidents. Obtained the largest wrongful death recovery in the Placentia Yorba Linda train crash.
- Business/Real Estate/Estate. Represents individuals and businesses in breach of contracts, business/commercial fraud, construction defect, construction delay, real estate fraud, broker/finder, and high value estates (beneficiary/trustee disputes). Liability exposure on these cases has ranged from $500,000 to over $30 Billion.
Education
Mr. Bridgford graduated from Stanford undergrad with a B.A. in Economics and a perfect GPA in 1982 and Stanford Law School in 1985. He worked at Paul, Hastings, Janosfky & Walker in the firm’s Los Angeles and Orange County offices as well as Hamilton & Samuels in Newport Beach. He externed at the White House Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C. (1984).
Public Service
Mr. Bridgford is President of the UCI Law Dean’s Advisory Board and a Founding Member of the Civil Justice Research Institute. He has served in the past as a Trustee on the UCI Foundation, and as a Board Member of the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and other charities.
Awards
- 2009 National Philanthropy Day award.
- 2011 Father of the Year award from the American Diabetes Association. 2014 Man of Character award from the Boy Scouts of America.
- 2022 U.S. News Best Lawyers