Richard Bridgford

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

• 2022 Laguna Niguel Coastal Wildfire vs. SCE. Represents the majority of homeowners that lost their homes and filed the first lawsuit against SCE for causing this fire.
• 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.
• 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.
• Wildfires. Represented clients on over $1 Billion in Wildfire claims.

• Class Actions. Eight-figure recovery in class actions on defective copper pipe cases for product 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