Berkeley, CA

Luke Ellis is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He is a past and current selection for California Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America. In 2024, Luke was named Lawyer of the Year for personal injury litigation by Best Lawyers. In 2020, the National Trial Lawyers Association selected Mr. Ellis as one of California’s Top 25 Product Liability Lawyers. In 2012, the National Trial Lawyers selected him as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Mr. Ellis was named Lawyer of the Year for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 in Personal Injury by Best Lawyers of America. In 2014, Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, selected him as a ‘Lion of Litigation’. In 2020, Attorneys and Practice Magazine listed Mr. Ellis as one of California’s Top 10 Personal Injury Attorneys. Mr. Ellis has one of the largest personal injury jury trial verdicts on record in Alameda County. He has the largest wrongful death jury verdict in Contra Costa County history. In 2009, he had one of the top 100 verdicts in the nation, and in 2011, one of the top 15 personal injury verdicts in California. In 2013, Mr. Ellis had the most significant recovery for an individual against a bus company in California history, and the #1 motor vehicle settlement in California. He was appointed by the courts to serve as one of the lead plaintiff attorneys in the Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings (JCCP) in all three cases, which settled for $442 million, $95 million, and $1.05 billion, respectively. He has served as Vice President of the California Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) and Vice President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), organizations dedicated to protecting the civil justice system and the rights of injured persons and consumers. Mr. Ellis has tried numerous civil and criminal jury and court trials. He has written and lectured widely in the field of trial practice and has chaired numerous educational seminars in all fields of litigation. He was a consultant to the California Continuing Education of the Bar for California Trial Objections and is a co-author of the Government Tort Liability Practice, published by California Continuing Education of the Bar. Mr. Ellis serves regularly as a Court Settlement Commissioner by appointment of the Contra Costa and Alameda County Superior Courts. He is also the long-time coach of Miramonte High School’s championship mock trial team.

Inspired to study law by his father who had worked with Senator Robert Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy, Mr. Cheasty went to work right after law school for the state of California, protecting the rights of farm workers. He worked at both the administrative trial level and on cases before the Court of Appeals. After leaving state service, Mr. Cheasty headed the Legal Department of the Carpenters Trust Funds of Northern California, one of the largest construction union funds in the United States. He represented the working carpenters and their pension and health insurance funds in state and federal courts, before the state legislature in Sacramento, and before Congress. Before he left, he achieved the highest recovery of benefits in a single case in the history of the Carpenters Funds. In 1984, he left to go into private practice.

Attorney Andy Gillin is a founding partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys. Raised in Southern California, he moved north to attend U.C. Berkeley in the late 1960s. During his time at U.C. Berkeley, Andy studied under two distinguished legal scholars, Jacobus tenBroek and Al Bendich, whom he greatly admired. After Andy received his bachelor’s degree, he decided to attend the University of Chicago, where he received his Juris Doctor. Following graduation, he returned to the Bay Area and joined the San Mateo County Legal Aid Society. Through this opportunity, he began his legal career as a public service attorney, primarily working for low-income families and individuals. A couple of years later, Andy received a call from one of his previous mentors asking whether he’d be interested in personal injury law. Over time, personal injury became a primary focus as an extension for the work Andy did for people in need, leading to the founding of GJEL in 1972. During his career, Andy has written and lectured extensively on personal injury topics-including settlement strategies and trial practice-for several organizations. This includes the California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) as well as other professional groups. He even wrote a guide for young attorneys for the first hundred days of a major case published in the California Trial Lawyers Syllabus. Andy also has experience practicing in both state and federal courts and is an active member of many legal organizations, such as the American Association for Justice, the State Bar of California, and the California Trial Lawyers Association. Due to his impressive track record and dedication to ethical standards, Andy holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been included in several top listings, including Super Lawyers and the Best Lawyers in America. Since starting GJEL, Andy has helped hundreds of injured plaintiffs fight for their recovery. With several case settlements and verdicts exceeding $1,000,000, Andy understands how life-changing personal injuries can be. One of his most notable cases, a Mass Tort Litigation against Tenet Healthcare Corporation, involved patients receiving unnecessary surgeries at Redding Medical Center in 2002. The lawsuit consisted of a total of 769 claims, 183 of which were brought by GJEL. Not only did GJEL clients receive $117 million in damages, but the lawsuit caused a major overhaul of Tenet’s corporate governance. Through this litigation, Andy and the GJEL team were able to make a positive change to the operations and standards of Tenet, reducing the risk of similar injuries happening in the future. As managing partner, Andy spends his day consulting on all the different cases accepted by the firm, discussing strategies and tactics with his fellow partners. He loves being deeply involved with cases and collaborating with other attorneys at the firm. When he’s not in the office, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family and listening to classic rock music. You’ll likely find him walking around the neighborhood early in the morning listening to classics by Janis Joplin and The Youngbloods on his headphones.

Bryan L. Schefman

Mr. Schefman is a life-long resident of the Great State of Michigan and has dedicated his career in law to helping people. In a legal career which has spanned 43 years, Bryan Schefman has represented injured clients and medical doctors, on both sides of auto collision and medical malpractice claims, subrogation cases, and insurance payment, representing thousands of professionals and injured people, winning tens of millions of dollars. With knowledge and experience of complex medical issues, and his experience for insurance companies and injured victims, he is able to help his clients navigate the insurance maze and maximize their recoveries. In addition to helping people who are injured, Mr. Schefman has served physicians and healthcare organizations in general business and healthcare fields, having served as General Counsel to a Medicaid Managed Care Plan, and later as its CEO, Mr. Schefman sought to redefine care management strategies that could actually reduce costs by improving patient health. Now back in private practice for the last 25 years, Mr. Schefman is able to combine his knowledge of personal injury law and recovery, insurance law, subrogation and claims, general and professional liability to give his clients the edge to win millions of dollars in settlements and multi-million dollar verdicts. Mr. Schefman has been in your shoes, having survived near-critical injuries in motor vehicles and on motorcycles. He has experienced severe injuries, the confusion of insurance coverages, finding doctors to treat his injuries, delays in payments by insurance carriers, settlement, and the stress of the care and recovery for him and his family. That has been valuable experience that has influenced his understanding of your needs as a client. Let him help you. Mr. Schefman has received numerous professional recognitions, including 1998 Runner-up in Ernst & Young’s/Crain’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the formation, funding and growth of a venture capital-funded insurance company, numerous recognitions by Super Lawyers, D-business, Lawyers of Distinction, and “Top Lawyer”, as well as dramatic success in breaking new ground for medical providers in using the Medicare Secondary Payor Act to force insurers to their knees. His roles have given Mr. Schefman a keen insight into the inter-relationship of insurance coverage, injury, and payment, which he is able to apply to the benefit of his clients. Whether you’re injured and need medical care or a doctor that has provided care that needs to be paid, Mr. Schefman is in your corner.

Scott R. Herndon

Scott R. Herndon is the principal attorney and founder of The Law Office of Scott R. Herndon, established in 2018. He represents plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury, civil sexual assault, and C Suite employment law cases. With a background as a former Stanford University faculty member, he holds a PhD in English with an emphasis in Philosophy from New York University, a Master's degree in Analytic Philosophy and Ethics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He is a member of the State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He was nominated as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Personal Injury, Employment and Business Litigation in 2020. He is also an award-winning teacher and published author.

Attorney Mark Kenneth Flores is a founding partner of Crane Flores Injury & Car Accident Lawyers. Mr. Flores has exclusively practiced in the area of personal injury litigation for more than 20 years. Prior to starting his practice on the Central Coast, he worked at some of the largest and most successful personal injury law firms in Los Angeles. Mr. Flores is capable of handling any type of personal injury or wrongful death claim, from motor vehicle accidents to asbestos-induced mesothelioma.

Richard Richardson

Richard Richardson leverages his unique background and a tradition of African-American accomplishment to aggressively represent victims who might otherwise lack a voice in the legal system. He is driven by compassion and a commitment to helping clients navigate the intimidating legal process, particularly in personal injury cases.