Concord, CA

Robert E. Mazow is a founding partner of Mazow | McCullough, PC. He previously served as an Assistant District Attorney and Prosecutor in Essex County, prosecuting over 100 jury trials. He also worked for Peabody & Arnold, LLP, defending insurance companies and corporations. Since co-founding the firm in 2003, he has focused on representing seriously injured clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases, recovering millions of dollars. He is known for his ability to connect with juries and is a skilled communicator, negotiator, and advocate.

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.

Edi Kristopher

Ms. Edi Kristopher is a trial attorney and a founding partner at Harrison | Kristopher, LLP. She graduated with honors from Saint Mary’s College of California and received her juris doctorate degree from John F. Kennedy University School of Law. In 2022, Edi is proud to have been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney. She was also recognized in 2022 by San Francisco Magazine as one of the Top Attorneys in Northern California. She is licensed to practice law in both California and Texas. Representing injured clients in personal injury and medical malpractice actions, she is passionate about obtaining justice on behalf of those who have been victimized by another’s negligence or recklessness and has obtained millions of dollars for her clients. Prior to founding Harrison | Kristopher, Ms. Kristopher spent several years working with insurance defense firms and insurance companies and thus is a great asset when it comes to determining how insurance companies operates and values claims. Ms. Kristopher gives back to the community every chance she gets. She is a Panel Attorney for AIDS Law Referral Program and has volunteered on numerous occasions for the San Francisco and Contra Costa Bar Associations pro bono programs. Ms. Kristopher is member of Contra Costa and Alameda Bars Association. She is also a member San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association and the Alameda Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association. She was recently voted one of the 10 Best Lawyers in Personal Injury in the State of California for 2017 by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys. When she is not working, Ms. Kristopher spends her time travelling. Ms. Kristopher lives in the Bay Area with her son.

Kevin J. McCullough is a founding partner of Mazow | McCullough, PC. His unique background includes working as an insurance adjuster and attorney for a national automobile insurance carrier, defending insurance companies, and serving as a prosecutor in the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. This experience makes him an expert in insurance bad faith and claims handling practices. He focuses on serious personal injury, wrongful death, and consumer class action litigation. He is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar and Federal Bar, First Circuit, as well as the Bar of New Hampshire.

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.

Steve Franco

Steve Franco is an award-winning attorney who has dedicated his legal career toward fighting on behalf of injured workers. He is one of the few workers’ compensation attorneys in Northern California to have received part of his legal training at the prestigious California Supreme Court where he oversaw and worked on numerous labor and employment cases affecting all Californians. In 2018 and 2017, Steve was selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as a Rising Star in the area of Workers' Compensation Law. The attorneys selected as Rising Stars are limited to 2.5% of the outstanding emerging lawyers in Northern California who are age 40 and under or having practiced 10 years or less. While spending the past 10 years fighting on behalf of injured workers, Steve has successfully handled numerous trials and has obtained many favorable verdicts on behalf of his clients. Steve litigates cases throughout Northern California and has handled cases in the following courts -- Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Stockton, Sacramento, Salinas and Santa Rosa. Steve has also served as a television legal analyst on Univision, Telemundo, TV Azteca, and Estrella TV and has also made several appearances on radio shows throughout the Bay Area. Steve is a proud first-generation American -- his parents emigrated from El Salvador in the 1980s seeking refuge from a civil war. Growing up, Steve learned the importance and value of determination, hard work, and resilience. It is with this same work ethic and drive that he continues to represent his clients in the courtroom today. Steve is a proud alumni of the University of California, Berkeley where he obtained his bachelors degree and graduated with honors. He then went on to obtain his law degree at the University of Calfornia, Hastings College of the Law where he was a member of LEOP and the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly -- the nation's longest running legal journal devoted entirely to constitutional scholarship. Steve looks forward to helping and representing you in your workers' compensation claim and working hard to obtain you all the benefits that you are entitled to so that you can obtain a just and fair result in your case.

Michael D. Goforth

I represent the hardest working people in the world. For over 40 years I have exclusively represented those who have had the misfortune becoming seriously injured in industrial accidents or through the negligence of a third party. I am known for my ability to assemble the right team to respond to the unique requirements facing injured workers and their families in injury cases in order to maximize their economic recoveries. Workers' Compensation: Emphasis on maximizing injured workers and their families' monetary recovery under the ever-evolving California Labor code. Protection of workers' rights to temporary disability, lifetime medical care, permanent disability, and vocational retraining benefits. Personal Injury: Represents severely injured persons and their families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Assuring injured person and their families' recovery of lost wages and lost earning capacity, medical care, pain and suffering damages, emotional distress. Cases include big rig accidents, industrial claims, child sexual abuse, elder abuse, wrongful death, and defective products.