Pleasanton, CA

James D. Rush

James D. Rush is a Marin County native and the founder of Rush Injury Law in 2005. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Riverside and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He has been representing people in personal injury cases since 2005 and has tried cases to jury verdict in numerous California counties. He has represented injured people against large companies and cities.

Pamela Tahim Thakur

PAMELA TAHIM THAKUR is the Founder and Managing Attorney of Thakur Law Firm, APC. With more than fifteen years of experience, Pamela maintains a diverse practice that includes complex litigation in the areas of employment, business law, family law and real estate, as well as transactional services in tax and estate planning and health care law. She has been selected as a Super Lawyers® "Rising Star" every year since 2016 and a Super Lawyer for litigation in both 2020 and 2021. She is also a top-rated 10.0 lawyer on Avvo, and is a certified Lawyer of Distinction. Pamela regularly represents business clients and medical practices in litigation matters and provides advice, counseling, and educational training to organizations of all sizes, assisting with compliance and providing measures to avoid litigation. Thakur Law Firm is the preferred law firm for the physicians and medical practices of Riverside County Medical Association and San Bernardino Medical Society. Pamela frequently provides lectures to the physicians with both of these groups on best practices. She also currently serves as outside general counsel for the Community Action Partnership of Orange County, a charitable nonprofit. Pamela has extensive experience as a litigator and trial attorney in both jury and court cases in state and federal court. In 2019, she served as class counsel in a major wage and hour class action settlement, representing more than a thousand private school teachers and classroom aids, prevailing on summary judgment against an employer in a high-stakes employment discrimination matter. Pamela has also been featured in national news coverage of cases in which she represented injured former UCLA football team players against both the school and the NCAA in matters related to concussions and other catastrophic injuries along with high profile celebrity cases involving business disputes. Before starting her own law firm, Pamela worked as a senior associate at well-known Southern California based law firm for over nine years, where she was co-chair of the firm's healthcare practice and where she second-chaired the firm's largest jury trial victory of over $13 million in a misappropriation of trade secrets case. Pamela is an excellent negotiator and has settled numerous matters before litigation and at all stages through appeal. She was also legal counsel in the first-ever binding federal jury trial arbitration in California. Pamela graduated with a J.D. and LLM in Taxation from the University of San Diego, School of Law in 2005 and received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Minor in Spanish at UCLA. She is multi-lingual in Spanish, Hindi and Punjabi. Pamela is active in social and charitable causes outside of her law practice. She was appointed to the Federal Hass Avocado Commission from 2016-2017 and appointed to the City of Fullerton's Citizen Infrastructure Review Committee from 2017-2019. She has served as Treasurer of Women's Transitional Living Center. She formerly served as President and Vice-President of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California, Public Interest Foundation. Pamela is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of Southern California, and the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce. She is the former Chair of the Orange County Bar Association's Health Care Section. Pamela is admitted to practice before all California state courts, the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the U.S. Tax Court.

Jon Marlowe

Jon Marlowe is committed to providing his clients with passionate legal representation. He approaches every client with a focus on integrity, advocacy, and understanding. Mr. Marlowe’s practice is concentrated in workers compensation, personal injury, and social security disability law. He represents injured workers, persons injured by the negligence of others, and disabled persons no longer able to work. He is a Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

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.

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.

Teresa Li

Teresa Li is a Bay Area personal injury attorney with extensive experience representing plaintiffs. She is an experienced trial lawyer who previously defended corporations in high-exposure personal injury cases. Her trial success has been featured in national publications, and she has been repeatedly recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine and San Francisco Magazine.

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.