As one of the country’s leading trial attorneys, Brian Panish has obtained some of the most significant jury verdicts in United States history on behalf of plaintiffs. His courtroom victories include a $4.9 billion verdict in the landmark products liability case Anderson v. General Motors, over 100 verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million in personal injury and wrongful death cases and six verdicts in excess of $50 million.
Mr. Panish consistently serves in a leading role in the largest personal injury cases in California and the country — he currently serves as Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Woolsey Fire litigation, Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Southern California Fire Cases litigation arising from the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows in Montecito, California, and serves on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee for the 2017 North Bay Fires in Northern California. Mr. Panish serves as Lead Trial Counsel in the Porter Ranch/Aliso Canyon Gas Well Blowout Litigation where he lead a team of lawyers in obtaining a $1.8 billion settlement from Southern California Gas Company. He previously served in leadership roles in the Asiana Airlines Crash Litigation, the Olympus Superbug CRE Litigation and DePuy ASR Hip Implant Litigation, among others.
Most recently, Mr. Panish has been retained to represent the husband and son of Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer who was fatally shot and killed by Alec Baldwin on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in October 2021.
Since 2011 alone, Mr. Panish has obtained more than $500 million in verdicts including $23,720,996 awarded to a Southern California man and his wife after the man suffered a lower leg amputation as a result of being struck by a 28-foot utility truck while riding his motorcycle, a $21,503,420.48 verdict for a man who suffered catastrophic injuries after a vehicle illegally exiting the 405 Freeway HOV lane struck his motorcycle, a $41,864,102 verdict for a U.S. Air Force Captain who suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck from behind by a Southern California Gas Company truck, a $53 million verdict for two adult brothers severely injured in a near head-on collision with a CRST semi-truck, a $36.5 million verdict against Schneider National for a big-rig crash that left a woman with severe spinal cord injuries, a $20 million verdict for a woman who suffered a brain injury in a hit-and-run accident involving a J.B. Hunt tractor trailer, a $17.845 million award in a wrongful death case involving four family members killed when a Marine jet crashed into their home, a $17 million verdict against Los Angeles MTA in the wrongful death of a visually impaired passenger, a $8.3 million verdict in the first DePuy ASR Hip Implant case to go to trial, and many more.
Mr. Panish is a three-time recipient of the prestigious California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award (2022, 2019, 2013) and named among the 2022 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360. Additional accolades and honors include, but are not limited to, being named among the 2022 Top 100 Lawyers and the 2022 LA 500 by the Los Angeles Business Journal, recognizing the most influential leaders and impactful executives in Los Angeles; 2021 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions, 2020 Plaintiffs Lawyer Trailblazer by National Law Journal, 2019 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360, recipient of the 2019 Harvey L. Silbert Torch of Learning Award from the American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU), 2019 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year – Plaintiffs Personal Injury, 2018 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year - Aviation Law, 2017 Civil Advocate Award by the Association of Southern California Defense Council, 2016 Outstanding Litigator by Southwestern Law School, 2015 Robert E. Cartwright award from the Consumer Attorneys of California, 2014 Consumer Attorney of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys of California, Champions of Justice award from Loyola Law School in 2010, and Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2010 from the California Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) in 1999. He has been named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, repeatedly recognized by Daily Journal as a Top 100 Lawyer in California and Top Plaintiff Lawyer in California, named by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America and one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America, and by the Recorder as one of the Top 20 Lawyers in California.
Having served as the immediate past President of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, Mr. Panish resumes his role as a member of this invitation-only group comprised of 100 of the best plaintiff lawyers in the nation who are respected among their peers and who are experienced and skillful in the handling of courtroom trials. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and served as the 2011 President of the Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA.
Mr. Panish received his law degree, with honors, from Southwestern Law School, as well as an Honorary Doctor of Law degree in 2011. His alma mater established the Panish Civil Justice Program in 2017 with a goal of providing top litigation training to students, creating a crossroads for judicial bench and bar, strengthening the foundations of the American civil justice system. He received his B.S. from California State University Fresno, where he was named Scholar Athlete. In 2019, Mr. Panish was honored to be presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his extensive legal accomplishments as well as his generous support of community and University causes. He previously received the Athletic Directors Award and named outstanding alumnus at the Fresno State’s 2010 Centennial Celebration.
