SALEM FIRE LAWYERS - Key Persons
Alex "Trey" Robertson is one of the most preeminent wildfire attorneys in California. Mr. Robertson currently serves as the court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel for approximately 4,000 individual plaintiffs suing Southern California Edison Company in The Woolsey Fire Cases, JCCP No. 5000. The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned 96,949 acres, destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three civilians and prompted the evacuation of 295,000 people in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. He also serves on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in The Southern California Fire Cases, JCCP No. 4965, where he represents approximately 700 victims of the 2017 Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow. The Thomas Fire burned 281,893 acres (440 square miles), destroyed 1,063 structures and killed one firefighter and one civilian. The ensuing Montecito debris flow destroyed or damaged over 400 homes and killed 23 civilians.
Mr. Robertson has decades of first-hand experience with wildfires. In 1997, Trey served as the Captain of the L.A. County Department of Animal Control's volunteer horse evacuation team, and evacuated hundreds of horses in the Santa Monica Mountains during the 2003 and 2007 Malibu wildfires. During the 2018 Woolsey Fire, Trey personally fought the fire using 500 feet of his own fire hose to help save his neighbors' homes. Additionally, Trey donates his time as a volunteer photographer for a large Southern California fire department, providing the Public Information Officers with photographs and videos from the fireline so that they can provide up-to-date information to the public about the size, location and direction of wildfires. Trey has also completed the Introduction To Wildland Fire Behavior (S-190) training from the National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) to increase his knowledge of topography, weather, fuels, atmospheric conditions, wind and terminology associated with wildfires. Trey also understands the command structure used during wildfires, and holds certificates from FEMA on the Incident Command System and National Incident Command System (NIMS).
Before he became a Salem, Oregon attorney for auto accidents and wrongful death cases, Brady grew up in Aberdeen, Washington. He attended Weatherwax (Aberdeen) High School and graduated in 1985. After High School, he attended the University of Washington, graduating in 1990 with a BA in Economics. He moved to Salem, Oregon in 1993 to attend Willamette University College of Law from 1993 to 1996. He started practicing law in 1997 and opened his own firm on January 1, 2001. Brady sought to be an attorney in Salem because he was sympathetic, empathetic, careful, thoughtful and wanted to make a living helping others.
Brady is a father of two girls who he enjoys very much. He spends time hiking, motorcycle riding, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Brady attended the University of Washington and graduated with a degree in Economics in 1990. Brady is a graduate of Willamette University College of Law (1996) and is presently licensed to practice law in Oregon, Washington State, and in Federal Court in Oregon, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Rick graduated from the Texas A&M University with a B.S. in engineering in 1983, practiced as a licensed consulting engineer for approximately five years, and received his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1993. During law school, he was initially hired as a law clerk, and later after passing the Oregon State bar exam and being sworn in as an attorney in 1993, was hired full time at the Portland, Oregon law firm of Jolles, Sokol, Bernstein. Rick practiced there for approximately eight years. He formed his own law firm in 2001, which he left to work for the law firm of Swanson, Thomas & Coon in approximately 2004. After two and one-half years, Rick left and resumed practice at his own law firm, Rick Klingbeil, PC where he has practiced for the past approximately 15 years.
Over the past 28 years, the primary focus of Rick's practice has been product liability cases on an individual and class-wide basis (see, e.g, Shea v. Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., 164 Or App 198, 206-07 (1999) rev den, 330 Or 252 (2000), civil rights litigation, consumer protection claims, complex case litigation (see, e.g., Brehm v. Caterpillar, 235 Or. App. 274 (Or.Ct.App. 2010), and various class action matters including Walters v. Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., 3:14-cv-01173-PK, Dobson v. Arco, Mult. Co. #05-04969 (2005)), Brunelle v. My Pillow, Inc. 3:16-cv-02007-AC; Silva v. Rite Aid, 3:18-cv-00306-JR.
Rick filed the originating complaint in the landmark In Re Google Streetview Litigation, 5:10-md-02184-JW, (USDC ND Cal.), and in that matter participated in motion drafting, matters related to MDL certification, preservation of evidence issues, and other aspects of the litigation. Rick has regularly handled matters governed by ORS ยง646.608, ORS Chapter 90, and similar consumer and tenant protection statutes in other states. Rick has tried approximately 38 cases to verdict as lead or co-lead counsel in state and federal court and resolved claims for over 600 clients through settlement during his career.
Robert A. Curtis, a partner, earned his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his J.D from Pepperdine University School of Law. Robert is admitted to the State Bar of California and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of California, the Western District of Michigan, and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Robert has been with the firm for 18 years and practices in the areas of complex business litigation, lender liability, class actions, and real estate and agricultural litigation. He, in conjunction with other partners at the firm, has litigated cases which have resulted in over $350 million in settlements and verdicts against some of the biggest companies in the country. Among his settlements are multi-million dollar successes against East West Bank, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, T-Mobile, Citibank and Bank of the West.
In 2011, Robert was awarded the rating of "AV - Preeminent" from Martindale-Hubble. The "AV - Preeminent" rating is a nationally-recognized acknowledgment of Robert's accomplishments and skills as an attorney and is the highest rating offered by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Robert has also been recognized as a "Rising Star" in the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 editions of the Super Lawyers publication. Super Lawyers' Rising Stars are selected based on peer recognition and professional achievement and according to Law & Politics Magazine, only approximately 2.5 percent of the best up-and-coming attorneys in Southern California are selected for inclusion on the "Rising Stars" list.
In 2014, Robert was lead trial counsel for the plaintiff and obtained a $38.9 million jury verdict in a 7-week lender liability trial in Los Angeles Superior Court against East West Bank. The East West Bank verdict was the 12th largest verdict in California and the 54th largest verdict in the entire United States for 2014. Also in 2014, Robert won a 4-week trial in Santa Barbara Superior Court and obtained a complete defense verdict in a case where FBBC's client was sued for damages allegedly exceeding $2.5 million for breach of fiduciary duty and alleged financial fraud. In 2016, Robert, as lead or co-lead counsel, settled cases totaling $91.2 million to the firm's clients.
In 2016 and again in 2017, Robert was designated as a Super Lawyer. The annual Super Lawyers list, published by Thomson Reuters, is a comprehensive and diverse guide to outstanding attorneys from a wide range of practice areas, firm sizes, and geographic regions.