California license and practice

Gerald A. Klein is admitted to practice law in California and is a member of the State Bar of California in good standing (State Bar of California #107727). Verify the current individual Bar record at apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/107727 before hiring an attorney.

Gerald A. Klein is Retired Of Counsel at Klein & Wilson LLP in Newport Beach. As of January 1, 2024, he is no longer a partner of the firm and is “of counsel.” He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation, legal malpractice, real estate, trade secrets, unfair competition, and insurance bad faith, and has also served as an expert witness in legal malpractice matters. His practice areas include business litigation, partnership disputes, LLC and LLP disputes, accounting malpractice, commercial real estate, legal malpractice, shareholder disputes, intellectual property litigation, class action defense, and appeals. He began his career as a prosecutor in the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, where he gained substantial jury-trial experience, and co-founded Klein & Wilson (firm formed 1994). He has taken over 40 cases to verdict in jury and bench trials. His notable results, per the firm, include a $26 million recovery including punitive damages in a breach-of-contract and fraud case against a major media company, a $10 million recovery in a legal-malpractice case against one of California’s largest law firms, and a $12 million breach-of-contract case settled on the first day of trial. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1982 and graduated magna cum laude from a flagship state university in New York; he received the Russell P. Serber Memorial Scholarship during law school. His recognition includes Orange County Trial Lawyers Association Trial Lawyer of the Year 2003 and 2009, American Board of Trial Advocates Trial Lawyer of the Year 2022, induction into the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2017, the Southern California Super Lawyers list since 2005, the Super Lawyers Top 50 Orange County list 2014, 2015 and 2019–2023, the Super Lawyers Top 100 Southern California List 2019–2023, recognition as an elite trial attorney in Orange County by OC Register Metro magazine, a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, and listing in Best Lawyers since 2015. He taught college-level law courses for the University of California and California State University Long Beach, taught trial practice at UC Irvine School of Law (fall 2014), gave dozens of seminars to large law firms on multimedia trial presentations, and was faculty for the ABTL annual seminar on the Art of Story Telling. He attributes his courtroom success to being a champion high school wrestler: “I learned I hate to lose.”

Matters this legal field covers

Business litigation legal work may cover business litigation, partnership and shareholder disputes, LLC and LLP disputes, accounting malpractice, commercial real estate, legal malpractice, trade secrets, unfair competition, and insurance bad faith.

Questions to ask

Ask which type of business matter the lawyer handles, the relevant California county, potential filing deadlines, and the scope of legal fees. Confirm whether the firm can handle your location, matter type and timing.

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