Thomas C. Hurrell

Born in 1960, Mr. Hurrell attended college at the University of California at San Diego, and earned a law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1985. He started with the predecessor firm of Hillsinger and Costanzo immediately after law school and passed the California Bar Exam that same year.

Mr. Hurrell quickly jumped into the trial arena his first year of practice, and he averaged trying six to eight cases a year as he progressed into his legal career. He became one of the youngest members in the country of The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) at the age of 32. He now holds the rank of Diplomate in that prestigious organization.

Mr. Hurrell has continued to specialize in trying cases in federal and state courts for the defense in matters involving Employment Law, Toxic Torts & Product Liability, Law Enforcement Liability, and General and Government Liability. He has achieved a remarkable success rate in the last decade, often achieving major victories.

He has obtained in defense verdicts in cases involving wrongful death, officer-involved shootings, allegations of excessive force, automobile negligence, wrongful terminations based on race, gender, age, and other legally protected characteristics.

Because of his success at trial, he is frequently called upon by in-house counsel and national counsel to serve as trial counsel as their cases approach trial.

He is a frequent lecturer on topics of trial strategy and loss prevention. He also regularly serves as a faculty member for the ABOTA Jack Daniels Trial School.

He is a Member of the State Bar of California; the Los Angeles County and the American Bar Associations; the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel; DRI; and the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association.

He and his wife Lisa live in Pasadena where they keep busy raising five children.

Representative Matters:

• Defense verdict in a wrongful death action resulting from an officer-involved shooting
• Defense verdict following a federal court trial where the plaintiff alleged unlawful arrest and excessive force resulting in a head injury after law-enforcement officers arrested him during a party at his home
• Defense verdict in a lawsuit brought by an employee who claimed he was discriminated and retaliated against based on his age, gender and race
• Defense verdict in case arising out of plaintiff’s claims of unlawful termination, disability discrimination, the employer’s failure to accommodate her disability, and retaliation for exercising her family medical leave
• Defense verdict in a case brought by a physician employed by a public entity alleging a claim of age discrimination based on a theory of disparate impact.
• Defense verdict in a case where the plaintiff alleged he sustained a traumatic brain injury after being injured by a tree
• Defense verdict in a rear-end collision where the plaintiff claims he sustained traumatic brain injuries and other permanent severe injuries
• Defense verdict for a school district and school administrators in a lawsuit brought by a teacher alleging she was retaliated for complaining about racial discrimination
• Defense verdict in toxic tort action by plaintiff alleging he sustained severe neurological problems after exposure to chemical product

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