The Wallace Firm

Bradley S. Wallace, the founder and president of The Wallace Firm, represents personal injury clients and handles cases involving professional malpractice, construction defects and insurance bad faith.

"After growing up watching courtroom dramas on TV and in the movies and reading John Grisham novels, I really got that David versus Goliath mentality of standing in front of juries seeking justice for a client who's been wronged," he said. "That's my whole career."

A special influence, Wallace recalled, was actor Matt Damon's cross-examination and closing argument in the 1997 film "The Rainmaker." "A kid died of leukemia because the insurance company refused to pay. My main focus after law school was finding a firm where I could get trial experience like that."

Deciding to go it alone, he opened his firm's doors in January 2016, starting in a tiny office with one part-time employee. Today, he has six attorneys and 17 staff members and has obtained more than $100 million for clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries and losses.

"I currently have more than 20 wrongful death cases pending," Wallace said.

In a recent slip-and-fall matter, Wallace represented a woman whose shoulder was injured at an apartment complex. Insurers offered $40,000. But after Wallace showed that the external stairway where the fall occurred turned slippery when the building's sprinkler system was on -- and that the owner should have known about that condition -- jurors voted on Aug. 1, 2022, to give the plaintiff $125,250 plus fees and costs. Brown v. Berro Management, BC700587 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 4, 2018).

In a jury win in May 2022, Wallace represented a pool man who was bit by a homeowner's dog. He obtained a $129,500 judgment. Lomeli v. Kharbouch, BC719580 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 28, 2018).

"The jury awarded more than double the pretrial offer," Wallace said.

He obtained a $2.5 million global settlement last year against the city of Victorville on behalf of the two children and wife of a man who drowned when he was swept away by flash flood waters in 2017. The city failed to heed multiple weather warnings; Wallace showed that officials were well aware of the dangerous conditions on the roadway, Pebble Beach Drive. Williams v. City of Victorville et al., CIVDS1723305 (S. Bernardino Co. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 2, 2018).

The tragedy was easily preventable, Wallace said, and the case exemplifies "why plaintiff trial lawyers are necessary as the last line of defense people have against corporate interests and government entities that have all the money, all the resources, all the lawyers to deny responsibility and delay responsibility. We have to fight that battle or else people like the Williams family are not going to get justice."

Wallace sometimes sees merit in cases other attorneys find doubtful. When one lawyer gave him a file bearing a note reading "potential drop?" Wallace took a closer look.

The potential plaintiff had been injured in an accident on the job, but the issue was somewhat clouded by claims that a co-worker had caused the mishap. "There were some complex Privette issues to be resolved," Wallace said, referring to the doctrine governing contractors' liability for worksite injuries.

"The other lawyer believed there was a likelihood we'd be kicked out on summary judgment and that the case might not be cost-effective. But we ran with it and put in the time and effort." The result was a $1.1 million settlement. Treyo v NBC Universal Theme Parks et al., BC649062 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 2, 2017).

"We've never had more big cases in our inventory than right now," Wallace said. "We've become a go-to firm to try other firms' cases."