Blackman Legal, Personal Injury Lawyers | Attorney Profiles

Clifford A. Blackman

The founder and CEO of the Blackman Legal Group is Clifford A. Blackman, a lawyer practicing in California since 1976. His skills in the courtroom and in the art of negotiation have earned him a reputation as a powerful advocate for the rights of the injured and oppressed.

Mr. Blackman has won several million-dollar verdicts and settlements, making him one of the elite personal injury attorneys in California. His expertise is in cases involving spine and brain injuries, and cases involving major surgery following catastrophic accidents. By working with medical specialists, rehabilitation experts, life care planners, neurosurgeons and other expert specialists, Mr. Blackman strives to secure full compensation for his clients' serious injuries.

A few of his recent verdicts and settlements include:

$2 Million for death of a pedestrian run down by truck
$1 Million for the death of a couple in a small plane crash

Mr. Blackman earned both his BA and MA in drama and television from Hofstra University in New York, and he puts his special theatrical training to good use as a trial lawyer. He skillfully presents his clients cases using detailed medical illustrations and the expert testimony of medical and accident specialists. He has tried cases in courts throughout California as well as in other states, including Montana in 2008.

Mr. Blackman was the founder of the Bay Area Lawyers Network, a certified provider of continuing education for lawyers in California, which hosts nine continuing educational programs for attorneys each year at the City Club of San Francisco in a wide variety of legal topics.

San Francisco, San Mateo, San Jose, Sacramento, Oakland, Newport Beach, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, La Jolla

For more information about Clifford A. Blackman.

See Mr. Blackman's informative videos:

Jacob Shapiro

Jacob Shapiro is a trial attorney and litigation specialist for the Blackman Legal Group since he began practicing in 1996. He has successfully handled thousands of personal injury and wrongful death cases in California, including many cases involving spinal cord injuries, back injuries, head injuries and brain injuries. Mr. Shapiro has an extremely high success rate in court winning over 95% of his cases and motions.

Among his recent verdicts and settlement:

$3,000,000 judgment for the family of a woman killed on the freeway by a tire which had fallen off another car coming in the other direction and which flew across the freeway into oncoming traffic striking her car on the windshield.

Mr. Shapiro majored in Political Science at U.C. Berkeley and received his degree with high honors in 1992. Attending law school at the University of Santa Clara, Mr. Shapiro received his Juris Doctorate in Law in 1996, graduating summa cum laude.

Mr. Shapiro finished first in his class in both tort law and business organizations and received the highest individual award in the university’s extremely competitive Moot Court Competition. The award indicating exemplary oral advocacy skills was bestowed upon Mr. Shapiro by former California Supreme Court Justice, the honorable Edward A. Panelli. He is a member of the State Bar of California and a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Mr. Shapiro has handled hundreds of cases to successful completion during his years with the Blackman Legal Group, including numerous trials in Bay Area courts

Redwood City, Oakland, San Jose, Walnut Creek

For more information about Jacob Shapiro.

Albert G. Stoll, Jr.

Mr. Stoll stands up for the rights of individuals who have suffered catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries in accidents, from nursing home neglect or elder abuse or from the use of dangerous drugs. A highly respected trial lawyer, Al is the founder of Albert G. Stoll, Jr., a law corporation in San Francisco, and is of counsel to Blackman Legal Group.

Al has obtained the prestigious AV from the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating system and in 2006 and 2007 was selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer. He has tried over fifty civil jury cases through verdict, volunteered as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and is co-author of Plaintiff Lawyers Guide to Minor Impact Cervical and Lumbar Injuries, (Litigation One 2003). He received his J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1992 and B.S. in Economics from U.C. Santa Barbara in 1990. Al is on the Board of Governors for the Consumer Attorneys of California and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association.

San Francisco, San Mateo, San Jose, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento

For more information about Albert G. Stoll.

Patrick McNicholas

Patrick is a founding partner of McNicholas & McNicholas LLP in Los Angeles and is of counsel to Blackman Legal Group. Since his admission to the bar in 1986 Patrick McNicholas has exclusively represented plaintiffs in complex personal injury cases and class action lawsuits.

Some of his major verdicts and settlements in brain and spinal cord injury cases include:

$6,500,000 for family of subway tunnel worker killed in work place accident
$5,000,000 for hears of individual killed in vehicle accident
$5,700,000 settlement for wrongful death of two working mothers, ages 40 and 50, struck by a corporate van
$1,400,000 settlement for father of a 9 year old boy ejected and killed in a motor vehicle accident while not wearing a seat belt
$1,250,000 verdict for the death of an 88 year old woman killed by California Department of Correction Bus while crossing the street

A partner of McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, Mr. McNicholas earned his law degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and is admitted to California state and federal courts. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Consumer Attorneys of California Board of Governors, and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. He is an Associate with the American Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. McNicholas is admitted to the California Supreme Court and all intermediate and trial courts in California, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Whittier College School of Law employed Mr. McNicholas as an Adjunct Professor in Trial Advocacy, and the legal community has benefited by his publications and presentations in the areas of expert examination, trial preparation, and maritime injuries. He also serves as Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court, as an Arbitrator and as a Settlement Officer for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Mr. McNicholas has published scores of articles, including "Cross-Examination of the Defense Expert" (CAALA Law Vegas Convention, 1997); "Preparing the Employment Case for Trial" (Forum Vol. 28, No. 9, 1998); "The Danger Creation Doctrine and Section 1983: Governmental Liability for Third Party Torts" (Forum Vol. 29, No. 5, 1999); and "The Essentials of Representing the Injured Seaman" (Forum Vol. 31, No. 2, 2001).

Mr. McNicholas was selected by Los Angeles Magazine and Law and Politics as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the area of personal injury for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and was named “top 100” lawyer by Super Lawyers in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County

See Patrick McNicholas's informative video

Helping Injured People Bring Claims for Injuries or Financial Losses in a Mass Tort Case

Matthew McNicholas

A partner in McNicholas & McNicholas LLP in Los Angeles, Mr. McNicholas is of counsel to Blackman Legal Group. Matthew McNicholas was recently ranked as one of the Top Twenty Lawyers in the State of California Under 40 Years Old by the California Law Business section of the Los Angeles Daily Journal (May 6, 2002).

Some of his settlements and verdicts for clients who have suffered include:

A $3,450,000 settlement for a seaman who tripped and fell in a boatyard, and later developed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (Complex Nerve Disorder) as a result of his injuries.
A $842,000 verdict for a motorcyclist who was seriously injured when a passenger van made a u-turn in front of him causing a collision.
A $350,000 settlement for a man injured when a temporary wooden wall designed to keep people out of a construction site at a theme park blew over onto him.

A former federal law clerk with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Judge William J. Rea), Mr. McNicholas formerly externed with California Court of Appeals Justice Richard Aldrich and U.S. District Judge John G. Davies. Mr. McNicholas is a prolific writer, with many publications on trial advocacy, products liability, and tort law. These publications include Dismiss ERISA, published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal (September 5, 2001) and Eight Motion Tips From a Former Federal Law Clerk, 13 Trial Excellence 1 (January 2001).

He is a frequent speaker and panelist to the Consumer Attorneys Association of California and other legal organizations. He is admitted to practice in California state and federal courts. He is a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he belonged to the Phi Delta Phi Honor Society and received the American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Law.

Mr. McNicholas is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, where he serves on the board; the Consumer Attorneys of California; the Irish American Bar Association; and the Malibu Bar Association, where he also serves as a board member.

Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County

Robert M. Klein

A native of Los Angeles, Robert Klein graduated from the University of Arizona in 1981 and South Western School of Law in 1983. In addition to belonging to the California bar, Mr. Klein was admitted to the US District Court in 1984. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and the American Bar Association, in addition to serving as the President of the Braemoor Business Alliance.

Mr. Klein practices exclusively in plaintiff's personal injury cases for clients who have suffered a wide range of serious injuries, including brain and spinal cord injuries resulting from auto accidents, falls, premises liability, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, and defective products. Mr. Klein maintains his practice in Los Angeles.

Mr. Klein prides himself on adding a personal touch to his practice. Clients always receive a call back the same day, and can expect to speak with a lawyer not a secretary. Mr. Klein is committed to giving each client personal attention.

Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim

For more information about Robert M. Klein.

See Mr. Klein's informative videos

Robert Gibson

Robert Gibson is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a prestigious group of accomplished trial attorneys working to protect your right to a jury trial. Mr. Gibson is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization consisting of the top trial lawyers in the country.

After completing his undergraduate degree at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, he graduated with honors from McGeorge School of Law in 1992. He began his legal career as an insurance defense attorney with a highly respected Century City, California, law firm.

Since 1996, his practice has consisted of handling serious injury, spinal cord injury and brain injury cases resulting from automobile accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, falls, medical malpractice, product liability, and swimming pool accidents.

Mr. Gibson, admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 2004, is a veteran of more than 25 jury trials and routinely takes cases all the way to trial if needed. Because of that, he has garnered the respect of both insurance representatives and defense attorneys. In addition, he routinely finds himself called upon by other lawyers to step in and try a case when other lawyers have been unable to effect a settlement.

Santa Ana, Los Angeles, San Diego, Newport Beach, Las Vegas-Nevada

For more information about Robert Gibson.

James F. Brook

Mr. Brook has devoted his entire career to representing injured clients in spinal cord injury and brain damage cases. His practice is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and he is of counsel to Blackman Legal Group, handling selected catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in Arizona.

Mr. Brook has represented thousands of clients and participated in hundreds of trials in state and federal courts across the nation. He has published litigation texts and taught Continuing Legal Education seminars for trial lawyers. He is listed in Martindale-Hubbell's National Law Directory, the National Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and Who's Who in American Law.

Mr. Brook was recently included in Phoenix Magazine's Top Lawyer's, The Valley's Most Respected Law Firms.

Phoenix, Arizona

Of Counsel Lawyers

Special trial attorneys who have exceptional skills in different areas of practice are of counsel to Blackman Legal Group and handle cases on a regular basis throughout California, Arizona and Nevada. They are independent lawyers and are neither partners of the Blackman Legal Group nor contract lawyers for Blackman Legal Group. Of counsel lawyers are fully responsible for the cases that they handle for Blackman Legal Group.

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We pride ourselves on providing the highest level of customer service to our clients, our special expertise in personal injury law, and our excellent record of settlements and verdicts in TBI, closed head injury and paralysis cases.

Let our decades of experience as trial lawyers go to work for you on your case as soon as possible. Call our toll-free number at your first opportunity. 1-866-528-8115, extension 325 for New Case Evaluations.