Thomas Penfield

Thomas Penfield, a partner in the firm, has significant experience in personal injury, products liability, and class action litigation. Mr. Penfield has handled several multi-million dollar cases during his tenure with our firm. In one case, he served as co-counsel in a jury trial, representing H&H Cerritos against U.S. Mineral Products, Inc., and obtained a $14.1 million jury verdict.

A high profile settlement saw Mr. Penfield successfully represent thirteen Honda dealers as plaintiffs in a civil proceeding arising from a case the U.S. Attorney described as "the largest commercial bribery case in U.S. history." More recently, Mr. Penfield generated significant interest with his jury trial result in Vista, California., concerning a difficult case involving a fall by a student at a vocational school, which resulted in a recovery of nearly $500,000 through a jury trial verdict. Even before that verdict, he attracted attention with his excellent result in a difficult "Slip and Fall" case, which resulted in a jury verdict of $261,000. Mr. Penfield has helped recover over $90 million for our various clients.

In 1996, Mr. Penfield was the proud recipient of the Environmental Lawyer of the Year Award from the Sierra Club's San Diego Chapter. In 2003, he was awarded the President's Star Award by the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.

After graduating from law school Mr. Penfield worked as a supervising trial lawyer with the Defenders Program of San Diego, and then as a full-time clinical Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law before joining the firm. He continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of San Diego Law School, teaching the basic jury trial skills class. He instructs other attorneys on jury trial techniques as well, and has served as faculty for both the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice). He has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating available.

As part of his personal commitment to public service, Mr. Penfield has served as Chairman and Member of the San Diego County Juvenile Justice Commission and pro tem Judge, as well as an Arbitrator for the San Diego Superior Court. A leader in the local bar, he is both an officer and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of North San Diego County and is the past chairman of its Personal Injury section. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of San Diego.

In his spare time, Mr. Penfield enjoys photography, jogging and singing, and formerly played the guitar in a popular local rock band. He and his wife Leslie enjoy walking their Labradoodle in Coastal North County.