Thomas J. Brandi
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Practice Areas:
- Plaintiff’s Personal Injury
- Consumer Class Actions
Biography
Thomas J. Brandi is a San Francisco native who graduated from Saint Ignatius, San Jose State, and the University of San Francisco Law School. He is a well-recognized trial attorney with numerous significant verdicts including eighteen trial verdicts ranging from one million to over one billion dollars and over 150 settlements in excess of one million dollars. Tom is licensed to practice in State and Federal Court in California, the United States Court of Claims, the United States Supreme Court, and has tried cases to verdict in 16 California counties in addition to a number of federal trial Courts representing clients in cases throughout California and in other states, appearing in over thirty California counties. A lawyer for over thirty five years, Tom began his career with the State of California before practicing with the firms of Abramson & Bianco and Bianco, Brandi & Jones and with the Brandi Law firm since 1992.
Tom has been elected to membership in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (membership limited to 500 attorneys), the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Tom has long been active in a leadership role in many different types of litigation including injuries from drugs and devices to consumer fraud and worker’s rights. He was court appointed to serve on behalf of plaintiffs in Dalkon Shield class action matters in Virginia, the plaintiffs' Management Committee in the California Diet Drug Litigation where thousands of individuals were victimized by the diet pill combination Fen-Phen, the Plaintiffs' Management Committee in the Alaska Airlines crash litigation, and the asbestos creditors claimants committees in the bankruptcy proceedings involving USG and W.R. Grace Co. two of the leading asbestos companies.
In 2003 Tom was lead counsel in a class action trial that obtained a verdict in excess of one billion dollars and an injunction against the Bank of America on behalf of Social Security recipients. In 2010 Tom Brandi was appointed lead counsel on behalf of California Zicam users and negotiated a successful settlement. In 2010 Federal Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman appointed Tom lead counsel for retail sales representatives of Hershey in an action that successfully resolved issues pertaining to their overtime compensation in 2011.
In 2011 Tom was appointed to the executive committee in the California Fosamax litigation (JCCP 4644) representing people who sustained atypical femur (thigh) fractures. On May 2, 2012 he was appointed to the four attorney executive committee in the California ACTOS litigation (JCCP 4696) representing type II diabetics who sustained bladder cancer associated with ACTOS. Tom serves as co-liaison counsel in this ongoing litigation.
In 2015 Tom was named by the SF/LA Daily Journal one of the Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyers in California. According to the newspaper the list includes ”these are the ones who consistently force broad change in the law, industry, and society.”… “The work they are doing to hold governments and industry accountable will last long after the bling is dimmed.”
Tom has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including resolutions from the California State Senate and Assembly. He frequently lectures and writes about trial matters and consumer rights. In 2004, he was named California Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California. Since 2004 he has been voted every year as one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Northern California in all specialties of law, and was named to the Top 10 in 2006, 2013, and 2014. Selected by his peers in the 2014 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, Tom is one of a distinguished group of attorneys who have been listed in Best Lawyers for twenty years. Tom was selected for the specialties of: Mass Tort Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation.
In 2013 Tom was named by Best Lawyers' 2013 San Francisco Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs "Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
Tom is a three time nominee for Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California (2002, 2004, 2012) and four time nominee for Trial Lawyer of the Year by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (2000, 2002, 2004, 2012). He was also nominated as National Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (2004). He is the 2004 recipient of the prestigious Robert E. Cartwright Award for excellence in trial advocacy given by the Consumer Attorneys of California. On April 20, 2005 Tom received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. He was named by Lawdragon to the Top 500 Plaintiff's lawyers in America. In 2008 He was named one of the Top 500 lawyers in America in all specialties by Lawdragon, who stated, "From the Dalkon Shield IUD in the1970s, through asbestos, fen-phen and now Vioxx, Brandi has handled the hot plaintiffs' issues of the times."
Tom is an adjunct professor teaching Trial Practice at University of San Francisco Law School. He was selected as the Hon. Ira A. Brown Adjunct Professor of the year for 2010- 2011. Tom has served numerous organizations in leadership roles. He was elected President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (2000) and President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (1998). He was a Director of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF 2002-2003) where he also served on BASF's Judicial Evaluation Committee, and was a member of the Commission for Access to Justice. He was appointed by Chief Justice Ronald George to the Judicial Council Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee.
Tom also serves as the Honorary Counsel of Slovenia and is the Chair of the American Slovenian Educational Foundation. He was recently interviewed by attorney Wesley J. Smith regarding his commitment to protecting consumers through his work at the CAOC.
He is a member of the Italian American Bar Association, American Association for Justice (AAJ), Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA), and Public Justice. On December 9, 2011, Mr. Brandi was honored as the Italian American Bar Association’s Person of the Year at their annual Judge’s Luncheon and was awarded the coveted “Golden Salami”. He is married and lives in San Francisco with his family.
Education
- University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, California
- San Jose State University
Bar Admission
- California, 1972
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 1972
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1972
- U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1972
- U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1972
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1982
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Supreme Court
Honors
- Voted as One of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Northern California in All Specialties of Law
- Named as One of the Best Lawyers in America
- Nominee for Trial Lawyer of the Year, Statewide Consumer Attorneys of California, 2002, 2004
- Nominee for Trial Lawyer of the Year, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
- Nominee for Trial Lawyer of the Year, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
- Nominated as National Trial Lawyer of the Year, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
- Recipient, Prestigious Robert E. Cartwright Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, Consumer Attorneys of California
- 2004 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California
- Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame Inductee, State Bar of California’s Litigation Section
- Lifetime Achievement Award – San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
- Top 500 Lawyers in America – Lawdragon
- Distinguished Alumni of the Year – University of San Francisco
- Golden Salami Award Recipient, Italian American Bar Association
- Professor of the Year, San Francisco School of Law
Classes & Seminars
- Adjunct Professor, Trial Practice, University of San Francisco Law School
Past Positions
- Abramson & Bianco
- Bianco, Brandi & Jones
Professional Associations
- International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Member
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Member
- Bar Association of San Francisco, Director, 2002 to 2003
- Consumer Attorneys of California, President, 2000 to 2000
- San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, President, 1998 to 1998
- Italian American Bar Association, Member
- American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member
- Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), Member
- San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA), Member
- Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG), Member
- Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Member
- San Francisco Bar Association, Judicial Evaluation Committee
- Commission for Access to Justice
- Chief Justice Ronald George, Judicial Council Civil and Small Claims Advisory Committee
- California Diet Drug Litigation, Member, Plaintiffs' Management Committee
- Alaska Airlines Crash Litigation, Plaintiffs' Management Committee, Member
- Vioxx Litigation, Plaintiffs' Management Committee
- Vioxx Litigation, MDL Science and Discovery Committee
- American Board of Trial Advocates, (ABOTA), San Francisco Chapter
- Litigation Counsel of America
- San Francisco Trial Lawyer Association, Past President
- Judicial Council Civil Litigation and Small Claims Committee
- Bar Association of California Judicial Evaluation Committee
- Bar Association of California Commission for Access to Justice
Pro-Bono Activities
- Honorary Counsel of the Republic of Slovenia
- American Slovenian Educational Foundation, Chair
- St. Ignatius Legal Society, President
- Blue Ribbon Panel of Experts
Representative Cases
- Hutchinson v. State of California, Solano County Superior Court, FCS030143
- Garcia v. Santa Maria Tire, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, CV031186
- Donville v. North Coast Engineering, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, CV980098
- Evans v. San Francisco Housing Authority, San Francisco County Superior Court, 999850
- TC vs. State, Santa Clara County
- Sherman v. Avco Lycoming, Santa Clara County Superior Court
- Peterson vs. Wellington Puritan Mills, San Francisco County Superior Court No. 874032
- Dubroff v. Hathaway, San Mateo County Superior Court, CIV000400534
- Burkowski vs. State, San Mateo County Superior Court, CIV481154 consolidated
- Arrigale v. Merck & Co., Los Angeles County Superior Court No. 05CC03136
- Miller v. Bank of America, San Francisco County Superior Court No. 301917