After five decades as one of the nation’s premier trial lawyers, GBW Partner Bruce Broillet has earned something no award can bestow: the enduring respect of his clients, peers, and fellow advocates. A new profile explores the experiences and philosophy that have shaped Bruce’s extraordinary career—from his first trial as a young, nervous lawyer to the meticulous preparation, competitive spirit, and human connection that continue to define his approach to trial advocacy.
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Bruce Broillet’s intelligent and committed approach to the law has earned him national recognition and respect among his peers in the legal community and has led to his induction into the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles “Hall of Fame” and the Lawdragon “Hall of Fame.” Mr. Broillet is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group composed of the top 100 plaintiff trial lawyers in America.
As a trial lawyer, he has obtained numerous seven- and eight-figure results. He represents plaintiffs in such areas as wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, product liability, business litigation, and professional malpractice.
His diverse achievements include:
Bruce tried and won a $55 million jury verdict for sports and television personality Erin Andrews against the Nashville Marriott relating to a video secretly taken of her while she was in a state of undress in her hotel room. The case was covered nationally and internationally by all major media outlets and sparked a national conversation about security, safety, and privacy for hotel guests. This verdict led to Bruce being named Consumer Attorney of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of California.
Bruce represented the family of actor Bill Paxton in their case concerning his wrongful death. He has successfully handled a wide variety of complex cases, ranging from stock transfer fraud to defective products causing life-altering injuries. His outstanding trial work has pitted him against such diverse entities as General Motors Corporation, Isuzu Motor Co., American Appliance Corporation, Robertson Honda, Schlumberger Corp., Ford Motor Company, Ambassador Insurance Company, International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), Globe Machinery Company, LA Fitness, Turner Construction Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Imperial, and the State of California.
He represented television news reporter Adrienne Alpert in her case involving severe injuries from electrical shock, executive producer Gary Binkow (Finding Neverland) in his case against Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne for breach of contract, and independent producer Leigh Ann Burton in her case against Oscar de la Hoya for wrongfully using her reality television show idea. He currently represents companies and individuals harmed in the business arena and in matters involving catastrophic personal injury and death.
Bruce has been named one of the “Top Ten Southern California Super Lawyers” 14 times. He was also named “top point-getter” by Super Lawyers in 2008. He is also named in The Best Lawyers in America and has been honored as its “Lawyer of the Year” in personal injury for Los Angeles.
Bruce served as President of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (1994) and has received its “Trial Lawyer of the Year Award” and its “Ted Horn Memorial Award.” The Century City Bar Association named him its “Litigator of the Year.” The Consumer Attorneys of California elected Bruce its President (2001) and has presented him with its “Robert E. Cartwright Award,” its “Edward I. Pollock Award,” and its “Marvin E. Lewis Award.”
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California Lawyer Magazine named Bruce “One of California’s Most Respected Plaintiff’s Lawyers” and the Los Angeles Daily Journal has repeatedly named him as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California.” He has been named by Lawdragon to its list of “The 500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and its list of “The 500 Leading Litigators in America” on five occasions. He has also repeatedly been named one of the Top 30 Plaintiff Attorneys in California by The Los Angeles Daily Journal. In 2017, Bruce was named a Plaintiff’s Lawyers Trailblazer by the National Law Journal.
Bruce was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and has served on its Board of Governors. He is a Founding Member of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and he co-chaired the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles’ 2002 Annual Law Firm Campaign.
Elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Bruce holds the rank of Advocate and has served on ABOTA’s National Board of Directors. He is a recipient of the “Civility Award” from the Los Angeles Chapter of ABOTA.
Bruce was honored by the Foundation For Taxpayer and Consumer Rights with its “Lifetime Legal Achievement Award.” Loyola Law School presented Bruce with its “Champions of Justice” award. The Association of Southern California Defense Counsel presented Bruce with its “Civil Advocate Award.”
In 1995, Bruce chaired the statewide CAOC-CAALA Joint Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Committee, which educated plaintiffs’ attorneys on how to better serve their clients. As an author, Bruce has written several publications including “Chapter 55, Industrial (Heavy) Machinery,” Matthew Bender Products Liability Practice Guide, 1988; and “Anatomy of a Civil Jury Trial,” 1992. He is a frequent guest lecturer at professional seminars.
Bruce is active in a number of community activities. A firm believer in the value of education, Bruce served for many years on the Advisory Council for the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letter and was recently appointed to the Advisory Council for Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies. Bruce served as President of the University of Texas School of Law Alumni Association and now serves as a member of the law school Board of Trustees. Bruce has endowed three scholarships to enable deserving students to attend the University of Notre Dame, including the Mr. and Mrs. Eugene H. Broillet Scholarship, the Eugene H. Broillet Scholarship, and the John and Betty Foster Scholarship, as well as a graduate stipend fund in the names of two of his uncles, Joseph and Frank Ferrara. Bruce also endowed a fellowship at Notre Dame in the name of his two best friends from college. He has endowed scholarships in the name of his parents to the University of Texas School of Law, his law school alma mater. Bruce also established a computer classroom in his father’s name and a high-tech teaching facility in his mother’s name at his high school in El Paso, Texas, Cathedral High School.
Bruce was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame (1971) and his J.D. from the University of Texas (1974).
He is admitted to the State Bar of California. He is married to Norah, and they have a son, Dalton.
A jury awarded Erin Andrews $55 million on Monday in her lawsuit against a stalker who bought a hotel room next to her and secretly recorded a nude video, finding that the hotel companies and the stalker shared in the blame.
A San Diego jury on Thursday ordered Hyatt to pay $15.5 million over the death of a guest who was left uncontacted for a day after failing to check out, rejecting the hotel giant’s argument that it had no duty to more closely monitor her wellbeing.
“Nobody is resting on 50 years of achievements. It’s, ‘What is coming up next? What are the new frontiers that we are headed to?'” said Bruce Broillet, who has been with the El Seguno plaintiffs’ firm since 1977.
L.A. Unified has reached a $9.5-million settlement with the parents of a 12-year-old boy who died after running laps at Dodson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes, the attorneys representing the family said Wednesday.
The late actor’s family notified the Los Angeles County Superior Court of the settlement on Friday, close to a month before the trial was set to start.
The family of an attorney who was struck and killed on a bicycle by a sheriff’s deputy who was distracted by a digital device will receive an $11.75 million settlement from Los Angeles County.
GBW attorneys Bruce Broillet and Alan Van Gelder secured a $15 million verdict against a property management company for the acts of an employee who drove intoxicated, resulting in a serious car accident.
GBW’s trial team, led by partners Bruce Broillet and Scott Carr, represented FOX Sports reporter and TV personality, Erin Andrews, in her case against a hotel for its misconduct, which led to a stalker secretly shooting video of Andrews in her hotel room in the nude.
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