Brendan Kunkle has tried and resolved cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, defective products, premises liability, wildfire claims, elder abuse, general negligence, insurance bad faith disputes, business tort litigation and public entity liability. Mr. Kunkle has been a practicing attorney for 31 years, the last 25 with Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery. He has been a Shareholder of the firm for the past 21 years and served for the past 11 years as its Managing Shareholder. He has vast trial experience and recognizes the significance of being willing to take a case to its end, whether by trial or resolution. He is committed to fighting for each and every case and client that he represents. The sole criteria he follows in prosecuting each and every case, is to act in the best interests of his client.
Mr. Kunkle brings extensive experience and expertise to each case and each client relationship. He focuses on protecting the rights of those who have been harmed by others. He prides himself on evaluating the unique needs of each of his clients, and in providing them with legal representation best suited to serve their needs.
After having lost his home and all that that entails in the 2017 Tubbs fire, he represented over 1,200 fire survivors against PG&E in a case that is now nearing its end after more than 7 years. He has focused his efforts on maximizing the recovery from the fire for each and every one of his clients. He served on the 11 member Tort Claimants Committee appointed by the trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court after PG&E filed for bankruptcy in early 2019 upon facing some 70,000 claims related to the 2017 and other fires. The Committee represented the interests of all 70,000 claimants in dealings and negotiations with PG&E.
Mr. Kunkle was also appointed as the individual claimants’/plaintiffs’ co-liaison counsel for all individual fire survivors of the 2019 Kincade Fire in this community, handling all negotiations and dealings with PG&E for all individual liability claims relating to that fire.
He has also been extremely active in the Sonoma County community at large, having served full terms with, and as the Chairman of the Board of three different Boards of Directors: United Way of the Wine Country, Schools Plus, and Redwood Empire Food Bank over 20+ years. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Burbank Housing, a non-profit organization dedicated to building quality affordable housing in the North Bay. He has also served as the president of Consumer Attorneys of Sonoma County, as a Settlement Conference Panelist for Sonoma County Superior Court, and has been a presenting speaker to the Sonoma County Bar Association on various topics, including Presentation of Evidence at Trial and Mediation. He has further served on the faculty of Empire College School of Law as a Professor of Trial Practice. He has also served for the past 25 years as a participant in the American Inns of Court, Richard Sangster Chapter, and served in the past on its Executive Committee.
Education
- Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco (J.D., 1994)
- Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo (B.A., 1991)
Affiliations
Admitted
- State Bar of California (1994)
- United States District Court, Northern District of California (1994)
- United States District Court, District of Arizona (1998)
Awards & Recognitions
- Northern California Super Lawyer since 2014
- Recipient (Multiple) of the Sonoma Magazine Lawyers of Distinction Award
- San Francisco Magazine’s Top Attorneys in Northern California
- America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys
- United Way of the Wine Country Leadership Award (2010)
- Schools Plus Leadership Award (2014)
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