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Mr. Griffin has been in engaged in general civil practice since being admitted to the California State Bar in 1977. As Chief Trial Counsel in several firms he has served as lead counsel in over one hundred major trials. The matters involved representation of both Plaintiffs and Defendants in both State and Federal Courts. He has appeared before several Courts of Appeal, the California Supreme Court and is admitted to the United States Supreme Court. He has handled matters in in over twenty states and eleven foreign countries.
Practice areas: Product Liability, Real Estate, Environmental remediation, Insurance, General Negligence. Business and Commercial matters have included construction, construction design, product defect, contract, fraud and unfair business practice litigation. General business practice has involved labor, sex and other harassment. Mr. Griffin has handled major domestic and international Banking disputes in the U.S. and abroad.
Mr. Griffin has handled litigation and arbitration involving the following instrumentalities:
Pipes, Sewage systems, Canal Design, Pumps, Chemical and Asbestos contamination, Automobiles, Aircraft, Computers, Circuit boards, Classified Aircraft and Coatings, Pesticides and Herbicides, Glass Fiber Systems, Road Signage, Oil Well Drilling and Operation, Retail Store Flooring, Roofing Structural Design, Agricultural Management, Flood Protection and Surface Water Management, Medical Procedures and Practice, Helicopter modification, Pesticide Application and Drift, Hydrology Design Cooling System Design, Industrial Chromium use, Print Shop Ink Toxicology, Service Station Automotive Fluid Drainage, Dry Well Contamination, Remediation Engineering and Hydrology, Automotive Tire Design, Aircraft Propeller failure. Mr. Griffin has been involved in a wide range of product defect cases involving materials standard, testing and failure analysis
Mr. Griffin has represented a number of plaintiffs and defendants in CERCLA and related environmental actions involving a wide range of toxic substances. His experience has involved extensive involvement in. civil engineering, geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, toxicology and remediation technology. Mr. Griffin spent several years extensively involved in product defect litigation involving Techite, Transite, HDPE and several other types of pipes. Mr. Griffin is currently involved in extensive litigation chemical contamination, soil and groundwater remediation as well as vapor intrusion. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of AEHS.
Mr. Griffin has been involved in a wide range of environmental issues and litigation including CERCLA, Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, CEQA, FIFRA, RCRA and Carpenter-Presley HSA, State and Federal ESA matters.
Trial Clients include:
City of San Diego
City of Sebastopol
County of Maui
City of Fairbanks
The Leland Stanford Jr. University
Hobas AB, Basel
Brown and Bryant Co.
Angeles Chemical Company
Trial Experience Executive Summary
Well over one hundred trials as lead counsel. Several Trials over two months; Longest trial eight months; Over ten verdicts and settlements over ten million dollars; Largest verdict 15 million dollars (seven million punitive); Largest settlement to date fifty five million dollars; Several successful defense verdicts and judgments; Well over 100 million dollars in verdicts and settlements as Plaintiffs’ Counsel and have prepared and presented successful defense cases involving larger sums. Mr. Griffin has litigation experience in over twenty states and eleven countries. International experience includes Canada, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Japan, Libya and former Soviet Union (Latvia).
Experience includes heavy technical and document intensive matters including 3 million page libraries. Built, programmed and indexed document libraries in computerized litigation systems.
Extensive experience in litigation training and supervision of attorney and paralegal staff.
Technology
Mr. Griffin has been preeminent in. the field of litigation technology and serves as a consultant for several litigation software companies. He has developed systems for information and document management systems. Programming: Fortran, Cobal, Basic, Visual C. Programs: Office, Word, Power Point, Front Page, Access, Excel, Act, Summation, Trial Director, Photoshop, Etc.
Education And Admission
1974-1977 Loyola University Law School, Los Angeles J.D. Degree.
Civil Litigation emphasis
Internship L.A. Superior Court, Law and Discovery Dept.
Admitted to Practice 1977
No Bar Discipline.
1970-1974 B.A. Degree California State University.
Personal
Born 1952. Married to wife Ellen and they have four adult children. Hobbies include cooking, painting, photography, golf and reading.
Mr. Griffin developed his own Trial Support Company specializing in 3D virtual Reality modeling of environmental and construction conditions.
3
Practice Areas
48 years | 1,000 cases
48 years | 1,000 cases
48 years | 1,000 cases
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$0 first 60 minutes
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Chat withState: California
Acquired: 1977
Lawyer disciplined by state licensing authority in 2025
501 W Broadway Ste 800, San Diego, CA, 92101-3546
Showing 1 - 5 of 8 client reviews from Avvo
Posted by john | January 23, 2019 | Hired Attorney
i hired him but it has taken him a year to do anything on my case and all documents were filed late and wrong and finally he did not show up for my hearing and i am sure i have lost my case.
Posted by Said | August 13, 2018 | Hired Attorney
David is very prompt and efficient in getting things done, I really appreciate his years of experience which led to a successful settlement agreement without going before a Jury or Judge.
Posted by Michael | July 30, 2018 | Hired Attorney
David has represented our firm on three occasions. He has won two of the three, and we feel very good about the third one. David is tough and works every angle to win for which we are very grateful. His style, or bedside manners take some time to get used to, but once you do so, you will be very happ...
Posted by joanne | November 3, 2017 | Hired Attorney
i have hired griffin.he did not review my case.he has not file anything.it has been over six months now.he has no secretary.he only answers the phone.he has no office.i have asked for my money back and now he doesnot answer my phone calls.he told me that he will get to me when he gets to me.
Posted by Alma | September 25, 2017 | Hired Attorney
I went through a VERY DIFFICULT legal battle. To the point where I lost faith in the justice system and attorneys who helped me. I met Mr Griffin almost by accident. But I'm so GRATEFUL I did. What stood out and different about Mr Griffin was that he LISTENED. Carefully listened. He took the ...
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This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2025.
Resignation with charges pending issued in CA, 2025
updated on 11/11/2025Resignation with charges pending means the attorney resigned in order to avoid being disbarred, the most serious penalty for a lawyer.
Voluntary inactive (disciplinary) issued in CA, 2025
updated on 06/23/2025This sanction means the attorney resigned in order to avoid being disbarred, the most serious penalty for a lawyer.
Discipline with Actual Suspension issued in CA, 2021
updated on 04/01/2022This sanction means the attorney lost his or her license to practice law for a period of time. The attorney typically returns to practicing law when the suspension expires.
Discipline with Actual Suspension issued in CA, 2018
updated on 07/23/2019This sanction means the attorney lost his or her license to practice law for a period of time. The attorney typically returns to practicing law when the suspension expires.
2018
Distinguished, Martindale-Hubbell
1985 - Present
California State UniversityAssociate Professor- Law
1985 - Present
United States Supreme CourtMember of the Supreme Court Bar
2010 - 2013
Imternational Evironmental SocietyFounding Member-President
1977
JD - Juris Doctor
1974
undergraduate
2010
Environmental Law
Legal Answers
If I decide not to declare a retained expert witness at trial can I call as expert witnesses from the other side? (civil trial)
20 Feb 2014
My husbands ex wife is still using his last name even though she remarried and divorced again. Can he make her change her name
14 Aug 2013