At the time of this writing, Fred Geonetta practices in Oakland with his partner Kenneth Frucht, at Geonetta-Frucht LLP. Fred seems to take a more forward approach, while Ken seems to be more behind the scenes. This is only specific to my case.
I had a wrongful termination whistleblower case un...der OSHA 11(c) and STAA. Fred's demeanor to me was kind and congenial, but he was also a straight shooter. He was concise and to the point, able to extract all the facts to make a very solid case. He had a fatherly demeanor with me, although maybe that's just because I am a young and tender man with little experience in this world.
His style of arguing was very legit in mediation. I had pressed for him to file a complaint in Federal court, and he decided we should take a stab at mediation first. I usually hate mediation, arbitration, ADR, or anything else that doesn't make the Defendant feel the full force of the whip in litigation. However, he made it work--he made it work very well at that.
He wasn't afraid to call a liar a liar, and pick apart the other side's argument which consisted mostly of lies, stories, fairytales and fabrications. I also liked his black Rolex, and for eight straight hours in settlement negotiations, I couldn't stop admiring the black Rolex. As time went on and the numbers got higher, I began to dream about purchasing a black Rolex just like this one.
All semantics aside, this guy went to Hastings and seemed to have an especially good knowledge of STAA or the trucking industry. In addition to having an exceptional legal background, he has a background from his earlier days in the trucking industry. Thus, if you are a Plaintiff who also happens to be a commercial driver, he might be able to offer an insider's perspective on this.
I could not say enough good things about Mr. Geonetta. The guy always showed patience, always responded to my emails, and always made good and clear points. He has this demeanor about him when interacting with the other side, that just kind of silences them and intimidates them.
I think his law firm is the real deal. Look into his background. He reached amazing results in my wrongful termination case...I'm pretty sure, he deserves a 10 out of 10 rating on AVVO