AAJ, National College of Advocacy Recognize CaseyGerry's Thomas Penfield

SAN DIEGO - Aug. 6, 2013 - PRLog -- SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 6, 2013) The American Association for Justice (AAJ) and the National College of Advocacy recently recognized Thomas D. Penfield – a partner with San Diego-based law firm CaseyGerry – as a Diplomate of Trial Advocacy at its 2013 Annual Convention in San Francisco.

Penfield was honored at the AAJ event late last month for his commitment to improving practical knowledge of trial skills and substantive law, as well as for his dedication to teaching and pursuing advanced legal education. In order to receive the designation, Penfield completed 400 hours of jury trial training with AAJ education programs, including the National College of Advocacy, the AAJ’s trial practice school.

Penfield is the only attorney in San Diego to attain this status. Only nine attorneys in California and fewer than 200 lawyers throughout the United States have earned this designation from AAJ, the largest organization of trial lawyers in the United States.The goal of the AAJ’s Trial Advocacy program is to build and develop professional knowledge – active participants are recognized for dedication, commitment and enthusiasm in pursuing legal education. 

A member of the board of directors of the San Diego County Bar Association, Penfield is also the past-chair of the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Plaintiffs’ Policy of the Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) and was named vice-chair of the TIPS’ Trial Techniques Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF), an honorary organization of attorneys, judges and law professors and is featured in Best Lawyers in America – a revered annual peer ranking of the nation’s top attorneys.

He concentrates his practice on personal injury, products liability and class actions and has been an attorney with CaseyGerry since 1988. He is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law. 

Active in both community and professional organizations, he is past president of the Bar Association of North San Diego County and a past recipient of the Environmental Lawyer of the Year Award from the Sierra Club's San Diego Chapter. He is a graduate of California Western School of Law (J.D. 1974).  

About CaseyGerry

Celebrating more than 65 years in San Diego, Casey Gerry was established in 1947, and is the oldest plaintiffs' law firm in San Diego. The firm's 14 attorneys practice in numerous areas, including asbestos, personal injury, product liability and pharmaceutical litigation. Located in the Banker's Hill neighborhood of San Diego, the firm also has a satellite office in Carlsbad, Calif. For more information, call (619) 238-1811 (tel:%28619%29%20238-1811) or visit www.caseygerry.com.

About AAJ

As the world's largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others – even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit www.justice.org for more information.