Gary B. Mitchell has been practicing law since 1974, first as an associate and then as a partner in what was then the largest consumer and personal injury law firm west of the Mississippi, the San Jose-based Boccardo, Blum, Lull, Niland, Teerlink & Bell.  In 1989, he departed the large firm environment to found a two-attorney partnership, Mitchell & Walwyn, with the aim of providing personalized service as well as first-class litigation skills in a small firm setting.  After the retirement of his partner in 2009, Mr. Mitchell continues to practice on his own.  Mr. Mitchell brings to the representation of his clients 35 years of legal experience, with the extensive knowledge, judgment, and trial and settlement skills gained during those years in the prosecution of complex and very challenging cases.  He confines his practice to substantial consumer-related matters, emphasizing major injury and wrongful death claims resulting from truck, automobile, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, defective products, dangerous conditions of public or private property, boating and marine accidents, aircraft accidents, dangerous roadways, animal attacks, workplace and construction site accidents, professional negligence including legal, medical and accounting malpractice claims, as well as insurance law, insurer's failure to handle claims fairly and in good faith, and business disputes including breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation.  The vast majority of his clients seek him out through personal referrals from other satisfied clients.  His success over the years is founded upon the premise that the first duty of the profession is to the client, whose best interests are always paramount.  Most cases are undertaken on a contingent fee basis, with attorney's fees payable not by the hour, but as a percentage of the total recovery at the conclusion of the client's case.  In personal injury matters, there is no charge for initial consultations.