Gerald A. Klein

Mr. Klein has taken over 40 cases to verdict in jury trials and bench trials. His success in the courtroom is underscored by the numerous accolades and recognitions he has achieved throughout his career, including selection by his peers as “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association in 2003 and again in 2009.

His tenacity in the courtroom led to a $26 million recovery, including punitive damages, in a breach of contract/fraud case against a major media company. Mr. Klein recovered $10 million in a legal malpractice case against one of California’s largest law firms and $12 million in a breach of contract case that settled on the first day of trial. Read more about Klein & Wilson’s significant results.

Mr. Klein represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation, legal malpractice, real estate, trade secrets, unfair competition, and insurance bad faith. He has also served as an expert witness in legal malpractice matters.

In 2017, Mr. Klein was inducted to the American College of Trial Lawyers, the most prestigious invitation-only fellowship of trial lawyers in the United States. The College thoroughly investigates each nominee for admission and selects only those who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.

Mr. Klein has been selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers® list since 2005.  In 2014, 2015, and 2019-2021, he was listed in the Super Lawyers® Top 50 Orange County list. Mr. Klein was also listed in the Super Lawyers® Top 100 Southern California List in 2019-2021.  Mr. Klein is also recognized as one of the elite trial attorneys in Orange County by OC Register Metro magazine. He achieved an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell denoting the highest level of professional excellence from his peers. Since 2015, Mr. Klein has been listed in Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.

Mr. Klein began his career as a prosecutor in the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, one of the toughest prosecutorial offices in California. As a district attorney, he became a hard-nosed trial lawyer and gained substantial jury trial experience.

Mr. Klein is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national organization whose membership includes top trial lawyers who have handled a certain number of jury trials. In 2001, Mr. Klein was elected as Chairman of the Orange County Bar Association’s (“OCBA”) Business Litigation section, the largest section in the OCBA. In 2005, Mr. Klein served on the Board of Governors for the Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers for two consecutive terms.

Mr. Klein obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1982 and graduated magna cum laude from one of the flagship state universities in New York. During law school, Mr. Klein received the Russell P. Serber Memorial Scholarship.

In addition to being a full time trial lawyer, Mr. Klein also has taught college level courses on the law for the University of California and California State University Long Beach. Mr. Klein taught trial practice at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, in the fall of 2014. He has also given dozens of seminars to the largest law firms in the country on multimedia trial presentations. Mr. Klein’s trial based presentation skills are so widely recognized that the Association of Business Trial Lawyers asked Mr. Klein to serve as one of the faculty in its annual seminar on the Art of Story Telling. In addition to speaking on legal subjects, Mr. Klein has also written numerous articles which have appeared in prominent legal publications, including an article accepted by the California State Bar for the continuing education of the bar.

Mr. Klein attributes his success in the courtroom to his experience as a champion high school wrestler. “I learned a lot from wrestling. I learned that what happens on the day of the match is not as much about what happened that day but, rather, it is about what happened in the months of preparation leading up to the event. Winning depends less upon who is stronger but more upon who is better prepared and more determined to win. Most importantly, I learned I hate to lose.”

Mr. Klein has served as a mock trial coach for Corona Del Mar High School and has served as a judge in the finals of Regional Law School Mock Trial Competitions.