Team Player

As a football player, Kevin Retoriano is used to pivoting. He began playing organized ball in eighth grade—his mother nixed it before then—and after a growth spurt became a star running back at Clairemont High School. Senior year, he was recruited by Montana State, who offered him a full ride but wanted him on defense: strong safety. That was the first pivot.

In his junior year, he was first-team all-league and was looking to become All-American his senior year; but during a scrimmage at fall camp he dislocated his elbow and was out several weeks. “And my backup was playing really well,” says Retoriano. “So my coach, he was like, ‘Listen, I just want the best four guys on the field.’” So Retoriano switched to cornerback. It lessened Retoriano’s chances of becoming an All-American but it was good for the team.

“I’ve always just been a team guy,” says the plaintiff’s attorney at San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys. “I’m not too good to do any job. You know what I mean? Whether it’s doing the intake with a new client on a small $15,000 policy or doing a deposition on a big case, I do it all—as long as we get the job done, and it’s the best job that we can do for the client.”

His pivot to law began as a family affair. “My mom worked at Thomas Jefferson School of Law my whole life—in admissions,” he says. “I got really interested when my older sister went to law school and met her husband—a criminal defense attorney.” His mother then married an attorney, too, the founder of Simon Law Group in Orange County. “I decided I might as well do it. I know enough people who do it.”

His stats with the Montana State Bobcats include a couple of pick-sixes, one of which, his junior year, went for 60+ yards. “But the ones I remember the most are the two that would have been pick-sixes that I dropped,” he says, adding, “I guess that’s why I played defense.”