Gary C. Ottoson, Esq.
Gary C. Ottoson, Esq.
Mediator/Arbitrator
Gary Ottoson has more than 40 years of litigation experience, including nearly 100 jury trials in general jurisdiction and numerous bench trials. He has handled a variety of high profile, multi-party cases with a primary focus on environmental disputes, toxic torts and complex or catastrophic personal injury cases. He also has expertise in resolving professional liability and real estate matters. Mr. Ottoson has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer annually since 2004. In addition to his service as an advocate in scores of mediations and more than a dozen arbitrations, Mr. Ottoson has regularly served as a pro bono settlement officer for Los Angeles County courts for the past three decades.
ORGANIZATIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS
- Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, 1969-present; President, 1980-1981
- California Defense Counsel, President, 1994
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 1978-present
- American College of Trial Lawyers, 1992-presentUniversity of Southern California Law School, Board of Councillors, 1989- 2010, Emeritus-present
- International Association of Defense Counsel, 1981-2014
- Former adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law
- Frequent speaker and panelist at conferences for defense and plaintiff bar groups and associations
PRACTICE AREAS
Complex business litigation involving personal injury, product liability, environmental, toxic torts, professional liability, partnership disputes and real estate cases.CONFLICT RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE
Gary Ottoson's keen ability to grasp issues and solid understanding of how differences arise make him an effective neutral. His experience as a trial attorney in hundreds of matters as well as his service as a voluntary settlement officer have given him a perspective on how to find a fair and amicable resolution among parties with varying but legitimate points of view.Mr. Ottoson has extensive expertise in handling complex product liability cases, many with work-related components; large toxic tort cases resulting from workplace exposures; and property damage matters resulting from water contamination. He has evaluated hundreds of personal injury cases, many falling into the category of catastrophic. He has also handled real estate transaction disputes, professionally liability claims (primarily lawyer malpractice) and partnership issues.
Mr. Ottoson began his legal career in 1969 at Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, becoming Managing Partner and Chairman during more than three decades at that firm. He was Of Counsel and Partner at Bacalski, Ottoson & Dube, LLC from 2002-2012, and most recently served as Of Counsel at Ridout, Lyon + Ottoson.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University School of Law, mediation course, 2015J.D., University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 1968
B.A., California State University, Los Angeles, 1964
Mr. Ottoson is available throughout California.
