Harrison Gavin Long — California Wrongful Death Trial Lawyer

Who Gavin is

Harrison Gavin Long, who goes by Gavin, is a California trial lawyer who represents families after a wrongful death and people who have suffered catastrophic injuries. He has practiced in California since 1999 and has spent his career in the courtroom, trying cases to juries across the state, from Santa Cruz and San Jose to Los Angeles, Orange County, Bakersfield, and Martinez.

He is also known professionally as H. Gavin Long and Gavin Long, the names used in many published verdict reports and awards, and appears in some directories as Harrison G. Long. All refer to the same lawyer, State Bar of California No. 204034.

His best-known result is an $11,000,000 jury verdict in Cunningham v. New Life Recovery (Santa Cruz County Superior Court No. 16CV02213) for the wife and daughters of John Cunningham, who died by suicide while in the care of residential detox and rehab facilities. Before trial, the facilities offered $350,000 and $100,000. After a 12-day trial, the jury returned $11 million, the largest facility suicide verdict in California history. He focuses on facility and institutional wrongful death cases like it.

Where it started

Gavin's path to the courtroom began when he was a junior at the University of Southern California. He went to work in the office of Herbert Hafif, one of California's legendary plaintiffs' trial lawyers. There he saw up close what a trial lawyer does: take on powerful defendants, refuse to be pushed around, and let a jury decide what a case is worth.

That experience hooked him on trial work for good. He went on to Whittier Law School, where he earned American Jurisprudence Awards for finishing first in his class in both Torts and Evidence, the two subjects at the heart of every jury trial. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in December 1999.

A career in trial

Early in his career, Gavin tried every kind of case he could get into a courtroom, including criminal cases. He then spent more than a decade as a partner and trial lawyer at Bisnar | Chase in Newport Beach, where he tried more cases than any other lawyer in the firm. His trials have covered facility negligence, wrongful death, auto product defects, dangerous roadways and government liability, premises liability, medical malpractice, and catastrophic brain and spinal injuries.

Today he leads Harrison Gavin Long, A Professional Corporation, in Costa Mesa, focused on wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases throughout California.

Why going to trial matters

Most civil cases settle, and they should when the offer is fair. But insurers set their offers based on one question: will this lawyer actually try the case? Gavin has repeatedly rejected six-figure offers and gone on to win multi-million-dollar verdicts:

• Rejected $350,000 and $100,000, won $11 million (facility suicide wrongful death, Santa Cruz County)
• Rejected $200,000, won $5 million
• Rejected $100,000, won $3 million

He has also obtained numerous additional eight-, seven-, and six-figure jury verdicts, including verdicts above insurance policy limits. See verdicts and case results, or read what makes him a wrongful death trial lawyer.

Teaching and craft

Gavin has worked for nine years with Joshua Karton, a founding instructor of the Trial Lawyers College, on trial strategy, jury selection, storytelling, cross-examination, and witness preparation. He is a former instructor in Reptile trial strategy and has presented his facility suicide trial to other lawyers through Trial Lawyers University.

Recognition

• Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year (OCTLA Top Gun), 2016 (Personal Injury) and 2020 (Professional Negligence)
• 2020 CAOC Consumer Attorney of the Year, Finalist, 2020 (Consumer Attorneys of California Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist, for the Cunningham trial)
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), member since 2014
• Two of the Top 50 Verdicts in California, 2019
• Top Plaintiff Lawyer, Daily Journal, 2021
• Super Lawyers, 2014–2023 · Best Lawyers in America, 2016–2023

Full list of awards and recognition

Gavin Long on the web

1. State Bar of California: Harrison Gavin Long, No. 204034Official license record · admitted December 1999
2. Orange County Trial Lawyers Association: Past Top Gun WinnersH. Gavin Long · 2016 Personal Injury · 2020 Professional Negligence
3. Advocate Magazine: 2020 Top Gun award winners announcedOctober 2020 · Professional Negligence
4. Press release: H. Gavin Long wins OCTLA Top Gun Personal Injury Trial Lawyer of the Year2016
5. Video: CAOY 2020 Finalist – Cunningham v. Narconon Redwood Cliffs and Bright Futures RecoveryConsumer Attorneys of California · 2020
6. Attorney Journals, “Man in the Arena”2022 cover profile · largest verdict at the time against a California rehab facility · 85% fault to defendants
7. Santa Cruz County Trial Lawyers Association: 2019 Civil Jury VerdictsCunningham v. New Life Recovery, et al. · Case No. 16CV02213 · Hon. Paul Burdick · 998 demands and offers · $11,000,000
8. Lawyers of Distinction: H. Gavin Long secures $11 million jury verdictJune 2019
9. Trial Lawyers University: Drug Rehab Suicide $11,000,000 VerdictCase presentation · October 9, 2020
10. Lawyers.com: Harrison Gavin LongAttorney directory profile
11. Martindale.com: Harrison Gavin LongAttorney directory profile
12. Justia Lawyer Directory: H. Gavin LongAttorney directory profile
13. Video: A client's story, Santa Cruz jury trialYouTube
14. CaliTrialAttorney.comGavin's product liability and auto defect practice site