Thomas Girardi

He went to get his education from the Loyola High School located in Los Angeles and got graduated from there in the year 1957. After that, he got enrolled at the Loyola Marymount University and from there, he received his undergraduate degree in 1961.

In addition to that, he also studied at Loyola Law Firm and received the LL.B. in 1964 as well as an LLM/SJD from the New York University in 1965. In the year 1970, Girardi became first attorney in the state of California for winning a $1 million-plus award for the medical malpractice case.

He has handled the major cases against former Lockheed Corp, Pacific Gas & Electric Co, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as Hollywood’s seven major movie studios. In one of the better-known cases of him against the Pacific, Gas & Electric, the utility company agreed paying $333 million to the 650 residents of desert community of the Hinkley, California.

The residents blamed the incidents of cancer as well as other diseases on the contaminated water that was leaked from the gas pumping station. That case was an inspiration for a film called Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. In the next high profile matter, he was among the group of the lawyers who attempted enforcing in US courts a $489 million default judgement entered by the court in Nicaragua, allegedly against the Dole Food as well as Shell Chemical based on effects of pesticide, DBCP, upon exposed workers.