THOMAS PENFIELD CHAIRS NATIONAL TASK FORCE

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Thomas D. Penfield — a partner with San Diego based law firm Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield, LLP — takes charge as chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Task Force on Plaintiff’s Involvement for the Tort, Trial, Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago, July 30 to Aug. 4, 2009.

With 250,000 members, the ABA is the leading national bar association for United States attorneys. As chair of the ABA task force, Penfield will concentrate on boosting participation nationwide by plaintiff and consumer attorneys for the 36,000-member TIPS section, which consists of defense, insurance, in-house counsel and plaintiff’s attorneys from around the country.

“We are delighted that one of our partners will contribute on a national level to the country’s most esteemed legal organization,” said Casey Gerry’s senior partner David S Casey, Jr. “Tom is a highly accomplished attorney, and we are confident that his vision and expertise will help this task force achieve its goals.”

A resident of Cardiff by the Sea, Penfield is also president of the Bar Association of North San Diego County.

Penfield — who focuses his practice on personal injury, products liability, and class actions —  has been an attorney with Casey Gerry since 1988.

He is a graduate of California Western School of Law (J.D. 1974) and a past recipient of the Environmental Lawyer of the Year Award from the Sierra Club’s San Diego Chapter. Prior to joining Casey Gerry, he worked as a supervising trial lawyer with the Defenders Program of San Diego, and as a full-time clinical Professor of Law at the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law, where he still teaches as an adjunct professor.

Celebrating more than 60 years in San Diego, Casey Gerry was established in 1947, and is the oldest plaintiffs’ law firm in San Diego.  The firm’s 13 attorneys practice in numerous areas, including asbestos, personal injury, product liability and pharmaceutical litigation.

Located at 110 Laurel St. in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood of San Diego, the firm also maintains offices in Carlsbad, Calif. For more information, call (619) 238-1811 or visit the website at www.caseygerry.com.