Today, we welcome Kevin McNamara as a new Partner in Tyson & Mendes’ Los Angeles office! Kevin brings more than 20 years of legal experience to our firm, having spent his career advising insurers on their duties under general liability, excess, umbrella, pollution, property, and auto insurance policies. His long history includes representing trucking companies and other commercial enterprises in personal injury litigation. He also has extensive experience in all phases of ERISA litigation in all of California’s federal courts. Learn more about this impressive litigator and dad of three below!

T&M: Tell us about your legal background and how you got into the insurance defense industry?
KM: I am a 1995 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law and have been practicing insurance defense in the Los Angeles area ever since. I spent 15 years at Harrington, Foxx, Dubrow & Canter, at which time I left to open the Los Angeles office of Traub Lieberman. I was the Regional Managing Partner of Traub Lieberman’s Los Angeles office until I had the opportunity to join Tyson & Mendes.

T&M: What drew you to Tyson & Mendes?
KM: Tyson & Mendes has a great reputation for the quality of legal services it provides and as a place to work. Multiple former colleagues have joined Tyson & Mendes and have spoken highly of their experience with the firm.

T&M: Compared to other firms you have worked for, what makes Tyson & Mendes so unique?
KM: Tyson & Mendes cares deeply about training its attorneys to provide great service and to be effective trial lawyers. It also spends considerable resources to make sure its attorneys meet clients’ needs in a timely and economic fashion.

T&M: Tell us about your biggest or most significant trial win?
KM: I was the lead attorney in preparing, arguing, and winning a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death case arising out of a fatal accident involving a tractor-trailer. Winning summary judgment in an auto accident case is extremely difficult, so it felt fantastic to vindicate the client truck driver and trucking company.

T&M: What advice would you give to young attorneys who are just starting in this field?
KM: Think independently, be willing to challenge convention, and do your own research.

T&M: What did you want to be when you grew up?
KM: Like any typical kid, I wanted to be a baseball player until I was about 12. There was also a year or two between college and law school where I thought I would become a sports agent.

T&M: Why did you become a lawyer instead?
KM: I became intrigued by and fascinated with the law during college and knew then I wanted to be a lawyer.

T&M: Any shows or podcasts you are watching/listening to that you would recommend?
KM: Homeland is a great watch.

T&M: Tell us about your favorite “hidden gem” in Los Angeles?
KM: While not normally considered a “hidden gem,” the Rose Bowl area. It is a great place to exercise outside. It has tennis courts, Brookside Park, the aquatic center, Kidspace Children’s Museum (which we went to all the time when our kids were that age), and softball and baseball fields.

T&M: If not at work or home, where are we most likely to find you?
KM: At a sporting event. I have three kids who play sports or participate in competitive dance year-round.

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