Adrian Gragas

Adrian Gragas is Senior Counsel at Tyson & Mendes’ San Diego office. His practice primarily focuses on general liability and insurance litigation, personal injury defense, and the defense of entity defendants where sexual torts are alleged, including sexual assault and child sexual abuse.

Mr. Gragas recently retired from the Los Angeles County Counsel Office after 28 years and brings extensive trial and litigation experience to the firm. He was formerly the Division Chief of the General Litigation Division and was responsible for defending the county in personal injury cases involving wrongful death, catastrophic injuries, and multi-million liability. He has tried jury trials in both federal and state courts. In an admitted liability automobile trial where Mr. Gragas defended the county, a prominent LA plaintiff’s attorney requested the jury award $18 million in damages, but due to his work on the case, the jury rendered a verdict of only $7,000. In a head-on automobile negligence trial between a Sheriff’s Department Captain and plaintiff, in which the plaintiff claimed traumatic brain injury and demanded a $2 million settlement prior to trial, the jury rendered a defense verdict. In a federal jury trial defending the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department involving claims of false arrest and excessive use of force, plaintiff’s attorney requested the jury to award $700,000 in damages, the jury rendered a verdict of 9 cents. In a six-week period, Mr. Gragas tried four jury trials in both state and federal courts and obtained four defense verdicts. He was awarded the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. Attorney of the Year Award in 2010. For 12 years of his career, he represented the Dept. Of Children and Family Services and litigated hundreds of serious child abuse cases involving severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, and child deaths in the Dependency Court. Mr. Gragas is a frequent speaker and in the past year was selected by the Los Angeles Superior Court and County Counsel Association of California to lecture on civil litigation topics.

Mr. Gragas obtained his B.A. in Political Science from California State University Northridge in 1985. He obtained his J.D. from Western State University College of Law Fullerton in 1990.

In his free time, Mr. Gragas enjoys spending time with wife and family. He also enjoys surfing, golfing, hiking, and wine tasting.