A native of Staten Island, New York, Bob Tyson is the strategic managing partner of the firm.
Mr. Tyson is a trial lawyer and author of the #1 best-selling, first book written for the defense to limit exposure at trial, Nuclear Verdicts: Defending Justice for All. In this groundbreaking book, Mr. Tyson sets forth the specific methods to beat plaintiff lawyers and achieve justice. It is the culmination of an over 30-year legal career, during which he has successfully resolved a variety of cases involving complex products liability, commercial and general civil litigation, professional malpractice, environmental, and employment law – representing individuals, corporations, public entities, professionals, and many other different types of businesses.
Mr. Tyson is especially known for his groundbreaking work on Howell v. Hamilton Meats, a case he argued and won before the California Supreme Court. Howell has since been hailed as the most significant insurance decision to come down in over 40 years – altering the way California interprets the collateral source rule and impacting the damages a plaintiff may recover. Mr. Tyson successfully argued an injured plaintiff may only recover the much lower amount that is paid for medical expenses, not the full medical bills, as past medical damages. This difference between what is billed versus paid saves insurance companies and defendants over $10 billion dollars every year. The victory earned Mr. Tyson the California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award from the California Bar Magazine, among other awards.
Mr. Tyson earned his B.S. in finance from Villanova University in 1986 and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1989. Prior to founding Tyson & Mendes in 2002, he practiced law at some of Southern California’s largest defense firms, including Edwards, White & Sooy and Booth, Mitchel & Strange. Active in the community and legal profession, he frequently lectures on a variety of legal issues to business and professional organizations.
In his off time, he enjoys beating partner Pat Mendes at golf and spending time with his three children, Faith, Mary, and Bobby, and wife Jenny. His mantra: Justice for All. As a modern-day poet once said: “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo!”
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Recent Posts
ABA Journal – October 1, 2021
In Gadsden County, Florida, last October, six jurors and an alternate settled in for a long day in front of their home computers and mobile devices to hear a personal injury case. Among them was a pastor, a chiropractor and a state government worker.
Law360 – September 8, 2021
So-called nuclear verdicts, jury awards of $10 million or more, have generated splashy headlines in recent years as plaintiffs lawyers have seized on jurors’ anger toward corporate defendants to secure such awards, signaling that a change in strategy is needed for insurers that handle these corporations’ defense efforts.
Law.com The Recorder – July 21, 2021
San Diego-based midsize firm Tyson & Mendes has launched a new high-stakes trial business based out of the firm’s offices.
The newly created subsidiary, called TM HALO, is targeting the increasing threat and reality of nuclear verdicts—Jury verdicts in excess of $10 million—for its insurance clients.
Law 360 Pulse – July 14, 2021
Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes established their firm, Tyson & Mendes, in a small space on La Jolla Boulevard in San Diego in 2002 to represent clients in the insurance industry. Since then, the civil defense law firm has grown to have more than 200 attorneys in 14 offices serving 17 states.
SAN DIEGO (July 15, 2021) – Leading insurance and civil litigation defense firm Tyson & Mendes LLP announced today the launch of TM HALO, a new high-stakes trial firm that uses value billing when parachuting in to defend corporations, insurance companies, and insureds in major civil jury trials.
The CLM – July 01, 2021
Pharmaceutical and products giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) received devastating news on June 1, 2021, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the company’s appeal of a $2.2 billion verdict in its ongoing baby powder battle.
Transport Topics – June 23, 2021, 2021
For more than a year, prominent San Diego defense attorney Robert Tyson has been scolding his colleagues for not sharing trial defense strategies to beat plaintiff attorneys in the nation’s courtrooms.
The plaintiff bar does share strategies, he notes, and in recent years they have won billions of dollars in trucking accident cases.
Hotels Magazine – May 18, 2021
In the hotel business, creating a welcoming, home away from home is key to customer loyalty. Naturally, making sure guests are safe is a bedrock of the hospitality industry. As both leisure and business travel ramps back up around the world, hotels are fixated on ensuring travelers are as safe as possible, specifically from the COVID-19 pandemic. But is this message of safety keeping hotels safe from litigation and Nuclear Verdicts™? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Law360 – April 14, 2021
During a year of court closures and indefinitely postponed trials, litigation boutiques have been uniquely affected by the upheaval. Firms are telling Law360 Pulse that much of the uncertainty remains, but…
Advisen – March 22, 2021
Here is a question for insurers: You are in the business of managing risk, but what have you and your defense counsel done differently in the last decade to manage or stop Nuclear Verdicts™?
The risk is real. Jury verdicts of $10 million or more have exploded over the last 10 to 15 years. The number of $100 million jury verdicts, and even billion-dollar verdicts, are also on the rise. But for the most part, insurers and their defense counsels have yet to do anything meaningful to lower the risk of such verdicts.
This has to stop. And insurance companies can stop Nuclear Verdicts™, today.