Los Angeles, CA, May 6, 2026 — National insurance defense trial firm Tyson & Mendes, LLP announced today it secured a complete defense verdict in a high-exposure sexual abuse and molestation (SAM) trial involving a case in California where the plaintiff’s demand reached $20 million.

Tyson & Mendes Partners David Frankenberger and Hector Jimenez presented a disciplined defense strategy which incorporated The Apex, the firm’s revolutionary strategy for avoiding Nuclear Verdicts®. In a trademark application of The Apex, the defense team gave a defense number while seeking a defense verdict. Prior to, and throughout, the trial, the team employed the Core Four strategies at the heart of The Apex by personalizing the client, accepting responsibility (even while contesting liability), giving a number, and arguing pain and suffering. The Apex is the defense blueprint revealed in the firm’s newest book, Nuclear Verdicts®: The Apex – Break the Pattern and is also a foundation of the new spinoff consulting firm, Apex Defense Consulting.

“This result reflects the importance of a disciplined trial strategy and clear, credible positioning with the jury,” said Jimenez. Frankenberger added: “Our Apex strategies resonated with the jury and empowered them to return a verdict that was supported by responsibility, reasonableness, and common sense. We are grateful to them for their measured assessment of the evidence.”

About Tyson & Mendes LLP

Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States. Tyson & Mendes is known for its expertise in defending corporations, insurance companies, and their clients against Nuclear Verdicts®.

Serving 21 states nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S. and is proud to offer one of the fastest and clearest paths to partnership for its attorneys of any mid-sized law firm in the U.S. The firm is honored to be recognized as a 2024 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers, named a 2024 Best Company to Work For: Law Firms edition by U.S. News & World Report, awarded the 2023 Liberty Mutual Insurance External Law Firm Partner of the Year Award, awarded the No. 1 “Ceiling Smasher” in Law360’s 2022 Glass Ceiling Report for female equity partnership, and shortlisted for Financial Times’ 2022 Innovative Lawyers North America Award. The firm has also developed a spinoff consulting firm, Apex Defense Consulting, aimed at equipping carriers and counsel with the education, collaboration, and expertise needed to stop Nuclear Verdicts® and slow social inflation.

For more information about the firm and career opportunities, visit www.tysonmendes.com.

About Apex Defense Consulting

Apex Defense Consulting is a specialized insurance defense consulting firm, offering educational, community, and consulting services via a slate of experienced trial lawyers and Nuclear Verdict® experts. Founded in 2025, Apex Defense Consulting is the first of its kind within the insurance defense industry and is poised to revolutionize the industry with The Apex, the first and only data-backed and trial-tested blueprint for the defense to stop outsized and unjust Nuclear Verdicts®.

For more information, visit www.apexdefenseconsulting.com.

For press inquiries, contact:

Debbie Caldwell

Plat4orm PR

debbie@plat4form.com

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