Jesse A. Bernal, Esq.
Led by founding partners Jesse Bernal and Peter Robbins, two innovative legal minds with over 50 years of combined experience, Bernal & Robbins, APLC, is an insurance defense law firm specializing in representing employers and insurance carriers in some of the toughest workers’ compensation cases and in all matters related to employment law, appeals, lien defense, SIU & fraud defense, case in chief, and 132a and serious and willful defense. Based in the greater Los Angeles area, the bulk of the practice is focused on workers’ compensation, serving a diverse client base across California, from bakeries to health care, and staffing and manufacturing companies. They work hard for their clients, wielding an uncommon ability to handle tough cases and get results quickly and cost-effectively—all while working to advance their clients’ positions.
With a well-known reputation as aggressive litigators and negotiators with an outstanding record of dismissals and settlements, Jesse and Peter lead a small but nimble group of knowledgeable attorneys that has saved their clients millions of dollars. They work with each of their clients personally, devoting their full focus and experience to each of their cases, and take a collaborative approach to develop the best strategies and approaches for the strongest defense.
While the legal landscape is littered with workers’ compensation firms, what sets Bernal & Robbins apart is not just their invaluable experience and vast knowledge of the law, it is not only their record of legal victories, but the importance they place on relationships with their clients as well as their legal adversaries. “We have great negotiation skills because we maintain great relationships, even with our adversaries, and this is important. By knowing the adversary, we can pick up a phone and call and find a resolution quickly, without litigation,” Jesse explains.
Jesse A. Bernal, Esq.
With 18 years of experience, Jesse has dedicated his entire career to the area of workers’ compensation law. He entered the legal arena in 2002 as a paralegal. He moved on to serve as a hearing representative, gaining the experience of an attorney. As he took depositions and participated in trials, he worked closely with insurance carriers to minimize their exposure. In 2015, he hit the ground running as a lawyer—not as the typical wet-behind-the-ears law school grad, but as an attorney backed by insight and knowledge gained over 13 years of experience. In 2018, he co-founded Bernal & Robbins with a reputation as an aggressive lawyer who fights for his clients. “We’re not only fighting against the applicant’s attorneys; we’re also fighting against a liberal system. We’re in a position where we have to stand up to people and the law itself. We like to work hard for our clients, and we want to make our clients look good,” he explains.
Often called upon to develop strategies for some of the toughest cases, Jesse draws from his experience to examine each case to determine what has and has not worked to develop an adequate defense for their clients. In his tireless efforts on behalf of his clients, he has made case law that benefits them as well as the industry. He leads a team of legal innovators who take a methodical approach to solving problems to develop unique strategies that have garnered them a reputation for not only getting dismissals, but for obtaining great outcomes for their clients.
Jesse places tremendous value on relationships, which is the reason for the firm’s intentionally small size even as it is expanding into other practice areas, such as general liability. They have a personal relationship with each of their clients, and they strive to keep them, working cases themselves as opposed to handing it over to an associate or someone without the experience. “Most of our clients are leaving big firms because they lack the personal attention. We want to stay small and nimble enough to devote our full focus to each of our clients,” he explains. “I am deeply humbled by just how I have been able to be where I am and have my own firm. Not only that but being able to provide quality service for my clients.”
Jesse received his Juris Doctor degree from Abraham Lincoln University School of Law. Outside of his work, he plays in a workers’ comp band with several judges, and they’ve hosted events for community organizations, including Kids’ Chance.
Jesse A. Bernal, Esq.
Founding Partner at Bernal & Robbins, APLC
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-a-bernal-esq-797273107/
Peter Robbins
A former workers’ compensation judge with over 40 years of experience in handling complex workers’ compensation matters, Peter Robbins is founding partner of Bernal & Robbins. He leads the firm as a well-respected legal mind and a certified specialist in workers’ compensation law. His invaluable insight into the inner workings of the judicial process and the myriad personalities comprising it benefits his clients tremendously as he works aggressively on their behalf to secure dismissals and obtain settlements, saving them millions of dollars. He also serves as an arbitrator in the ADR system. Peter received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, and he holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. Peter took the California Bar exam in 1980 and was sworn in as an attorney that year.
He has authored several editions of Research Guides pertaining to workers’ compensation case law and statutory. Peter has observed the evolution of workers’ compensation law from three different perspectives, initially as an applicant attorney and thereafter as a workers’ compensation judge and defense counsel for numerous self-insured entities and insurance carriers—and always with an eye not only upon the never-ending barrage of often bewildering and sometimes contradictory case law decisions, but also upon the workers’ compensation system itself and the underlying political and legislative intent that forms, shapes, and changes it.
Peter Robbins
Founding Partner at Bernal & Robbins, APLC