Insights & News

Bartko LLP Attorneys Recognized as Best Lawyers® Award Recipients

We’re proud to announce that four Bartko, LLP attorneys have been named in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected lawyer ranking service, using a peer-review process to ensure credibility and trust. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Bartko Wins Top Defense Verdict

San Francisco, CA — The Bartko trial team from the In Re Francesca Naify case received a Daily Journal award as one of California’s top five defense verdicts in 2023, and the top trust and estate case verdict. Ben Riley, Rob Bunzel, and Sony Barari tried the case over five weeks, with 93 hours of testimony.  The case involved deceased United Artists theater tycoon Robert Naify and claims by his step-daughter that Naify did not provide his deceased wife with her full share of his $2.3 billion in assets.  The trial presented cutting-edge principals of probate and community property law, and a total damages claim of $680 million.

Five Bartko Lawyers Recognized as 2024 Best Lawyers® Award Recipients

Bartko LLP is pleased to announce that five lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Bartko Pavia Trial Team Named California Attorneys of the Year!

Bartko Pavia attorneys Ben Riley, Sony Barari, Rob Bunzel, and Gabriella Wilkins were named 2022 California Attorneys of the Year, following their complete trial victory in the Robert A. Naify Trust case. The petitioner in that case claimed that her step-father, Robert Naify, promised to leave her his golf course in Spain, and to treat her the same as his biological daughters in his final trust. After a three-week trial where the petitioner sought at least $250 million, Judge Richard Ulmer rejected the oral promise claim.The Daily Journal and California Lawyer magazine selected the Bartko Naify trial team as one of 12 California Attorneys of the Year. The pdf article can be viewed here.

Firm Data Breach Practice in the News

December 14, 2013- Legal newspaper The Daily Journal ran an article describing our role for health care providers in obtaining writ relief in defense of pending class actions with multi-million dollar exposure following lost or stolen patient medical data. View pdf copy of article. The team of Rob Bunzel, Michael Abraham, Simon Goodfellow and Zaneta Butscher have contributed in multiple cases to the firm’s success in this highly topical field.

Bartko Pavia’s Patrick M. Ryan obtains $222 million jury verdict against Walmart

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BartkoZankel appeared in the first hearing related to 11 coordinated class actions

BartkoZankel appeared in the first hearing related to 11 coordinated class actions brought against the firm’s health care provider client for alleged penalties following the theft of a password protected computer in October 2011. The cases raise novel issues regarding what is a release under the Confidentiality of Medical Records Act (CMIA) and the propriety of class treatment for CMIA claims. Robert Bunzel, Michael Abraham and Simon Goodfellow lead the BartkoZankel team. In re Sutter Medical Information Cases, Judicial Council Coordination No. 4698, Sacramento Superior Court.

Bartko Clients Win $680 Million Francesca Naify Case

The San Francisco Superior Court entered its Statement of Decision and Judgment in favor of Bartko clients, the Co-Trustees of the Robert A. Naify Trust, and against Petitioner Christina Cortese.  Cortese had sought as much as $680 million in community property damages on behalf of her deceased mother.  The Court’s Statement of Decision rejected all of Ms. Cortese’s claims and damages, and Judgment has been entered for the Co-Trustees.

Rob Bunzel, Publishes Article In The Recorder

Rob Bunzel’s published piece in The Recorder, read PDF copy of the article, highlights the recently released grand jury transcripts of Richard Nixon’s 1975 Watergate testimony over two days.  The piece demonstrates how Nixon, with his combination of phenomenal memory, lawyerly tricks, misdirection and humor gave the prosecutors little to work with and give us now a new window on Watergate and the corrupt and colorful characters from that period.

Rob Bunzel’s Series on Trial Lessons Continues with a Fourth Review of “Courtroom warrior: The combative career of William Travers Jerome” by Richard O’Connor

San Francisco lawyer’s lawyer Bill Edlund (Pillsbury Madison & Sutro 1956-1999 and Bartko Bunzel & Miller 1999-2016) died on Christmas Eve over three years ago.  Bill’s daughter Cami gave our firm his legal library collected over 60+ years.  The collection contains first-edition and hardbound biographies and histories of great trials, trial lawyers, judges and courts from England and the United States.This is the fourth installment for the Daily Journal of histories for trial lawyers from the shelves of law-related books left to my firm by Bill Edlund.  The wisdom Bill curated is the basis for this series.  This article concerns “Courtroom warrior: The combative career of William Travers Jerome,” by Richard O’Connor (Little Brown & Company, 1963), who was an actor, newspaper reporter and author of some 60 books, mostly lively biographies. View the attached pdf copy to read the article in its entirety.

Courtroom warrior: The combative career of William Travers Jerome

May 22, 2020 – This article by Rob Bunzel containing an important lesson for trial lawyers from great books in the Edlund library appeared in the Daily Journal.  This article concerns “Courtroom Warrior: The Combative Career of William Travers Jerome,” by Richard O’Connor (Little Brown & Company, 1963), who was an actor, newspaper reporter and author of some 60 books, mostly lively biographies. View a pdf copy of the article in its entirety.

Rob Bunzel Delivered An “Opening Statement” For The Defense In A Mock Class Action Jury Trial At The 39th Annual ABTL Seminar

September 21, 2012: Rob Bunzel delivered an “opening statement” for the defense in a mock class action jury trial on electronic privacy breach claims at the 39th Annual ABTL Seminar in Kauai, Hawaii.  Tom Giraradi argued for the plaintiffs. Over 400 lawyers and judges attended the three-day mock trial.   Rob worked with Fulcrum Legal Graphics to create images to tell the opening story.

Rob Bunzel On Hastings Alumni Panel

On July 26, 2012, Rob Bunzel appeared with Judges Marie Weiner (San Mateo Superior Court) and William Cahill (Ret. JAMS) and Rick Seabolt of Duane Morris for a panel discussion of recent complex litigation developments, including jurors and social media, eDiscovery and electronic evidence admissibility.