Newport law firm holding court

Andrew Edwards

A Newport Beach law firm’s new offices evoke the feeling of a court,

but not the kind of court where judges and juries sit. Think more

along the lines of a basketball court.

Personal injury attorneys John Bisnar and Brian Chase, partners of

Bisnar & Chase, LLP, are longtime fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Accordingly, the conference room at the firm’s new home has hardwood

floors, a TV screen showing old-school Laker games and a playoff-worn

Shaquille O’Neal shoe. The size-23 shoe is about the size of an

average housecat.

A meeting room that features a photo of Magic Johnson battling

the Celtic’s Larry Bird in the paint feels more like a high-end

sports bar than a law firm. The sporty atmosphere can help put

clients at ease, Bisnar said.

“When you come to see an attorney, its usually not your best day

and because we do very serious cases -- we’re talking serious injury

or death -- I think it helps not to be too serious,” Bisnar said.

Bisnar and Chase both earned their law degrees at Pepperdine

University. Bisnar intended to use his degree to pursue a career in

real estate development, but veered toward personal injury law

shortly after he opened his first office in Huntington Beach in 1978.

At the time, he had agreed to assist other lawyers in exchange for

office space, and was given two cases he was told were unwinnable.

Bisnar said he negotiated a settlement in the first case after 100

days. It took him five years to reach a settlement in the second

case, and his hefty paycheck from that case was a big influence on

his career plans.

“My fee was in the six-figures and I was like, ‘Whoah, that’s a

lot of money,” Bisnar said.

Chase began working with Bisnar before he earned his law degree.

Like his partner, Chase’s first career choice was not personal injury

law.

“I was surfing, doing triathlons and being an actor, and everyone

knows actors don’t get paid well,” Chase said, adding that he was

looking for a line of work that provided intellectual challenge, a

chance to make a social impact and a healthy income.

The firm often takes product-liability cases related to auto

accidents. One case described on the firm’s website stemmed from a

crash in which a woman and her daughter were in a Ford Escort that

was rear-ended. The car’s seats allegedly failed in the accident and

the woman was thrown backward into her daughter. The impact caused

fatal injuries to the girl, and the firm reached a confidential

settlement with Ford Motor Co.

Bisnar said he is proud to take on product liability cases, and

also proud to call himself a trial attorney, regardless of

popularly-held impressions of aggressively litigious lawyers.

“Anyone who makes jokes about it, I’m glad; those jokes are

well-earned,” Bisnar said.