McNamara Law Firm

What McNamara Law Firm does

McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP, operating commercially as McNamara Law Firm, is a Northern California defense litigation law firm founded in 1954 by Daniel McNamara and William Channell in response to a need for a defense litigation practice in Contra Costa County. The firm maintains its headquarters at 3480 Buskirk Ave. in Pleasant Hill, California, and operates a second office at 639 Kentucky St. in Fairfield, established in 1988 to serve Solano County clients. Cases are handled across state, federal, and appellate courts throughout California.

The firm is organized around civil litigation defense with nine core practice areas: insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, public entity representation, construction accident defense, elder abuse defense, real estate litigation, inverse condemnation, landlord-tenant defense, and general tort/personal injury defense. It serves a diversified client base including hundreds of insurance companies and their insureds, public entities and government agencies, physicians and healthcare facilities, property owners and landlords, real estate industry participants, construction professionals, and elder care providers. Multiple attorneys have been inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates and recognized as Northern California Super Lawyers, with one attorney inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 2024.

Revenue is generated through traditional professional services fees, with engagements quoted and negotiated per matter; no pricing model or rate card is publicly disclosed. The firm employs 101-250 staff and operates as a private limited partnership with no public listing, no API or developer platform, and no disclosed technology stack beyond a standard law firm website. Customer acquisition is relationship-driven—panel counsel appointments with insurance carriers, professional association participation (ABOTA, California Defense Counsel, California Society for Healthcare Attorneys), and community involvement—rather than active digital marketing.

Name

McNamara Law Firm

Legal name

McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP

Website

https://mcnamaralaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Founded in 1954, McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP is a Northern California defense litigation firm serving insurance companies, public entities, healthcare providers, and commercial clients. It practices insurance, medical malpractice, public entity, construction, elder abuse, real estate, and landlord-tenant litigation from offices in Pleasant Hill and Fairfield.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction Specialty (Wrap-Ups/Builders Risk/Contractors) (FSAJAGAH)

Keywords

• Insurance defense litigation
• Civil litigation defense
• Medical malpractice defense
• Public entity representation
• Construction accident defense

Headquarters

HQ city

Pleasant Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Defense Litigation: Traditional law firm revenue from legal defense services including civil litigation, insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, public entity representation, and other practice areas. Services provided to insurance companies, public entities, healthcare providers, property owners, developers, contractors, and other commercial clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP is a defense litigation law firm providing civil litigation defense services with an emphasis on insurance defense in California state, federal, and appellate courts. The firm specializes in insurance defense, medical malpractice defense, public entity representation, construction accident defense, elder abuse defense, real estate litigation, inverse condemnation, landlord-tenant defense, and general tort/personal injury/product liability defense.

Product overview

McNamara, Ambacher, Wheeler, Hirsig & Gray LLP operates as a unified defense litigation law firm offering comprehensive legal services primarily in California. The firm's core service is Civil Litigation Defense, with specialized practice areas including Insurance Defense (with specific modules for auto, homeowners, catastrophic loss, and bad faith), Medical Malpractice Defense, Public Entity Representation, Construction Accident Defense, Elder Abuse Defense, Real Estate Litigation, Inverse Condemnation, and Landlord-Tenant Defense. The portfolio includes supporting service modules such as Healthcare Professional Liability, Public Entity Employment Litigation, Construction Litigation Services, Elder Care Facility Defense, Real Estate Dispute Resolution, Governmental Claims Defense, Rent Ordinance Defense, General Tort Defense, Product Liability Defense, Employment Litigation, and Business Tort Litigation. These services are delivered through a single unified law firm structure, with attorneys handling cases across multiple practice areas rather than as separate product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insurance Defense

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano CountiesminorOthersMcNamara Law Firm participates in Food from the Bar program on behalf of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County, hosting fundraising lunches and activities to raise money for the event.
• Contra Costa Bar AssociationminorOthersFirm attorneys and staff participate in leadership roles for Contra Costa Bar Association including Center for Youth Development through Law, Women's Section Annual Scholarship Fundraiser, and West Contra Costa County Unified School District programs.
• Contra Costa Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)minorOthersFirm attorneys and staff serve in leadership roles for CASA organization.
• Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and NevadaminorOthersProfessional association membership and participation for defense litigation attorneys.
• Achieve TahoeminorOthersWilma Gray recognized for significant commitment to Achieve Tahoe through community service award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• White and Williams LLP: Mid-Atlantic defense litigation firm with a national insurance defense practice serving commercial clients and insurance carriers. Comparable to McNamara in defense litigation model and insurance industry client base.
• Payne & Fears LLP: California-based defense litigation firm with broad civil litigation defense and insurance defense practices. Closely comparable to McNamara in practice focus (insurance defense, professional liability, commercial defense), California footprint, and mid-size firm positioning.
• Horvitz & Levy LLP: California appellate and complex civil litigation defense firm frequently serving as defense counsel in insurance and tort appeals. Comparable practice overlap in defense-side civil litigation and California market focus.
• Sands Anderson PC: Mid-sized civil litigation defense firm with insurance defense, professional liability, and tort defense practices. Comparable to McNamara in size, practice mix, and emphasis on insurance carrier panel counsel work.
• Selman Leiser LLP: California-based insurance defense firm specializing in civil litigation defense for insurance carriers, with offices in the Bay Area. Closely comparable to McNamara in practice focus (insurance defense, personal injury, tort defense) and regional footprint.
• Michelman & Robinson, LLP: Mid-sized national defense firm with a strong California presence and broad insurance defense, professional liability, and tort defense practices. Closely comparable to McNamara in size, practice mix, and target client segments (insurers, healthcare, real estate).
• Neil, Dymott, Frank, McFall & Trexler Inc. San Diego-based insurance defense and civil litigation firm serving insurance carriers across California. Directly comparable to McNamara in practice focus and panel-counsel business model, with similar size and California-only footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP: Major national defense litigation firm with a strong California presence and broad insurance defense practice. Directly comparable business model—insurance defense panel counsel work, civil litigation defense—with greater scale and geographic reach than McNamara.
• Fennemore Craig, P.C. Western U.S. law firm with broad insurance defense, business litigation, and professional liability practices. Comparable to McNamara in defense-side civil litigation and insurance industry clients, with broader geographic platform.
• Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP: One of the largest U.S. defense litigation firms with a deep insurance defense practice across multiple states. Highly comparable to McNamara as a defense-side firm serving insurance carriers and commercial defendants, but operating at materially larger scale and national footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McNamara Law Firm