What Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer does

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer, APC is a plaintiff-only contingency law firm founded in 1978 in Oakland, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. The firm operates exclusively on a 100% contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no upfront costs and the firm covers all litigation expenses, collecting a percentage only on favorable settlements or judgments under California's statutory sliding scale. Its practice spans employment law (discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower claims), personal injury (motor vehicle, construction, premises and product liability), catastrophic brain and spinal cord injury litigation, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and select civil rights and police misconduct matters. The firm maintains a deliberate policy of limiting caseload to matters where its attorneys can deliver the largest impact and reserves the right to take cases to verdict rather than settle prematurely.

The firm is staffed by approximately 7 attorneys — including founding partner J. Gary Gwilliam (180+ jury trials, first-ever ACCTLA "Legend of The Law" Lifetime Achievement Award, 2025), Managing Partner Randall E. Strauss, partners Robert J. Schwartz, Winston W. Moody, Steven R. Cavalli, Senior Counsel Steven J. Brewer, Of Counsel Jayme L. Walker, and Associate Rya M. Nelson — supported by paralegal and administrative personnel for a total headcount in the 11-50 range as classified by the firm. There is no proprietary technology platform; intake, case management, and client communication rely on conventional phone, email, and online contact channels ([email protected]; 510-832-5411). Distribution is sales-led and dependent on attorney referrals and past-client word-of-mouth, supplemented by Bar Association recognition (2025 Alameda County Bar Association Law Firm of the Year), editorial coverage in The Recorder, and content marketing via the firm website and podcast features.

The business model is a professional-corporation legal practice with no outside institutional ownership, no funding history, and no public financial disclosure. Revenue is generated entirely through contingency fees on case outcomes, producing lumpy, outcome-driven cash flows that scale with the size and frequency of settlements and verdicts (e.g., the $37.25 million Andrews et al. v. Lawrence Livermore National Security matter representing 130 plaintiffs). The firm does not represent defendants, insurers, or corporations in defensive matters, an explicit differentiation strategy that shapes its case selection and referral relationships.

Name

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer

Legal name

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer

Website

https://giccb.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer is a plaintiff-only contingency law firm founded in 1978 in Oakland, California, serving Bay Area and Northern California clients in employment law, personal injury, brain and spinal cord injuries, wrongful death, and civil rights matters. The 7-attorney firm operates on a 100% contingency fee basis with no upfront client costs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plaintiff Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Healthcare Professional Liability (Med Mal) (FSAJAGAE)

Keywords

• Plaintiff legal services
• Personal injury law
• Employment law representation
• Contingency fee law
• Wrongful death litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee Legal Services: The firm operates exclusively on a contingency fee basis. Clients pay no upfront costs - the firm covers all litigation expenses. Fees are only collected if the case is resolved favorably (settlement or judgment). If no recovery is made, the client owes nothing. Fee percentages are governed by California statute on a sliding scale based on the final settlement/verdict amount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer is a plaintiff-only contingency fee law firm providing legal representation to individuals (and, secondarily, businesses) in employment law (discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblower claims), personal injury (motor vehicle, construction, premises and product liability), catastrophic brain and spinal cord injury cases, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and civil rights/police misconduct matters across Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product overview

Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer is a Plaintiff-only law firm providing legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm offers employment law services (including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and whistleblower protection), personal injury representation (covering motor vehicle accidents, construction accidents, product liability, premises liability, and police misconduct), specialized brain and spinal cord injury litigation, wrongful death claims, and medical malpractice cases. The practice areas operate as integrated legal service offerings rather than separate product modules, with attorneys frequently handling cases that span multiple practice areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employment Law Legal Services

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kazan Law: Oakland-based plaintiffs-only firm focused on asbestos/mesothelioma, serious injury, and employment matters. Direct Bay Area peer in contingency-fee plaintiff representation and mass tort/serious injury practice.
• Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger: San Francisco plaintiffs' personal injury firm with a strong catastrophic injury and wrongful death practice. Comparable in plaintiff-only model, contingency fees, and Northern California focus.
• The Veen Firm: San Francisco plaintiff-side catastrophic injury and employment firm specializing in brain/spinal cord injuries, wrongful death, and serious personal injury. Direct competitor in GICCB's core catastrophic-injury and employment-law practice areas.
• Baker Curtis Schwartz Owens & Wolfson: Oakland-based plaintiffs-only employment and civil rights firm with similar practice focus on discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower matters. Directly competes for the same employment-law plaintiff clients in the East Bay.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: San Francisco-based plaintiffs-only law firm handling employment, personal injury, civil rights, and consumer class actions. Highly comparable to GICCB in plaintiff-only orientation, Bay Area footprint, and contingency-fee practice areas, though larger in scale and more class-action oriented.
• Capstone Law APC: California plaintiffs-only firm with offices in Los Angeles and Oakland handling employment, wage and hour, and serious personal injury cases on contingency. Comparable in plaintiff-only model and employment/PI overlap.
• Mastagni Holstedt, APC: Sacramento-based plaintiffs' employment law firm. Comparable as a California plaintiff-side employment firm; Winston Moody previously practiced here, indicating direct overlap in attorney networks.
• Reich Radcliff & Hoppe: Bay Area employment law firm representing plaintiffs in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and whistleblower cases. Comparable in contingency model and employment practice focus.

Regional players

• Minami Tamaki LLP: San Francisco-based plaintiffs' firm with employment, civil rights, and consumer protection practice. Comparable contingency plaintiff model and Northern California footprint, with somewhat broader civil rights focus.

Others

• Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) Member Firms (collective): GICCB's attorneys have been finalists for CAOC Trial Lawyer of the Year; CAOC member firms collectively represent the California plaintiff bar against which GICCB competes and through which its referral and reputation network operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gwilliamlaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer