David W. Berglund
David W. Berglund, Senior Partner and founder of Berglund & Johnson brings over 39 years of experience in dealing with the legal system to his clients. His experience both as a Superior Court clerk and as a trial lawyer gives his clients a strategic edge. As an employee of the court for four years, he gained invaluable experience by watching both good and bad attorneys come before the bench. This, combined with over 25 years of his own practice, has allowed him a quality of trial advocacy that few possess.
In his many years of practicing law, David has handled many different types of cases ranging from family law, will, business and personal injury to criminal cases. In 1973 he became convinced he would be most effective for his clients by concentrating his practice on personal injury. David has tried over 100 jury trials and hundred of non-jury trials. He has obtained favorable verdicts in cases as diverse as products liability, airplane crashes, legal malpractice and auto cases.
Personal injury holds a special attraction for David because he feels it is advocacy as its best - the consumer versus the corporate business/political system. David creates a quality solution for his clients that includes all the issues and all the parties concerned. His compassion for the injured people is often reflected when he takes a difficult case that no other attorney would touch, simply because he is sympathetic to the client's needs.
David Berglund was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and grew upon on a farm. He graduated from North Muskegon High School in 1951 and joined the United States Navy later that year. While in the Navy, he began to take college courses and gained a love for learning that has continued throughout his life.
In 1955 he joined the Michigan State Police, but envisioning life without the cold winters David left Michigan for California in 1960. There he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in June 1960. In 1961 David enrolled in southwestern University law School and began work as a clerk for Judge Stillwell in San Fernando. David received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, in 1965 from Southwestern University.
He passed the bar that fall. Handling the most complex litigation at Berglund & Johnson, David has fought hard for his clients against several major automobile manufacturers and government agencies. David continues his love for learning by going to seminars and by taking medical courses at both USC and UCLA so that he can best represent his clients' complex issues to the court. When dealing with an expert witness, David learns the subject well enough that he can speak the expert's language.
David belongs to the American Bar Association, State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, American Board of Trial Advocates and is a former president of the Christian Legal Society, Los Angeles. Consumer Attorneys of California has awarded him Certificates of Recognition for his experience in personal injury cases and as a trial lawyer. He was nominated "Trial Lawyer of the Year" for Los Angeles County. He is also a former at-large board member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles.
He has also been a seminar speaker at the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. An active proponent of good government, David has served on the Board of the San Fernando Valley Business and Professional Association (SFVB&P) for eight years and serves on an SFVB&P committee that evaluates all political candidates, including judges, running for offices in the San Fernando Valley.
Over the years David has served many organizations in the Christian community including Van Nuys First Baptist Church, the Simon Greenleaf School of Law as chairman of the board, Christian Legal Society, San Fernando Valley Prayer Breakfast, Los Angeles Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, San Fernando Valley Full Gospel Businessmen's Association, Christian Businessmen 's Committee (CBMC), and Church on the Way Servants Council. Currently he serves on the boards of World Impact, an inner-city ghetto ministry and Gospel Light Publishing Company. He has also been a seminar speaker at CBMC 's Regional and National conventions.
David married his wife, Penny, in 1952, when the two were not much more than teenagers off the farm in Michigan. They have three grown, married sons, Randall, Steven and Gregory, eight grandchildren, and a great granddaughter, all of whom reside in California. Family is very important to David as he and Penny take vacations with their sons and wives and enjoy rich relationships with them all.
David lives an active life, engaging in many sports including snow skiing, SCUBA diving and sport fishing. One of his favorite avocations is flying, which he utilizes in his legal practice by being available to clients at any general aviation airport in Southern California.