By 1972, the only portion of the Ph.D. program that he
had left to complete was the final draft of his dissertation.
Bob had planned to do that and do a post-doctoral fellowship
in neuropathology, which he had been offered at the
University of California, Los Angeles. But then the UCLA
program lost half its funding, the fellowship was cancelled,
and Bob needed another plan.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE LAW
Bob’s mother worked for Schessler & Tribbey, a two-person
law firm focusing on tax law and business law. After
completing a long tour with Linda Ronstadt and Jackson
Brown in March 1974, Bob was visiting his mother at her
work one day and contemplating what he should do next in
life. Walter Tribbey greeted him and, within a few minutes,
invited Bob to lunch. Tribbey told Bob that, no matter
where his interests lay, the law could be part of his future.
Tribbey maintained that Bob could build a law practice
around the area that most interested him. Bob went to the
public library after lunch, checked out Louis Nizer’s book,
My Life in Court and decided to give law a try.
Bob applied to a number of local law schools and ultimately
enrolled at the University of La Verne Law School in La
Verne, California. Bob graduated and was admitted to the
California Bar in 1977. He worked at Schessler & Tribbey
as their only associate until 1980, when he received and
accepted an offer to join a plaintiffs’ medical malpractice
firm, Mallery & Stern. With his graduate school science
background, medically-related law practice interested Bob.
Bob stayed with Mallery & Stern until 2006, when the
California Supreme Court found the 1975 tort reform system
to be constitutional, thereby making plaintiffs’ medical
malpractice work economically difficult.
As it turned out, one of the premier medical malpractice
defense firms in California, Bonne, Jones, Bridges, Mueller
& O’Keefe was losing a partner in their Orange County
office and needed someone to come in and take over
that partner’s caseload. Bob accepted that position and
has been primarily a defense lawyer ever since.
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS
In 2001, Bob was invited to become a member of the
American College of Trial Lawyers. Bob knew nothing
about the College. When he opened the College’s invitation,
he wondered what it was. He did some investigation
into the College and was left with two feelings: interest
and intimidation. In fact, when his wife was driving them
to the La Quinta induction ceremony, he told her to turn
around because he didn’t think he belonged in an organization
of this quality. He said, “Let’s just go home.” She
refused and told him, “You are full of it.” They drove on
and Bob was inducted in 2002.
Bob served on the Southern California State Committee
as a member, Vice-Chair and, ultimately, Chair. He
was elected a Regent in 2015 and served through 2019.
Throughout his years as a leader of the College Bob has
never met any Fellow who did not richly deserve the honor.
Bob considers his work with the College to have been both
important and fun. Maybe not as important or fun as being
a rock star, but fun nonetheless. And he still plays guitar
live and in the studio as time and opportunities permit.
Ron McLean
Fargo, ND
FALL 2022 JOURNAL 52