R. Bryan Martin

Partner/Owner

Bryan is a member of the firm’s Product Liability, General Liability, Transportation, and Business Litigation practice groups.  Bryan’s practice covers a broad range of civil and administrative matters both inside and outside the state of California.  He regularly represents Fortune 500 companies in high-exposure actions involving personal injury and wrongful death, product liability, transportation and business matters.  He has successfully tried cases to verdict and has been a part of trial teams in multiple jurisdictions throughout California and across the United States.  He has also successfully briefed and argued before Courts of Appeal in multiple jurisdictions.  From pre-lawsuit strategy to trial and appeal, Bryan is consistently praised for his ability to efficiently achieve winning results. 

Bryan frequently defends manufacturer and distributors of a wide range of products in personal injury actions.  These products include recreational vehicles such as personal watercraft, all-terrain and off-road vehicles, and motorcycles; sporting and camping equipment; kitchen appliances, above-ground swimming pools; plate-heat exchangers; industrial mixers and ovens, construction and farm equipment; heavy machinery; and railroad cars, among many others. 

Bryan also frequently advises clients on the sufficiency of on-product warnings and instructions in product manuals and literature.  He also advises and defends clients on Proposition 65 compliance actions, and represents vehicle manufacturers in administrative matters before California’s New Motor Vehicle Board. 

Bryan also has extensive experience in the life sciences field representing manufacturers and distributors of a broad range of medical and dental devices and pharmaceutical drugs in product liability actions.  Bryan also is a frequent lecturer and author on product liability and life science topics in publications and at seminars across the country.

Bryan serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC), which is the largest and one of the most preeminent regional defense organizations in the country. 

Bryan is a 2002 graduate, cum laude, of Southwestern University School of Law where he served on the Board of Governors for the Moot Court Honors Program.  Bryan attended Weber State University on a full-athletic scholarship in football and was the university’s starting quarterback and punter during his junior and senior seasons.  Bryan also played professionally in the Arena Football League for the San Jose SaberCats and the Tampa Bay Storm from 1997-1999 prior to entering law school. 

Experience

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Association of Southern California Defense Council (ASCDC), Board of Directors
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member
  • Orange County Bar Association, Member
  • Orange County Business Counsel

Past Employment Positions

  • Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP, Associate/Partner, 2002 - 2018

Bar Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of California

Education

Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, California

  • J.D. cum laude - 2002

Weber State University

  • B.A. - 1996
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