Michael E. Gallagher, Jr.

Michael E. Gallagher is a partner with Bassi Edlin Huie & Blum who is well-known for his success in defending clients in complex litigation. Using his 20+ years of experience handling insurance defense cases and an entrepreneurial spirit, Mike develops innovative strategies to confront a wide variety of matters.  Whether it involves a Superfund site with hundreds of potentially responsible parties or a single construction multi-million-dollar custom home, he has a strong track record for achieving favorable outcomes for his clients. He is licensed to practice law in California and Washington.

Mike has particular expertise in serving trucking and transportation industry clients involving a full range of related issues, including catastrophic personal injury claims, wrongful death claims, environmental concerns, regulatory matters, product and manufacturing claims, contribution and indemnity matters, client hiring issues, and first-party and third-party claims for a leading rideshare company. Mike’s trial experience includes representing one of the country's largest trucking companies in a catastrophic personal injury matter. 

Mike is also highly skilled in environmental litigation (including several CERCLA trials), compliance and regulatory issues within the healthcare industry (such as Medicare/Medi-Cal billing and reimbursements), provider contract disputes, denial of benefits claims, ERISA, and HIPAA compliance. In addition, Mike has experience defending clients against claims involving employment and labor law, shareholder disputes, Proposition 65, unfair competition and trade secrets, breach of contract, product liability, and regulatory issues. For his tenacious approach to litigation and comprehensive knowledge of the Tort Claims Act, Mike has successfully defended numerous public entities throughout California. He also has frequently represented both general contractors and subcontractor clients in a variety of commercial and residential construction defect matters.

Mike earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1997 and his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He has been recognized as a Southern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers for the years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.