Litigation Team
Brian Gillette
Head of Litigation
Brian Gillette completed his Doctor of Jurisprudence at Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas and holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from the University of Connecticut. Mr. Gillette is licensed to practice law in Texas and California and has worked for defense and plaintiff’s counsel in both states.
Mr. Gillette is an experienced civil attorney who has handled catastrophic injury and death cases, products liability cases, and premises liability cases in both state and federal court—helping to secure his clients multimillion dollar jury verdicts and settlements. Mr. Gillette also has extensive experience in appeals work and has prevailed in both state appellate courts and at the Texas Supreme Court.
Beyond personal injury, Mr. Gillette has also worked on matters pertaining to civil litigation, federal administrative law, and employment law.
Mr. Gillette currently the head of litigation at the Gillette Law Firm, overseeing all aspects of litigation including discovery, depositions, expert witnesses, motion practice, and trials.
brian.gillette@dba-lawyer.com
Kali Guttman-Orta
Partner
Ms. Kali Guttman-Orta works alongside the firm’s litigators in pursuit of settlements and judgments on behalf of injured clients from around the world under the Defense Base Act.
Ms. Guttman-Orta is admitted to the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Texas as well as the United State District Courts for the Southern District of Texas and the Central District of California. She has experience representing Clients under the Defense Base Act, California State Workers’ Compensation defense, and Texas Personal Injury law. She is also currently appointed as a part-time Associate Judge and Magistrate for the City of Corpus Christi. She is dedicated to her clients’ success and works to maximize Client recovery with every tool available under the law.
Ms. Guttman-Orta attended California State University, San Bernardino where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She attended California Southern Law School where she earned her J.D. and graduated salutatorian.
kali.guttman@dba-lawyer.com
Trey Pendergraft
Litigation Counsel
Trey completed his Doctor of Jurisprudence at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and holds a Bachelor’s in psychology from Texas Tech University. Mr. Pendergraft is licensed to practice law in Texas and the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.
Mr. Pendergraft is an experienced civil attorney who has handled catastrophic injury and death cases, premises cases, and work injury cases in both State and Federal Court. He is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multimillion Dollar Advocates Forum for winning million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for his clients. He was also recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff’s Attorney by the National Trial Lawyers Organization in 2020 and 2021.
trey.pendergraft@dba-lawyer.com
Mark Riordan
Litigation Counsel
Mark Riordan graduated from New England Law | Boston and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Kansas. Mr. Riordan is licensed to practice law in Texas and the United States District Court, Western District of Texas.
Mr. Riordan has extensive experience in handling catastrophic injury and death cases, premises liability cases, products liability, and work injury cases in state and federal court. He has dedicated his career to helping his clients and recovering millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on their behalf. Mr. Riordan now exclusively represents injured workers in Longshore and Defense Base Act Claims.
mark.riordan@dba-lawyer.com
Angie Claudio
Executive Administrator
angie.claudio@dba-lawyer.com
Paralegal
Kate Taylor
kate.taylor@dba-lawyer.com