Meet Brian Riley
When I was younger, my father was a plaintiff in a case. I saw first-hand how the process worked for a client. It dragged on for too long, going all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court. Watching oral arguments at that level was what first interested me in a legal career.
Personal injury law is special to me because it’s very active. I’m wired to help as many people as I can as fast as I can, which is ideal for personal injury. I would say my motivation in my practice is the pursuit of justice. At the end of a case, being able to hand my client a check for what they went through is the ultimate victory.
There are little and big wins. And sometimes the biggest wins are on smaller cases. These clients sometimes have trouble getting an attorney to take a risk on their smaller claims or there are attorneys who aren’t looking at the case from the right angle. Being able to come in and help these people or get them a higher settlement than other attorneys expected is a great win for me. You feel really great when you’re handing that client a big check, knowing you did a better job than 99% of the people who would have handled the case. I’m lucky when these clients find me and I’m able to help them out.
This is a competitive industry. Since I became a litigator who has taken many cases to trial, the way I handle my pre-litigation cases has completely evolved. The way I handle litigation cases has also changed. With every new case, I’m bringing the experience of the year before and the year before that. I remember all my cases – the clients’ names, the facts, the injuries, the circumstances, the settlement amounts. All that learning and experience has made me a more effective advocate.
Beyond experience, a major factor to an effective personal injury practice is the access to the needed resources to litigate the claim. This is one of the major reasons I started my own firm – to be able to control access to resources. I learned a lot at my previous firms, but having the opportunity to do it my way and more independently is crucial to providing the best service to my clients.
I’ve also partnered with another like-minded attorney and someone I have a ton of respect for. I look forward to working with him for the next 20-30 years.