Daniel J. Morse

While some derisively dismiss empathy as a weakness, I am stronger for it.

At 18, I found a job at a rural industrial park outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, making concrete beams out of a novel formulation of “fibers” and “binders.”  It paid better than fast food, and the company didn’t require any prior experience.  All they needed was your strong back to show up on time.   I worked long days in dusty conditions taking orders from an ex-con.  We’d add the secret “kicker” chemical to get the concrete beams to set up just right.  I’d go home reeking of styrene.  Ask me about occupational exposures to toxins.

At 21, I had cancer.  Was it coincidence?  Maybe.  My retro-peritoneal lymph node dissection (that’s a scar that gets some looks at pool parties) knocked me down for a while.  The tumors in my lymph nodes and lungs demanded attention.  I don’t even remember how many rounds of chemotherapy, but I can still remember the cocktail of Cisplatin, Bleomycin, and VP-16.  I am happy to report that I’ve been a survivor since 1997.  Knock on wood!

No one asks to be injured by toxins carelessly introduced into the workplace.  Our clients wanted to work hard, earn a living, and get home safely.  Decades later they are paying a terrible price for the corners cut by companies that knew or should have known better. When people come to us at their lowest points, scared and angry and tired, I am motivated to lift their burdens guided by my empathy for what they are going through.

University of Florida, Bachelors of Science in Telecommunication – Production, 1997

Pepperdine University School of Law, Juris Doctorate, 2001

California, 2001

Utah, 2011

Washington, 2023

Beverly Hills Bar Association, I.H. Prinzmetal Award for “Stars In Cyberspace: The Domain Name Game,” 2000

Marin Trial Lawyers Association, 2024 Trial Lawyer of the Year

Consumer Attorneys of California

Federal National Mortgage Association v. Sundquist, 2013 UT 45 (Supreme Court of Utah appealed to U.S. Supreme Court, 2013)

Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez v. Stone Silicosis Defs., $52.4 Million Verdict, August 2024