Edward Lear

Mr. Lear has over 38 years of litigation experience and has tried over 300 cases, including over 50 jury trials. He specializes in all aspects of trial work with emphasis on real estate and business litigation, wildfire and personal injury litigation, and professional licensing defense. He is a recognized speaker at legal seminars and has presented MCLE credit-approved programs to many local bar associations and large associations like the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), California Association of Realtors (CAR), American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (ASCDC). Mr. Lear serves as an arbitrator for the Los Angeles County Bar Association and has been qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts.

Most recently, Mr. Lear teamed up with Attorney Bryan Harrison and J. Paul Gignac to form dba Los Angeles Wildfire Law, an alliance of attorneys formed in direct response to the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Los Angeles Wildfire Law brings together experienced wildfire litigation attorneys who have been involved in the following fires: Eaton, Lahaina, Paradise, Woolsey, and Malibu. Most recently, Attorney Edward Lear helped secure a cumulative $4 billion dollar settlement on behalf of Lahaina fire victims.

Background

Mr. Lear is a 1983 graduate, cum laude, of Dartmouth College and a 1987 graduate of U.C.L.A. School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review and the Moot Court Honors Program. He joined Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges immediately after law school and worked for four years as a “big firm” litigation associate before becoming a Los Angeles-based State Bar prosecutor. For three years, Mr. Lear prosecuted California attorneys, never losing a trial, before co-founding Gerry & Lear in 1994. In 2002, he founded Century Law Group LLP, now a six-attorney litigation boutique firm.

In 2014, Mr. Lear was inducted into ABOTA, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society established to recognize attorneys who elevate the standards of integrity, honor, ethics, civility and courtesy in the legal profession. Through ABOTA, Mr. Lear is a faculty member of the Jack Daniels Trial School, which teaches trial skills to less-experienced attorneys. He has been named a SuperLawyer nine years in a row (2017-2025). Mr. Lear is a past President of the Association of Discipline Defense Counsel. In 2021, Mr. Lear was appointed by the State Bar Board of Trustees to chair the Effectiveness Committee of the blue-ribbon Ad Hoc Commission on Discipline.

Business Disputes
Eminent Domain
Real Estate Law
Wildfire Litigation
Personal Injury
Professional License Defense

Member, State Bar of California (1987-present). State Bar No. 132699.

Admitted to practice in all of California state courts; the United States Court of Appeal (Ninth Circuit); and United States District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California. Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association (1994-present).

Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (2014-present)

Faculty Member, Jack Daniels Trial School. (2014-present)

Founding Member, Association of Discipline Defense Counsel (2009–present) and former President (2019, 2020)

California State Bar Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System (2021-23) Chairman of Effectiveness Subcommittee; member of Fairness Subcommittee

University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, California
- Juris Doctor – 1987
- Honors: Moot Court Honors Program
- Law Review: UCLA Law Review, Member, 1986 – 1987
Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
- A.B. (Cum Laude) – 1983

Edward Lear

Edward Lear

Background

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