Frederick W. Penney

Managing Attorney

Born February 23, 1963, admitted to the California State Bar in 1992. Mr. Penney received his B.A. degree from Brigham Young University in 1988 in Philosophy. He attended J. Reuben Clark Law School where he received his J.D. degree in 1991.

Following his admission to the bar he briefly worked for a nationwide personal injury firm. Due to numerous requests from potential clients, he opened the law firm of Penney and Associates in 1992. Mr. Penney as a young lawyer was contracted by a national law firm to take a number of their difficult cases to trial. Within six months of passing his bar he was lead trial lawyer in a large Superior Court personal injury case.

Mr. Penney is the author of numerous personal injury articles. He became a member of the California Trial Lawyers Association in 1993. He has been admitted in 1992 and 1993 to the Federal Eastern District Court and the 9th District Court of Appeals. Mr. Penney has appeared in cases that have had issues litigated successfully before the California Supreme Court.

The Penney and Associates firm has now expanded to offices in Sacramento, Roseville, Loomis, Chico, Rocklin and Newport Beach with satellite offices in Fairfield, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Southern California. Mr. Penney and the California personal injury lawyers within the firm have handled numerous high profile personal injury cases and thousands of personal injury cases which has made his firm arguably one of the most sought after personal injury firms in the state.
(PI Team)

Robert W. Brannen

Attorney

Born December 11, 1972, admitted to the California Bar in 1999. Mr. Brannen received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego in 1995. He graduated from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1998. Mr. Brannen’s course of study in law school emphasized trial advocacy, civil litigation, and alternative dispute resolution.

While there, he was a teaching assistant/instructor for the school’s course in international appellate advocacy specializing in oral argument and brief writing. Following law school, Mr. Brannen worked for insurance defense and personal injury litigation firms in Menlo Park, CA and Sacramento, CA., and has a long track record as a California personal injury lawyer.

For three years, Mr. Brannen worked as staff counsel for Farmers Insurance in Sacramento, CA. Mr. Brannen is a pro tem judge for El Dorado County Superior Court. In 2003, he joined Penney and Associates and currently runs the Downtown Sacramento office. His practice is focused on the prosecution of personal injury cases on behalf of injured individuals.
(PI Team)

Stewart P. Galbraith

Attorney

Born March 25, 1964; admitted to the California bar in 1990. Mr. Galbraith received his B.A., with honors, from California State University at Sacramento in 1987.

He graduated from California Western School of Law in 1990, Cum Laude, where he served as an editor and staff writer for the California Western Law Review.

Mr. Galbraith received the American Jurisprudence Award in Legal Writing and interned at the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District. Following law school, Mr. Galbraith worked for eight years with a Sacramento insurance defense law firm, defending personal injury cases.

In 1998, he began his employment with Penney & Associates in Roseville, specializing in personal injury law. In July of 1999, he opened and began managing the Penney & Associates satellite office in Chico, California, limiting his practice to personal injury cases on behalf of the injured party. Penney and Associates is fortunate to have the expertise of Mr. Galbraith as well as be on the team of our California personal injury lawyers.
(PI Team)

James E. Gingrich, Esq.

Attorney

Born October 4, 1960; admitted to the bar: California (1989). Mr. Gingrich was raised in Yuba City, CA. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Davis in 1984. He graduated from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1989, qualifying for the Dean’s List. His course of study emphasized civil and criminal litigation, including courses in Trial Advocacy, Moot Court, Bankruptcy, Advanced Civil Procedure, Advanced Criminal Law, and Family Law.
He also interned with the Sutter County District Attorney’s Office. Following his admittance to the State Bar in 1989, Mr. Gingrich worked for eight years with Sacramento insurance defense law firms, defending personal injury cases, including complex products liability cases, as well as the defense of consumer warranty cases.

In 1997, he expanded his practice to include prosecution of personal injury cases on behalf of the injured party, and became a trial attorney with the Sacramento County Indigent Defense Panel. In 2001, he began his employment with Penney & Associates, specializing in personal injury law, and now limits his practice to personal injury cases on behalf of the injured party. Mr. Gingrich works out of the Chico office and makes his home in Chico.
(PI Team)

Kevin L. Elder

Attorney

Kevin was born on October 13, 1961. He is married and has 2 adult children. He attended law school at Lincoln University of Sacramento and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree in 1989. He is admitted to practice law in all of the State Courts of California. He is also admitted to practice in Federal Court in the Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of California. He is an associate member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Kevin became a member of Penney and Associates in November of 2008. In the first 5 years with the firm, Kevin received, through jury verdict and/or settlement, over $12,000,000.00 for clients of Penney and Associates. Kevin handles cases throughout California and has tried cases to Jury verdict in 10 different counties.

Prior to his employment with Penney and Associates, Kevin was a partner with the civil litigation defense firm of Mason and Thomas located in Sacramento. Kevin defended cases through jury verdict on behalf of clients including Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Yolo County, Nevada County, Allstate Insurance Company, California State Automobile Association (CSAA), Paratransit and many other businesses and individuals.

Kevin enjoys civil litigation and trial work. He handles all types of personal injury cases, including but not limited to, motor vehicle, product liability, premises liability, general negligence and professional liability. He has experience in defending counties, businesses and individuals in civil litigation, as well as experience in prosecuting cases on behalf of injured parties.
(PI Team)

Arnold Hernandez

Attorney

Arnold Hernandez represents plaintiffs primarily in personal injury claims. He has handled cases resulting from auto accidents, bus accidents, truck accidents, dog bites, motorcycle accidents, defective products, and a variety of other civil matters.

Arnold has resolved numerous cases through various alternative dispute resolution programs including arbitration and mediation. He has tried cases in bench trials and jury trials and has successfully negotiated difficult cases to very favorable results. Attorney Arnold Hernandez is licensed to practice law before the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the State Supreme Court as well as the Federal Eastern District Court, the Federal Central District Court, the Federal Southern District Court, and the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeal. Attorney Arnold Hernandez graduated with honors from California State University San Bernardino in 1989 with a B.A. degree in business. In 1992 he obtained an MBA from California State University; and in 2000 he graduated from the University of California, Davis with a J.D. (doctorate) degree.

Arnold was also inducted to Beta Gamma Sigma the international society of academic excellence in business while working on his undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California. He has been or is a member various bar associations including Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Riverside County Bar Association, and the Consumer Attorneys Association of San Diego, the Orange County Bar Association, the San Diego Bar Association, the North County San Diego Bar Association, the Sacramento Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, and the Consumer Attorneys Association of California. Attorney Arnold Hernandez has been practicing law since 2000. Prior to becoming an attorney, he held the position of marketing manager for two years and then general manager for a national sales company of steel fabrication and metal castings for another two years.

Arnold is also a California licensed real estate broker. He has interned with the State Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. Attorney Arnold Hernandez has provided over 500 hours of pro-bono service to individuals in a variety of cases.

Michael Siegel

Attorney

Born June 30, 1947; admitted to the California bar in 1974. Mr. Siegel received his B.A. degree in English from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) in 1969, and his J.D. degree from UCLA School of Law in 1974, where he was elected Graduating Class President and served as editor of the law school newspaper (“The Cross-Examiner”) and associate editor of the UCLA-Alaska Law Review.

Between Cornell and UCLA, Mr. Siegel spent 2 years with an anti-poverty agency in Pensacola, FL.

Mr. Siegel worked for the California State Senate for several years, and then served as Executive Officer of a licensing board with the state Department of Consumer Affairs, before practicing Administrative Law full-time, which has been the focus of his practice for more than 30 years.

He joined Penney & Associates in 2013, and currently oversees Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensation claims out of the Rocklin office.