Christopher J. Morey
John H. Upton
John V. Bell
Leah Berry
Richard A. Dahl
Christopher J. Morey
Christopher J. Morey is a founding partner of Morey & Upton, LLP. Year after year, Mr. Morey has personally recovered millions of dollars for his clients and their families through verdicts and settlements. As a result, Mr. Morey has established himself as one of the state’s premiere personal injury attorneys. Mr. Morey prides himself on thoroughness of preparation, highly creative litigation tactics, and in treating every client as though they were most important in the office. Quite simply, often at his own expense, Mr. Morey will tenaciously fight to secure justice for his clients.
Mr. Morey is a native Californian and has spent most of his life in Huntington Beach, California. Mr. Morey is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending time with his wife and family. Outside of the law, Mr. Morey’s passions include motorcycle riding, mountain climbing, surfing, cycling, and running. Mr. Morey has run three marathons and also holds a Black Belt in hard style Japanese Karate issued by Shotokan Karate of America.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Morey raced professional and amateur motocross for more than twenty years. Mr. Morey began riding and racing motocross at age 5, in the late 1960's early 1970's when the sport was in its infancy in America. Thereafter, Mr. Morey earned a factory Suzuki sponsorship racing minicycles and became one of the top minicycle racers in the world, winning numerous local, national, and international events. Mr. Morey remains close with his many contacts in the motorcycling industry, and due to his unique knowledge of the industry and motorcycle operation, he has developed a practice representing individuals injured in motorcycle accidents and/or by defective motorcycle products.
Mr. Morey’s undergraduate education began when, due to academic excellence, he was invited to join the General Honors Program at California State University Long Beach. Thereafter, Mr. Morey received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern California with a major in Finance and Economics.
Mr. Morey attended law school at the University of San Diego, graduating with honors (cum laude) in 1990. Mr. Morey also did an externship at the Ninth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals with former Chief Justice, J. Clifford Wallace. Mr. Morey has twice since argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in two victories and two published opinions. (See Lee v. City of Beaumont and Hernandez v. H2O Houseboat Vacations, Inc.)
Mr. Morey’s memberships include the Consumer Attorneys Associations of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the State Bar of California. In addition, Mr. Morey has lectured to nursing students at California State University Long Beach re Avoidance of Malpractice.
Mr. Morey’s practice areas include motorcycle, bicycle, and auto accidents, products liability, all personal injury matters, employment discrimination, employer wage and hour abuse, elder abuse, actions on behalf of tenants against abusive landlords, and medical malpractice.
John H. Upton
A seasoned professional, a vehement advocate, and an innovative strategist, John H. Upton is a founding partner and the Managing Partner of Morey & Upton, LLP. Mr. Upton specializes in representing seriously injured plaintiffs and their families in personal injury cases and in representing employees in labor cases.
Mr. Upton received his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal. His tireless work ethic and commitment to exemplary work product earned him a scholarship and membership in the prestigious St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. Mr. Upton was admitted to practice law in California in 1988 and immediately joined the highly esteemed law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter, & Hampton where he represented corporate clients in employment matters. He quickly established himself as a fiercely dedicated associate with an exemplary work ethic. A few years later, with a growing reputation for an ethical, relentless, and inspired approach to his craft, Mr. Upton was recruited by the internationally-acclaimed firm of Morrison & Foerster. Taking his employment practice to the next level, it was here that he polished the assiduous approach that would soon distinguish him as one of the state’s premier employment attorneys.
During his early years with two of the premier law firms in the country, Mr. Upton developed his vision of a conscientious, innovative, and tenacious practice predicated on the sincere commitment that each and every client’s interests should not only come first, but should be carefully cultivated and integrated into each and every case. He found he shared this vision with inventive personal injury specialist Christopher Morey and, in 1994, the two formed Morey & Upton, LLP.
Mr. Upton has established himself as an expert in the negotiation, settlement, and litigation of personal injury and employment matters. In his personal injury practice, Mr. Upton represents individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries, with a special emphasis on the families of loved ones who have succumbed to injuries sustained in serious accidents. In addition, he represents employees in labor matters including claims for unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, unlawful “tip splitting,” and unpaid “off the clock” work.
Mr. Upton is an active member of the State Bar of California, certified to practice in both State and Federal Court. He is an active and consistently contributing member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Upton’s commitment to his craft, to the specifics of each and every case, and to every individual he represents has resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars for his clients. He has persevered to earn the reputation in the legal community as a tireless advocate for his clients and a “hard-nosed” attorney well regarded for his proven track record of putting the unique needs of each of his clients first.
John V. Bell
John Bell is a trial attorney and associate in the firm. Mr. Bell handles serious and catastrophic injury cases, as well as wrongful death litigation, elder abuse and product liability cases. He has practiced law in these areas for over 28 years.
Mr. Bell obtained a record judgment of $5.4 million against the State of New York for an inmate injury (Barrett v. State of NY) and has more than 11 verdicts and settlements between one and twelve million dollars. He also successfully argued a case of nationwide first impression before the New York Court of Appeals.
A graduate cum laude of Queens College of the City University of New York, and an alumnus of St. John's University School of Law, Mr. Bell is admitted to practice in the States of New York and California as well as several federal courts. He has served as a Director of The New York State Trial Lawyers Association and is an active member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, as well as the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Bell has successfully represented numerous clients in birth trauma, medical malpractice and defective product cases, as well as serving as lead counsel in explosion litigation. He is an aggressive advocate for all clients who have suffered harm from the negligence of others.
In his free time, John enjoys golf, reading, and evening strolls with his wife, Lucia.
Leah Berry
Leah Berry is an associate attorney in her 12th year of practice. Known for her unparalleled work ethic, compassionate and understanding approach to her clients and her uniquely creative, no-nonsense approach to advocacy, Mrs. Berry has developed a fiercely loyal and admiring clientele and is a key component in fostering the tight knit family that is the Morey & Upton, LLP staff.
A 1992 graduate of the University of Florida , Mrs. Berry received her Juris Doctorate from Western State University School of Law in 1997 where she was the recipient of American Juris Prudence Awards in the areas of Criminal Law, Legal Writing, and Evidence. In addition, she served as a law clerk for Commissioner David S. Weinberg of the Orange County Superior Court.
Mrs. Berry began practicing law with Rose, Klein & Marias, specializing in plaintiff personal injury litigation, with an emphasis on product liability matters. In addition to her vast experience conducting depositions, arbitrations and mediations, Mrs. Berry handled several personal injury matters to jury verdict. Representative matters included automobile accidents, premises liability incidents, and wrongful death products liability matters.
Mrs. Berry moved on to serve as National Coordinating Counsel for Kia Motors America and Kia Motors Corporation at the national law firm of Lewis, D’Amato, Brisbois, & Bisgaard. Her responsibilities included the retention, supervision and management of local trial counsel throughout the United States and Puerto Rico in the handling of all aspects of national, high-profile wrongful death and fire-burn automobile products liability cases involving crashworthiness, rollover, roof crush, seat back, restraint and airbag system defect allegations.
Mrs. Berry further honed her litigation skills with the Los Angeles firm of Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar. Her practice involved the defense of large-exposure construction accidents, products liability cases, healthcare, professional liability and elder abuse matters. Her experience also extends to the defense of health care professionals and corporations. Clients included insurance companies, developers and contractors, public and closely held corporations, professionals and other self-insureds.
Mrs. Berry is an active member of the State Bar of California, the Orange County Bar Association, and Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and is certified to practice in the United States District Court, Central District of California.
She enjoys an active lifestyle in South Orange County with her husband and their twin sons. In her free time, she actively fundraises for charities close to her heart and runs marathons for charities to which she is committed to. Mrs. Berry is also an avid and award winning photographer.
Her love for her family, passion for life, commitment to those in need, and insatiable drive for success based upon hard, ethical work combine to make Mrs. Berry one of the most dynamic, exciting, and client-centered plaintiff attorneys in California.
Richard A. Dahl
Born and raised in a small farming community in Illinois, starring as an offensive lineman on the gridiron throughout the Midwest, and putting himself through one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, Richard Dahl has combined family values, a team mentality, and old fashioned hard work to establish himself as a trustworthy, diligent, and talented personal injury attorney.
Mr. Dahl received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Knox College in Illinois , where he made the Dean’s List 9 Times, finished in the top 10% of his class, was named to the Mortar Board Honor Society, and received the prestigious Vinton C. Johnson Prize in Economics as the best graduating student in the department. He was named to the Dean’s List, honored as a Harno Fellow, and named to the University of Illinois Law Review at University of Illinois Law School before obtaining his Juris Doctorate in 1989 from the highly-acclaimed University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Dahl promptly opened The Dahl Law Firm where for over 16 years he specialized in plaintiff personal injury matters. Mr. Dahl’s empathetic approach to his clients and unparalleled work ethic quickly garnered him a reputation as a formidable and well-respected attorney, resulting in his nomination as a “rising star” in Minnesota Law & Politics Magazine.
Mr. Dahl specializes in personal injury advocacy including bodily injury, property, underinsured, and uninsured motorist matters. In addition he has successfully represented clients in dog bite and slip and fall matters. He also has represented clients in products liability and medical malpractice matters, including chemical poisoning and asbestos cases. Mr. Dahl is a savvy and seasoned litigator whose employment practice includes representing plaintiffs in wage and hour class action lawsuits, breach of contract matters, and discrimination cases.
Mr. Dahl is an active member of the State Bar of California, certified to practice in the United States District Court, Central District of California. He is also an active member of the State Bars of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois and is certified to practice in the United States District Court, Central District of Illinois as well as the Unites States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Mr Dahl is an active, contributing member of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association.
With deep commitment to extending his family-centered values to those he represents, Mr. Dahl takes special care to shepherd his clients through each and every step of their case. An innovative litigator, he combines a vigilant work ethic centered in this country’s proud farming heritage with an offensive lineman mentality that makes him not only relentless in his pursuit of justice, but committed to a team building mentality that extends not only to his staff, but to each and every member of the families he represents.
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