About

Gary Gwilliam, partner in Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer, has experienced life through many filters, from the view of a gang member, salesperson, and carefree frat boy, to a respected prosecutor. His social life evolved from being a partying man to finding spirituality and his true soul mate. His political perspectives saw radical changes, too, from a staunch conservative to a leader in progressive causes.

Along with practicing law, Gary’s focus now includes mentoring attorneys and others who deal with such challenges as alcoholism, stress release, work/life balance, and dealing with losses with honesty and resilience.

Gary received the Public Justice Foundation’s Champion of Justice Award of 2009 for leadership and inspiring accomplishments in public interest law. A former president of the Consumer Attorneys of California, where Gary led the defeat of bogus tort reform propositions that would have severely limited consumer rights, he was named California Lawyer’s “Attorney of the Year” for employment law in 2001.

In 2005 Gary was featured on the cover of the ABA Journal and its story of how attorneys find that some of life’s most important lessons come from defeat. Gary has come to fully integrate his spiritual practices with his legal practice, so that trial preparation includes meditation as well as thorough legal strategizing.

His  recent memoir, “Getting a Winning Verdict in My Personal Life: A Trial Lawyer Finds His Soul” (Pavior Publishing, 2007), has been acclaimed for its insight and candor. His personal life centers on his wife and soul mate, Lilly, their grandchildren, and a love of traveling. They have traveled the world together and live an active and full life.