We represent people from all over the state of California, providing experienced advocacy in personal injury claims, family law or divorce cases, employment law violations, and a wide variety of other complex issues.
Konell Ruggiero
Konell Ruggiero is a Los Angeles-based brother-sister law firm representing clients throughout California. The firm focuses primarily on general civil litigation, including employment law, civil rights law, animal law, general business law and personal injury matters. The firm is unique in its breadth of practice, which includes representing individuals and select business entities in both state and federal courts.
Konell Ruggiero is proud to provide clients with exceptional and personalized service. The firm consistently exceeds clients and expectations by combining outstanding legal skills with a practical, cost-effective and thoughtful approach to solving problems.
Konell Ruggiero has over 50 years of combined litigation experience. The firm has successfully litigated against some of the largest business entities and governmental agencies in California. The practice has successfully grown primarily through client and attorney referrals. A sister-brother team working together for the best representation for their clients, Konell Ruggiero takes pride in its attentive style of representation.
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Southern California:
(213) 538-1360
401 Wilshire Blvd.
12th Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Northern California
PO Box 1107
Bolinas, CA 94924
Jerry Konell, Partner
Jerome "Jerry" Konell is a California native raised initially in Inglewood and then Palos Verdes, California. After graduating from UCLA in 1986 with majors in Economics and Psychology, he began his legal career working in entertainment law for a television syndication company where he learned the art of drafting international contracts. Having a taste of the practice of law, Jerry then attended Cardozo School of Law in New York City. During his studies, he had the opportunity to delve into litigation via the Intensive Trial Advocacy Program ( ITAP) chaired by attorney and professor, Berry Scheck. Having "tried" his first two cases, Jerry found that litigation was his heart's desire. After his second year of law school, Jerry obtained a summer internship for a medium-sized insurance defense firm in Glendale, California. After graduating and passing the California Bar in 1990, Jerry became a litigation associate for that same firm. The next five years would find Jerry drafting and arguing hundreds of motions, honing his skills at discovery, taking hundreds of depositions and attending numerous arbitrations and mediations.
In 1995, Jerry began a 10-year span as an in-house litigation attorney for an insurance defense firm in Woodland Hills, California. This era found Jerry heavily involved in mediation and arbitration and trying numerous cases before juries. In 2005, Jerry joined Cheryl Ruggiero, an attorney and, more importantly, his sister, to form what is now known as Konell Ruggiero LLP. They are both members of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), an organization focused on consumers/ plaintiffs seeking accountability from those who do wrong. Together, they have tried numerous cases against major institutions and corporations.
Jerry has successfully litigated and resolved cases in the personal injury, real estate and business litigation arenas. His primary focus is personal injury where he has handled numerous large cases including wrongful death cases, catastrophic injury cases, and complex products liability cases. This includes automobile accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall and trip and fall incidents, and dog bite/attacks just to name a few. He has represented consumers against major amusement parks, automobile manufacturers, and many Fortune 500 companies.
Jerry prides himself on being "hands on" and readily available to and for his clients. He believes that litigation is a "team effort" between himself and his clients. Having over 25 years of litigation experience both on the defense (15 years) and plaintiff sides (13 years), Jerry understands "both sides" which he uses to maximize his client's cases in a smart and efficient manner.
Outside of his practice, Jerry enjoys time with his wife, family and friends, hiking, travel, wine, music, cooking and his "little white dog" Lucca.
Cheryl Ruggiero, Partner
Cheryl Ruggiero graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and then Cardozo School of Law in New York. After being honored with a one-year fellowship at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in North Hollywood and being admitted to the California State Bar in 1990, she focused her practice on individual rights, with an emphasis on litigation through trial in employment, civil rights and general negligence matters; the employment cases include claims of gender harassment and discrimination, disability discrimination, racial discrimination, violations of wage and hour laws and breach of employment contracts. She also represents and advises select employers concerning employee relations, terminations and state and federal employment laws, policies and procedures, including the drafting and revising of employee handbooks and conducting internal workplace investigations.
Most recently, Cheryl has been (1) representing the rights of animal owners / guardians against individuals, governmental agencies and private adoption entities; and (2) representing physicians in front of the California Medical Board. Cheryl enjoys using her experience and skills to fight on behalf of doctors who are being unduly persecuted by the Board.
In her spare time, Cheryl enjoys dogs, yoga, nature and spending time at home with her husband. Together, they run Love Dogs for Life, a nonprofit organization in Northern California that assists needy families with accessing food and veterinary care for their beloved dogs. Cheryl strives to be the human her dogs believe she is!