For Long Beach's Larry Parker, fight goes on - Contra Costa Times
LONG BEACH - "We'll fight for you!"
For more than three decades, this simple refrain by feisty Long Beach attorney Larry H. Parker has saturated airwaves and courtrooms across California, making him perhaps one of America's best-known lawyers.
Through a string of classic TV spots, Parker's law firm and record of success have made him a household name among the public and a champion among the thousands represented after auto accidents, on-the-job injuries and a host of other incidents.
The law firm, opened in the mid-1970s in Long Beach, now employs hundreds of attorneys, paralegals, investigators and others at offices stretching from Southern California to Phoenix.
He's earned his clients an estimated $800 million through the years and grown very wealthy himself, but remains committed to "fighting for the little guys" facing powerful corporations, insurance companies and other heavy hitters with teams of lawyers paid to settle claims for as low as possible.
"The reason I became a personal injury lawyer is because I saw how people were being abused in the legal system by the insurers, the employers, the corporations with endless resources," Parker said during a recent visit to the firm's headquarters in Bixby Knolls.
"We could see the average man or woman needed someone on their side who understood the system and knew how to fight back, and that's been our mission since day one. We like to think we've helped level the
playing field."In 1980, a mustachioed, vest-sporting Parker produced his first commercial, a 10-second spot ending with the slogan "Where people still care."
By the mid-1980s, business was booming, fueled by a courtroom success rate of more than 90 percent and the steady stream of TV ads featuring Parker's clients and the promise that he wouldn't charge them if they didn't win.
"We were driven and passionate, and we poured everything into these cases, into helping the wronged and the disadvantaged," said business partner and attorney Ron Beck, a frequent face in Parker's commercials. "We loved it, and it's still wonderful to right a wrong and receive a fair settlement for our clients after all these years."
Now, the duo have created what's believed to be the nation's first smartphone app for auto accident victims, available at Apple stores, Android outlets and Blackberry markets, or by visiting www.larryhparker.com.
The free application, which Parker titled "The App You Hope You Never Have to Use," allows accident victims to take pictures, video, voice recordings and other evidence in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
"You can quickly and easily collect all the necessary information for police and insurance reports as well as your lawyers," said Randy Steinberg, who is helping market the new app.
The application is Parker's latest attempt to give back. Without fanfare, Parker's firm has set up extensive philanthropic efforts in and around Long Beach.
In the late 1980s, he donated four apartment buildings to Long Beach City College, which converted them into classrooms and other educational structures.
He also maintains a scholarship program for local teenagers and young adults, donating more than $150,000 since 1996 to students from Cabrillo, Wilson, Poly, Millikan, Jordan and other area high schools.
"God's been good to us, so we don't mind giving back some of that blessing," Parker said. "It's not something we publicize much, but we really enjoy it, and we've even had some of those students come work for us. We have a summer internship program at headquarters and stay involved wherever we can with the schools."
Although Parker moved out of Long Beach a few years ago, he spends much of his time at the main office, where some staffers have worked for 25 years or more.
"It's a family here, and we simply couldn't function or have anywhere near the success rate we do without this family, from the clerks to the paralegals to the attorneys," Beck said.
And Parker said he remains committed to staying in Long Beach, despite a growing presence in Arizona, the Inland Empire and other regions to the east.
"I've always loved Long Beach, and it's the best location because we're centralized between Orange and Los Angeles counties," Parker said. "It's a great city, and it's our foundation."
To learn more about Parker, the smartphone app or watch a wide collection of commercials dating back 31 years, visit www.youtube.com/attorneylarryhparker.
kristopher.hanson@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1466
17 Oct, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNElpeVSvn-wTUudt0B7jSLN6mpDow&url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_19128130
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