{"id":301413,"date":"2026-05-05T21:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/301413\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:20:10","slug":"attorney-rya-nelson-joins-the-gwilliam-firm-in-oakland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/301413\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney Rya Nelson joins the Gwilliam firm in Oakland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up, Rya Nelson<\/a> never thought of becoming an attorney.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually wanted to work in the arts as a photographer and a videographer,\u201d said Nelson, an East Bay native who grew up in Clayton. \u201cI would watch lawyer movies and think, \u2018that\u2019s not interesting to me at all.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But when a professor at the University of Arizona approached Rya to join the debate team after a spirited in-class discussion, she discovered she had a flair for public speaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nelson<\/a> has always had deep empathy for the disadvantaged and underserved. The granddaughter of a disabled immigrant, she began to realize that a career in law was an opportunity to fuse her aptitude for speaking with her values.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething clicked for me during a personal injury slip-and-fall trial\u2026 the advocacy the lawyers had for their clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rya Nelson<\/p>\n

Ten years later, Nelson is fighting for justice for injury victims, sexual assault survivors, wrongly terminated employees, and individuals whose civil rights have been violated. She is the newest associate attorney at Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer<\/a>, a Downtown Oakland law firm. She joined the firm, which specializes in personal injury, employment and civil rights, in October, after over three years at another civil litigation firm in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At her former firm, being one of just three attorneys provided Nelson the opportunity to hone her litigation skills. \u201cI just completed my 59th deposition,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve taken two trials to jury verdict. I have a decent amount of experience for someone in my position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discovering personal injury law<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs\u2019 side civil litigation wasn\u2019t initially on Nelson\u2019s radar. During college, she interned at the International Rescue Committee, helping refugees and asylees obtain their green cards and citizenship, a topic close to her heart. But she found federal immigration law was less than favorable to that work.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration courts are governed by the executive branch of the federal government, so the laws are based on who is in office at the time,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cAs much as that field of law was important to me, I felt like my hands were tied in what I could do at that time. So when I went to law school, I decided to remain open to other types of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson\u2019s enthusiasm for personal injury law materialized while she was a law student at the University of San Francisco School of Law. She served as a summer extern with San Francisco Superior Court Judge Mary. E Wiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw an asbestos trial, I saw a DUI trial, I saw probate juvenile hearings, you name it,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cSomething clicked for me during a personal injury slip-and-fall trial. I had never in my life thought that area of law was interesting, but the advocacy the lawyers had for their clients and the impact of the settlement for the plaintiff made me think, \u2018I want to do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Since receiving her law degree in 2023, Nelson has proudly and solely represented plaintiffs. When Gwilliam put out the call for a new associate attorney last fall, Nelson pounced on the opportunity to expand her skill set at a bigger firm while continuing to fight for plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

Depth of experience at Gwilliam<\/p>\n

\u201cThe partners here have so much experience,\u201d she said. \u201cGary Gwilliam<\/a> has completed over 180 jury trials. That\u2019s basically unheard of. So, the wealth of knowledge and experience here was really attractive to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they\u2019re not afraid of taking on big cases,\u201d she added. As an example, she pointed to working on a lawsuit involving 10 former insurance agents of AAA of Northern California, Nevada & Utah<\/a> who say they were terminated because of their age and race. The firm is representing them in a discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAAA leadership used arbitrary and pretextual reasons for terminating all these former insurance agents who had not had any real prior discipline,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cAll the insurance agents were making commissions on their renewals for the policies they serviced, but AAA wanted them out because they were making too much money and were staunch advocates for unionization. The cases are just shocking. That\u2019s this big behemoth that Gary and I are working on. He just doesn\u2019t quit.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Gary Gwilliam, partner attorney Winston Moody<\/a> has served as an important mentor during Nelson\u2019s first six months at the firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am currently working with Winston on a couple of personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries. He\u2019s taught me a different, but valued, perspective on how to practice law,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s also so approachable. That\u2019s another thing I really like about this firm \u2014 the partners have a broad range of legal knowledge and I have already learned so much from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of work, Nelson, a San Francisco resident who commutes to the office via BART, is a devout practitioner of hot yoga. \u201cYou\u2019re sweating before you even start the movements,\u201d she said. \u201cBut something about the heat makes you more flexible. It\u2019s so hot that you really have to focus on your breath in order to breathe normally. It\u2019s very meditative.\u201d<\/p>\n

But during the weekdays, she can be found east of Lake Merritt at the Gwilliam Ivary et al. office, where the work is as invigorating as her hobby, and supportive as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s so nice,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re just really kind, caring and genuine people. They like to fight the good fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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