Attorney Melvin Belli says his skill as a litigator helps him to succeed where other attorneys fail. That’s why it’s important to look at an attorney’s record to see if he or she is a good match for you.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of hiring a competent attorney,” Belli said. “My experience spans a wide variety of cases and venues, which gives me a better perspective.”

Belli has been practicing law for more than 30 years and says simply, “I am a trial attorney who seeks justice for those who need it.”

A few years ago, Belli represented a client who most definitely  needed help. The man was a bicyclist who was injured in a hit and run accident in San Francisco.

“My client was riding along in the city and some dolt rear-ended him,” Belli said. “My client’s bike got tangled up under the car, so the driver pulled over. Some bystanders went over to help untangle the bike but instead of being a good citizen the dolt took off and did a hit and run.”

It was easy to track down the driver because his vehicle sported a vanity plate.

“Now, if you’re going do a hit and run it’s best not to do it with a personalized license plate,” Belli said. “So, his license plate was easy to remember and bystanders gave police the license plate number when they responded to the accident.”

The driver’s life was about to get complicated.

“Police tracked him down and they showed up at his house,” Belli said. “When they knocked on the man’s door and announced themselves they heard music playing, and suddenly the music became a lot louder, so they left.”

Undeterred, the police apparently went down to the “dolt’s” garage and towed his car. A couple of days later, the criminal turned himself in, Belli said.

Belli’s client suffered what are known as soft tissue injuries, which are difficult to prove partly because they don’t show up on X-rays.

“The  driver’s original lawyer was pressuring him to settle for substantially less than what I ended up with,” Belli said. “I was able to take this from a $20,000 or $30,000 case to a $100,000 case.”

Belli achieved success by negotiating with the driver’s insurance company and $100,000 was the limit of the policy’s coverage.

“I succeeded here because I believed in my client’s case,” Belli said. “You have to get tough with the defendants – keep your knee in their chest. In this case, I kept reminding them of the driver’s extremely egregious conduct.”

He went on to say, “My client’s original attorney couldn’t grasp the severity of the situation. This case was a case that I evaluated to be worth about half of what I settled for but we were able to get the policy limit because of the egregious conduct of the driver during the hit and run.”

Belli learned his craft at his father’s knee: the celebrated Melvin Belli, who was known as the “King of Torts” back in the day.

“Success comes from being able to grasp what’s going on and figuring the pressure points to put on a defendant, making the defendant look somewhat evil, which in my bicycle case was very easy to do,” the younger Belli said.

One reason Belli advocates for bicyclists is because he, too, is an avid biker.

“I’ve had a couple of close calls and it’s scary when a big piece of steel goes by a little close,” he said. “It’s not a very comfortable thought. You’re defenseless.”

Belli has litigated numerous bicycle cases, including one where his client was “car doored,” which means the cyclist “was riding along and someone opened their car door into him.”

Another client, who was an REI employee, ended up as a hood ornament when a Prius made a left turn into him, Belli said.

He added, “I used to joke to my friends that I specialize in representing REI employees who have been hit by Prii’s because I had two cases involving REI employees who were hit by Prii’s.”

By the way, the public decided at the 2011 North American International Auto Show that “Prii” would be the plural for Prius vehicles going forward.