Robert (Bob) E. Rosenthal received a bachelor’s degree in 1972 from California State University in Chico, California, and his Juris Doctor degree in 1975 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California.

During Bob’s 40+ years of practicing law, he has tried over 150 court and jury trials in courts throughout California. He has represented varied prominent individuals including mayors, school district superintendents, real estate developers, attorneys, physicians, and professional athletes.

Bob began his career with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office handling criminal prosecutions. He soon began practicing in Sunnyvale, CA with Scher, Bassett & Rosenthal, a seasoned and renowned personal injury firm.

In 1976, Bob became one of the original sports agent/attorneys in the United States, participating in the formation of the Association of Representation of Professional Athletes (ARPA), the first national sports agent association. He was authorized by the NFL as a player agent and he and former professional athletes, Y.A. Tittle and Mike McCormick, founded the sports management firm of Propel, LP in 1976. Rosenthal has represented over 50 professional athletes in all major sports and also represented the San Francisco 49ers in litigation.

In 1978, Bob relocated his family and his practice to the Monterey Peninsula where he opened a sole practice handling personal injury and a full array of legal services. Soon, he formed a partnership with Rob Wellington and the two practiced as Wellington & Rosenthal. In 1986, Bob and Thomas Bohnen formed the firm of Bohnen, Rosenthal & Call, later to be Bohnen, Rosenthal & Dusenbury, later to be Bohnen, Rosenthal & Kreeft, an association of partnerships. In 2016, Bob merged his litigation practice with the lawyers at JRG, where he and his team handle the firm’s clients’ litigation and trial needs.

Bob’s trial practice includes complex civil litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury, product liability, real estate law, sports, and entertainment law matters. Services offered by he and his team of attorneys include representation in court, arbitrations, mediations, negotiations, drafting important legal documents, and generally providing legal advice to his many individual and business clients.

In addition to trying and/or settling several million dollar cases throughout his career, in the fall of 2014, Bob was the lead trial attorney in the Monterey case of Hill v Toyota in which Bob’s client was awarded the largest jury verdict award in Monterey County, following a five week trial. In this case, the Superior Court jury found Toyota Motor Corporation primarily liable for $12.6 million in damages as compensation for the devastating injuries suffered by Plaintiff Chelsie Hill. Bob successfully convinced the jury that the manufacturer had ignored the known dangers of a lap belt when it manufactured the vehicle and elected to not install a shoulder belt in the one seat in which Ms. Hill was seated. The other passengers were all protected by shoulder belts and walked away from the single vehicle crash, while Ms. Hill jack-knifed over her lap-belt, resulting in permanent paralysis.

Bob has lectured at Santa Clara Law School and McGeorge School of Law, University of Pacific, on the Art of Negotiation.

Personally, Bob has acted as a charitable auctioneer, raising more than $3 million in charitable giving for local schools and charitable organizations. He is a board member and director of The Living Breath Foundation; Past President of Monterey Peninsula JayCees; past member of Monterey United Way; founder and director of Pebble Beach Junior Golf Association; past member of Monterey Rotary; past board member of Monterey Chamber of Commerce; founding member of the Monterey County Hospitality Association; founder of the Monterey Peninsula Safe School task force; board member of Bronco Little League World Series; and founding board member of Association of Representation of Professional Athletes (ARPA). Bob also sought and was publicly elected to the Peninsula School Unified Board of Trustees.

Bob raised three sons on the Monterey Peninsula, each of whom graduated from Monterey High School, all as student body presidents. One son, after graduation from Boston University School of Law, joined the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team and is now its Assistant General Manager of Baseball Operations. Another son also joined the Rockies as its Supervisor of Cultural Development (Latin Players), following a three-year stint in the Peace Corps. Bob’s youngest son lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he manages a five-star restaurant. Bob is married to Carol, a medical aesthetician in Monterey.

Bob was voted Monterey County’s Best Lawyer 2015 by the readers of the Monterey County Herald. Bob is also a life-time member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, and a member of the Who’s Who in Law and Lawyers of Distinction.

Education

• B.A., California State University in Chico, CA, 1972
• J.D., University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, CA, 1975
• State Finalist, Best oral argument, California Moot Court Competition

Practice Areas

• Complex Civil Litigation
• Personal Injury & Product Liability
• Wrongful Death/Catastrophic Injury
• Commercial Litigation
• Contract Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Real Estate Litigation
• Business, Partnership and Corporate Litigation
• Trust Litigation
• Business/Corporate Transactions
• Real Estate & Foreclosure Law
• Sports & Entertainment Law
• Education Law/Litigation

Bar & Court Admissions

• California State Bar
• United States District Court for the Northern District of California
• United States District Court for the Southern District of California
• Monterey County Bar Association
• American Bar Association