Member Bio
Bradford Hughes is a Member in Clark Hill’s Los Angeles office where he represents clients in Commercial Litigation and Trucking and Transportation matters. He is considered an industry leader in defending motor carriers in catastrophic injury litigation at trial and on appeal. Bradford also represents Fortune 500 businesses, closely-held companies, motor carriers, financial institutions, and individuals in litigated and transactional matters, including as outside general counsel.
Business Litigation & Transactions
Bradford represents businesses of every size in litigated and transactional matters. Having handled the prosecution and defense of cases for businesses around the United States, Bradford brings a unique and effective approach to complex disputes. He works closely with his clients to achieve the most cost-effective and profit maximizing results, which includes the thoughtful management of client time, resources, and human capital. Bradford defends cases involving breach of contract, proprietary trade secrets, non-solicitation/non-compete agreements, alter ego claims, and commercial lease agreements. He advises clients on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, the state and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts, California’s SAFE Act, Truth in Lending Act, Finance Lenders Law, and Sister State Money-Judgments Act. He serves as outside general counsel to businesses across California where he works with executives, boards of directors, and shareholders to achieve their goals. A member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Bradford frequently represents financial institutions in a variety of proceedings initiated under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Trucking & Transportation
Bradford brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the litigation of catastrophic injury lawsuits arising out of trucking accidents and has extensive knowledge of both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) Program. He defends interstate, intrastate, and local "last-mile" carriers in litigation, including catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, subrogation, and cargo matters. Regularly called upon to speak to industry and trade groups regarding the litigation of trucking cases and emerging trends in state and federal law, Bradford serves as the Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Commercial Transportation Litigation Committee (CTLC), Vice-Chair of the Defense Research Institute Trucking Committee’s Trucking Primer, and is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), DRI Trucking Steering Committee, Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA), Transportation and Logistics Council, and California Moving and Storage Association (CMSA).
Bradford has presented at the American Moving & Storage Association Annual Conference, DRI Trucking Primer, DRI Annual Meeting, British Columbia Trucking Association, TIDA Webinar, ABA Webinar, Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, and at local transportation conferences. He has been published in several industry and trade periodicals on issues pertaining to CSA compliance, employer obligations when hiring new drivers, best practices for catastrophic injury accident response teams, proper driver classification under state and federal law, compliance with DOT regulations for drug and alcohol testing, and using social media in litigation. Bradford manages the 24-Hour Accident Investigation Emergency Response Team for California and Nevada.
Honors, Awards & Certifications
Bradford is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell, indicating that his peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. He has been selected as a Southern California Rising Star continuously since 2014. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in California are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Further, Bradford was identified as one of the Top 100 Up-and-Coming lawyers under the age of 40 in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Bradford is a Certified Legal Management Professional after successfully completing the Claims & Litigation Management's (CLM) Litigation Management Institute Program in 2015. The Litigation Management Institute (LMI) is the first certification program specifically designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the business of litigation management. The rigorous program is designed to bridge the gap between legal theory and litigation strategy, and the business aspects of litigation management.