Referring Attorneys

Danko Meredith has recovered more than $2 billion for clients, including more than $1.5 billion in wildfire and utility litigation. A meaningful share of that work has come through referrals from other attorneys, and we welcome them. We pay referral fees in accordance with the California Rules of Professional Conduct, and we structure those arrangements clearly and in writing from the outset, so there’s no ambiguity later about how a fee is shared.

Attorneys refer cases to us for one of two reasons. Some have the expertise to handle a case but not the capital or staffing that high-stakes litigation demands. Others have the resources but not the specific experience in aviation, wildfire, or catastrophic injury litigation that a case requires. Either way, when an attorney refers a client to us, they are entrusting us with that client’s outcome and with their own professional reputation. We take that seriously.

What We Handle

Danko Meredith takes on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases, aviation accidents, and utility-caused wildfires, cases involving well-funded corporate and institutional defendants where the investment of capital, expert witnesses, and trial preparation makes the difference between a fair result and an inadequate one.

• Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death: Our attorneys try cases involving dangerous products, burn injuries, spinal cord and brain injuries, and wrongful death, including results like the $9.5 million Chandler verdict, affirmed on appeal, and the $50 million Jing case involving testimony from Dr. Henry Heimlich.
• Wildfire and Utility Litigation: We have represented wildfire survivors continuously since 2015, from the Butte Fire through the Camp Fire, the Dixie Fire, and the 2025 Eaton Fire. In the Camp Fire and North Bay fire proceedings, we were part of the litigation effort that negotiated PG&E’s $14.5 billion victim trust, representing roughly 6,700 individual clients through that process. We filed suit in the Eaton Fire within weeks of ignition.
• Aviation: Mike Danko is an active pilot with nearly 5,000 flight hours, and that firsthand knowledge has been decisive in cases like Burdett v. Teledyne Continental Motors, where a jury awarded $15 million after we built a case against an engine manufacturer the NTSB had cleared. We have handled cases involving general aviation aircraft, helicopters, and commercial airliners, and litigated against manufacturers, maintenance facilities, and operators nationwide.

Our Team

Referred cases at Danko Meredith are handled by a team with depth on both sides of the docket. Kristine Keala Meredith, our managing partner, brings both plaintiff and defense-side litigation experience, including years representing hospitals and corporations, to the firm’s most complex matters. Shawn R. Miller manages our wildfire litigation docket. Jennifer Zarich and Joshua Watson handle aviation, wildfire, and catastrophic injury matters as well. Whoever handles a referred case, it receives the same investigative resources and trial preparation we bring to every matter.

Co-Counsel Arrangements

We also work as co-counsel in appropriate cases, particularly where a referring attorney wants to stay involved in a client’s case rather than step aside entirely. We’ve done this successfully against state governments, utilities, and major corporations, and we structure these arrangements to reflect each firm’s contribution and role.

Contact Us

To refer a case or discuss a co-counsel arrangement, contact Danko Meredith or call (650) 453-3600. Review our full case results for additional details on outcomes across all three practice areas.