Fighting for What’s Right

For four decades, Christine Spagnoli has championed injured people, challenged corporate practices and helped make products safer.

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The goal of every attorney is a favorable verdict. But Christine Spagnoli measures the success of her legal career by what happens afterward: a client who regains independence, a family that can move forward or a dangerous product that is finally made safer. During her 40 years at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, the El Segundo trial lawyer and partner has seen firsthand how a courtroom victory can change lives and sometimes protect thousands of others.

“The recall of defective tires was probably the most rewarding,” Christine says, reflecting on one of the defining chapters of her career. “It resulted in something happening beyond just getting compensation to people.”

In the early 2000s, Christine investigated Goodyear tires used on SUVs, pickup trucks and passenger vans after learning that tread separations could cause catastrophic crashes. She gathered evidence of similar incidents nationwide and alerted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Goodyear recalled the tires within roughly a year.

Her investigation also led to litigation against Ford over 15-passenger vans equipped with recalled tires. She tried three cases involving these vehicles and won all three, including a $73 million verdict for the family of a church volunteer killed in a rollover crash.

“It’s been very clear for many years that the civil justice system is the single most effective way to force manufacturers to accept responsibility and ultimately fix the problems that they know about,” she says.

Christine’s career includes a landmark $4.9 billion verdict against General Motors in a defective fuel-tank case. But the people behind her cases remain her greatest motivation.

One client, Jodi Schloss, suffered a devastating brainstem injury in a rollover crash that killed her friend. With resources secured through her case, Jodi learned to communicate through a computer, became an accomplished equestrian and competed in four Paralympic Games.

Another client, a South Korean geophysics professor who became quadriplegic after a van crash, returned to teaching at Seoul National University. His visibility helped challenge cultural stigma surrounding physical disabilities.

Their stories reinforce Christine’s belief that a recovery must account for more than immediate expenses. It must give people the resources to pursue their ambitions and live as independently as possible.

Her influence extends beyond individual cases. Appointed to California’s Civil Jury Instructions Advisory Committee in 1997, she is its longest-serving member—helping shape how judges explain the law to jurors across California. The committee reviews and recommends updates to civil jury instructions, ensuring they accurately reflect the law while remaining clear to people without legal training.

Justice Adrienne M. Grover, chair of the committee and a justice on California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal, describes Christine as “a guiding star, keeping us focused on our first principles” by not getting ahead of the law, being accurate and communicating it in plain language. She also praises Christine’s resolve during committee deliberations.

The Civil Jury Instructions Advisory Committee has far-reaching implications. Clear jury instructions help jurors understand the law and apply it to the evidence before them, a critical component of a fair trial. Through decades of service, Christine has helped strengthen not only individual cases but also the justice system itself.

She has also served as president of both the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. In 2012, she became the first woman to receive CAALA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award.

“To be the first of anything is kind of fabulous, but also sad that it took so long for a woman to be recognized as a trial lawyer,” Christine says.

Four decades into her career, she remains motivated by the opportunity to expose hidden safety hazards and make a difference beyond any single case. Christine’s legacy is measured not only in verdicts, but in lives rebuilt, safer products and a legal system she continues to help shape for the people it serves.