Neil-bio

Neil Gehlawat

LOCATION: Los Angeles, California

Neil Gehlawat is a Partner at Taylor & Ring.  He concentrates his practice in the areas of sexual abuse, police misconduct, and personal injury/wrongful death. He has extensive experience litigating cases in federal court.

Some of Neil’s successes on behalf of his clients include:

  • $27 million settlement with the Moreno Valley Unified School District on behalf of the family of 13-year-old Diego Stolz, who was bullied and killed by two other students at his middle school. This is the largest school bullying settlement in the United States.
  • $7.5 million settlement on behalf of the family of Kurt Reinhold, an unarmed black man who was unlawfully shot and killed by Orange County Sheriff’s deputies. This is the largest police shooting settlement against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. 
  • $7.5 million settlement on behalf of a high school student who was sexually assaulted by an after-school counselor
  • $6.8 million settlement on behalf of a young girl who was repeatedly sexually abused by her male classmates at school.
  • $6 million settlement on behalf of a man severely injured when he was shot at a gas station.
  • $5.75 million settlement on behalf of two brothers who were sexually abused by their junior high teacher in the 1970s. 
  • $4.25 million settlement on behalf of a woman who was sexually abused by her former junior high and high school teacher in the 1990s.
  • $4 million settlement on behalf of four young men who were molested by their basketball coach in high school.
  • $3.4 million settlement in a civil rights case against the Kern County Sheriff’s Office (Silva v. County of Kern), where deputies caused the death of an unarmed man by restraint asphyxia.
  • $2.975 million settlement against the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the shooting death of an unarmed man.

Many of Neil’s cases have received significant media attention, including his representation of the family of David Sal Silva, who was beaten and asphyxiated by Kern County Sheriff’s deputies. This case, along with others, prompted The Guardian to author a five-part series about law enforcement abuse in the Central Valley, entitled “The County: The Story of America’s Deadliest Police.”  Neil’s work on the Silva case was also profiled in the Hulu documentary, “Killing County.”  His work on behalf of victims of sexual abuse and police misconduct has also been profiled in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

Education

  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law
    • Notes Editor, Texas Law Review
  • B.A. Political Science and Rhetoric, University of California – Berkeley
    • Highest Distinction in General Scholarship
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • State Bar of California, Member
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member
  • Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), Board of Directors
  • Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), Member
  • National Crime Victim Bar Association, Member
  • National Police Accountability Project, Board Member
  • Federal Bar Association – Los Angeles Chapter, Member

Publications

  • “Taylor & Ring Urges Juries to Ask, ‘Who’s Going to Police the Police?’” interview with Lawdragon (March 10, 2022)
  • “What Are ‘Spit Hoods,’ and Why Do the Police Use Them?,”quoted in The New York Times (Sept. 3 2020)
  • Building Your Case For Parental Dependency In Wrongful Death Actions, Forum Magazine (July/August 2015)
  • Litigating Civil Rights Cases In Federal Court, Forum Magazine (May/June 2018)
  • Using The Mini-Opening To Your Advantage, Daily Journal (February 2020)
  • Dismantling The Defense Medical Expert, Forum Magazine, (July/August 2020)
  • Keeping Video of Police Encounters Outside The Domain Of Confidentiality, Advocate Magazine, (August 2021)

Speaking Engagements

  • “The Nuts and Bolts of Practicing in Federal Court,” CAOC Hawaii Travel Seminar, December 2019
  • “Litigating the Police Shooting Case,” CAOC Hawaii Travel Seminar, December 2021
  • “Deposing the Defense Expert,” CAOC Annual Conference, November 2023
  • Speaker, UC Irvine School of Law Civil Rights Litigation Clinic

Honors and Awards

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