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Podcast Summary:

Personal Injury Mastermind w/ Chris Dreyer - Episode 387
Title: Best PIMoments Replay: Auto Product Liability, The Hidden Cases | Julian Gomez
Date: January 26, 2026
Host: Chris Dreyer
Guest: Julian Gomez

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Julian Gomez, an attorney recognized for his expertise in auto product liability—an overlooked but critical PI niche. Julian shares how building a specialized practice identifying “hidden” product liability cases in catastrophic car accidents allowed him to dominate a unique segment of the market. The discussion covers how most PI firms overlook these cases, the crucial nature of case selection, differences between design and manufacturing defects, and the work-life systems that allow Julian to maintain balance as he runs a high-performance firm.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hidden Opportunity in Product Liability (00:01–03:04)

Market Size & Missed Cases
- Julian: “45,000 people, give or take, die in cars a year. Another four point some odd million are seriously injured. There's not that many lawsuits out there.” (00:53)
- Many PI firms overlook potential product liability cases hidden within catastrophic auto accidents.
- Success depends equally on spotting opportunities and knowing which cases to pursue.
Diversity of Defects
- Seat belt failures, defective tires, faulty crash mitigation technology, and poor vehicle design are common but frequently missed product defects.
- Julian estimates he’s reviewed “over 2,000 police reports” and rarely finds a case “where a product defect did not in some way contribute to either the injury or the wreck or both.” (02:57)
Strategic Case Selection
- Many cases aren’t pursued or are mishandled due to poor selection; pursuing only the right cases brings better results for clients and firm alike.

2. Understanding Auto Product Liability Law (03:04–04:55)

Legal Distinctions of ‘Defect’
- No recall is necessary for a defect to be actionable under the law: “You do not have to have a recall for there to be a defect.” (03:32)
- 'Defect' in regulatory and legal terms can differ; critical to distinguish design, manufacturing, and marketing defects.
- Julian's Example: Six-year-old tires are unsafe regardless of tread—yet lack of warning is a marketing defect.

3. Founding the Niche Practice: Career Beginnings (04:55–05:58)

Julian’s first big case—a double fatality auto product case—came straight as he established his firm.
By leveraging unique experiences (“I taught myself how to do auto products by taking that case apart... I just didn’t know any better, right? I didn’t know I couldn’t do it. So we did.” – 05:25)
Attended Jerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College based on that case, leaping ahead in his specialization journey.

4. Navigating Major Shifts: Practice Area Closures (05:58–07:13)

Adapting to Legal Changes
- Early on, Julian handled many foreign situs (outside U.S.) auto product cases due to favorable laws, at one point “almost had a monopoly.”
- Precedent changes, triggered by other firms’ litigation (“made some bad law out there”), forced Julian to pivot exclusively to U.S.-based cases.

5. Mastering Work-Life Integration (07:13–08:40)

Intentional Time Management
- Practices strict time management: “I only look at email once a day... I calendar everything.” (07:47)
- Attributes business and personal happiness to focusing on “enough,” not “everything.”
- Uses the Spanish proverb: “Mucha barca po caprieta”—If you put your arms around too much, you can’t tighten down on anything.
- Prioritizes meaningful relationships and health: “If you get my time, I really care about you. I limit the stuff I work on.” (07:52)
- Outdoor time and family events remain non-negotiable.

Memorable Quotes

On Case Selection:
“There’s probably a lot of cases that we're filing or we’re litigating and we're not able to get top dollar for because we didn’t do as good a job in case selection.”
—Julian Gomez (01:15)
On Spotting Defects:
“Rarely if ever, can I think of a case where a product defect did not in some way contribute to either the injury or the wreck or both.”
—Julian Gomez (02:57)
On Legal Definitions:
“You do not have to have a recall for there to be a defect...That warning isn’t there. And so whatever that defect is, that’s what you’re looking for. Doesn’t require the government telling you that there’s a defect.”
—Julian Gomez (03:33–04:48)
On Work-Life Balance:
“I used to want it all. And I’ve learned that I don’t need to have it all. I just need to have enough.”
—Julian Gomez (07:35)
On Focus:
“If you put your arms around too much, you can’t tighten down on anything.”
—Julian Gomez (08:07)

Important Segment Timestamps

[00:53] – Julian explains the immense number of car accident injuries vs. the limited number of lawsuits and why that gap exists.
[02:57] – Insight into how nearly every catastrophic crash could involve an overlooked product liability element.
[03:32] – Clarifies that recalls are not a prerequisite for identifying actionable defects.
[04:55] – Julian’s leap into the field with his first double fatality auto product liability case.
[05:58] – Discusses the impact of legal changes and how one bad precedent can close a practice area overnight.
[07:31] – Julian’s systems for strict time management and prioritizing work-life balance.

Episode Takeaway

Julian Gomez’s journey demonstrates the power of niche expertise. He highlights that deep focus, intentional case selection, and smart business systems not only create a winning firm, but also a sustainable and meaningful professional life. The episode urges PI attorneys to seek their “blue ocean”—the unique niche in which they can become the GOAT, rather than fighting crowded battles.

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Transcript15 lines

[00:02]
A
Learn legal marketing and intake from the masters of personal injury. Pimcon 2026 october 4th through 7th at scottsdale, arizona. Get your tickets today. Pimcon.org that's p I m c o n.org. In almost every catastrophic accident, there's a product liability case hiding in plain sight. Julian Gobez built a national practice by seeing what other PI firms miss. I'm Chris Schreier, founder and CEO of Rankings IO, the SEO agency of choice for personal injury law firms. Julian learned that spotting opportunity is only half the equation. The other half is knowing exactly which opportunities to pursue. In this episode of Personal Injury Mastermind, Julian reveals how he dominates auto product liability nationwide and why mastering a niche can be more valuable than casting a wide net.
[00:53]
B
Case selection is beyond important. 45,000 people, give or take, die in cars a year. Another four point some odd million are seriously injured. There's not that many lawsuits out there.
[01:08]
A
Right.
[01:09]
B
And so I know cases are falling through the cracks and they are. But there's also probably a lot of cases that we're filing or we're litigating and we're not able to get top dollar for because we didn't do as good a job in case selection. If we had put those aside, then we probably would be doing a better job for the ones that we're taking.
[01:29]
A
Yeah. So let me lean into that because look, I'm the SEO nerd. I w. We work with over a hundred PI attorneys but like this is a unique area, but most of the time it's just straight car accident lawyer, truck accident lawyer. You run a catastrophic injury practice. Tell me about this area law.
[01:44]
B
We do a very tiny amount of personal injury law like everybody else, car wrecks, that type of stuff. And then we've got two areas of the law that I work on which would be commercial motor vehicle stuff. And then we've got like all others, which is medical malpractice that comes in and that all just gets referred out to somebody that's better at it than I am. But the bulk of what we do is auto products. And that would be like a tire that the tread comes off a roof that crushes in on a vehicle. That's a crashworthiness, that's a seat belt that doesn't work. The seat backs in cars fail all the time. This morning, right. A firm out of Ohio gave me a call. They had a flat front garbage truck that was in a head on collision. And because of the design, there's no space for crush. That's a defect. The New defects right now are what I call automatic crash mitigation failures. That's a car that has automatic emergency braking that doesn't work, and it smacks into something in front of it, it leaves its lane of travel. There's no way to quantify it for certain, but I bet I've looked at probably over 2,000 police reports in my career that are catastrophically involved. Rarely if ever, can I think of a case where a product defect did not in some way contribute to either the injury or the wreck or both.
[03:04]
A
It's kind of blue ocean. You got this unique expertise versus, you know, the car. Everybody wants the 18 wheeler, you know, catastrophic. Secure the vehicle, get the big case. But this is kind of unique. It, it keeps you on your toes, like in terms of your expertise. And this is the consumer here talking. Right. So driving a, you know, a new car and you get those, those recalls. Right. Is that the consumer's responsibility? The manufacturers, a lot of times, they know they have these issues. And that's what you're leaning into.
[03:33]
B
Sure. So you do not have to have a recall for there to be a defect. And sometimes we use the same word to mean different things. So in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, right. There is. Or at nhtsa, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they use the term defect, but that's not the same as defect in the law. So we've got design defects. That's the actual design of the product is defective. You have a manufacturing defect. That's the product is not manufactured to spec, which creates a problem. And then you have like a marketing defect where the design is made, the product is manufactured to spec, but it doesn't warn of the dangers. Right. So like a tire. Right. This is one of the ones. Tires, essentially, they're six years old or older, regardless of the amount of tread, should be taken off of a vehicle. Right. Like a spare. They take a spare, it's full of tread, they put it on the vehicle, and a day or two later the tread comes off and something happens. But you look at your tire, it's not on there. That warning isn't there. And so whatever that defect is, that's what you're looking for. Doesn't require the government telling you that there's a defect.
[04:55]
A
How you started your firm is different. And so we got to talk about this story. I mean, you started out of the gate, you had a double fatality auto product case. You know, it's a massive undertaking for a new firm. Tell me the story of that and how it impacted the Firm.
[05:09]
B
This bounces around. You can only connect the dots looking backwards. So in law school, I worked with this guy, and right after my first clerkship, I'm working for Fred Barron and Lisa Blue in Dallas. He calls me up and he's like, hey, I have this rollover in D tread. Do you think you can do it? And I was like, hold that case for a year. I'm going to work for the federal judge that is trying the first Ford Explorer Firestone case in the country. And I taught myself how to do auto products by taking that case apart and then hung a shingle with that first case. As soon as that finished, I went to Jerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College. You're supposed to not be accepted until you've tried a couple of cases. I write him this letter. I have this case. Please let me come. He lets me come. And I just didn't know any better, right? I didn't know that I couldn't do it. So we did.
[05:59]
A
You've also had some challenges with some practice area closures. So was there a particular practice area that you were leaning into and it closed and you had to change. What was that? Did the product. Did they actually improve the safety? Was it related around that area or. Or a different area?
[06:14]
B
So that first Firestone Ford Explorer case, what very few people know is that that rollover happened in Mexico. And so the form non convenes and choice of law at the time allowed you to litigate that case in the United States because the conduct you complained of, the manufacturing, the design of that product occurred in the United States. Ten, 12 years into my practice, you know, from, let's say, zero to that time, I almost had a monopoly on these cases. And I was litigating them in Delaware, a case that I had rejected. Another law firm took it and made some bad law out there, and it just completely shut what I would call foreign situs litigation down. There's still a few cases that'll, you know, snake through it, like aviation law, but it just closed. And I had to pivot from foreign situs Auto products to US Situs auto products. And that's the vast majority of what we do now.
[07:14]
A
Not only have you built this catastrophic practice, you're also doing it never missing a family event, still, you know, getting out on the slopes, I think 20 plus days a year. What systems do you have that make this possible? How can you help the attorneys listening improve better work life integration.
[07:32]
B
So I think one of the things that I think I changed is I've gotten older. I used to want it all. And I've learned that I don't need to have it all. I just need to have enough. I'm 51. I probably didn't learn that until I was like, 45. I don't have a jet, but I'm really rich because what I mean by that is that I love my parents. I'm coming over to the house for dinner tonight. I love my kids. My kids love me. I get to vacation with them. I got a great wife. I'm healthy. And in that way, like, I've been very, very, very fortunate in doing that. I only look at email once a day or I try to. You become Pavlonian's dog. Just ding and you stop what you're doing. I calendar everything. Time is our most precious commodity. And so if you get my time, I really care about you. I limit the stuff I work on. And so I. I don't. There's a saying in Spanish, mucha barca po caprieta, which is, if you put your arms around too much, you can't tighten down on anything. Like, imagine a bunch of logs, right? You can't hold on to them because there's too much and they'll fall out. But if you just have enough, you can bring them home and have a fire at the house.
[08:40]
A
Julian's story is the perfect example of what happens when you become the goat of your niche. He transformed from a ranch kid making a bet with his father into one of the nation's leading experts in the field. Not by chasing every case, but by deeply understanding which ones matter. His method is surprisingly simple. Be the best at one thing. Really share your knowledge and let your expertise create opportunities. In a world where most PI firms are fighting over the same cases, Julian found his blue ocean. The question is, what's yours? For more strategies on owning your niche on the national level, visit Rankings IO or grab a copy of my book, Personal Injury Lawyer Marketing From Good to Goat. Thanks for listening to Personal Injury Mastermind. I'm Chris dreier, founder and CEO of Rankings IO.