Background
Burke didn't grow up planning to be a lawyer. He grew up working. Most of his childhood was spent as a ranch hand on land near the Colorado border, learning the kind of discipline that comes from finishing a hard day's work — every day, regardless of weather, mood, or whether anyone was watching. That practical work ethic is still the foundation of how he handles a case file.
He went to law school for a simple reason: people often face problems they can't solve on their own — medical bills they can't pay after a crash, an insurance adjuster who won't return calls, a family suddenly missing a breadwinner — and they need someone who will do the work to fix it. Burke earned his J.D. at Whittier Law School and was admitted to the California bar in the mid-2000s.
Trial experience
Just six months into practice in 2007, Burke took his first case to trial — representing an indigent client who otherwise had no advocate. The favorable result didn't just change that client's outcome; it shaped how he has approached every case since: prepare every file as if it is going to a jury, even when settlement is the realistic destination. Insurance carriers move differently when they can tell the lawyer across the table actually intends to try the case.
Over the last decade and a half, Burke has handled a wide range of matters — high-stakes personal injury cases, contract disputes, probate, family law, and class actions. That breadth produces something specific and useful: a 360-degree view of how civil litigation actually works, including the angles defense lawyers and insurance adjusters use to chip away at a claim's value. Today, his work at The LawMax Group is concentrated on catastrophic injury and wrongful death — the cases where preparation and trial readiness matter most.
The Gerry Spence Method
In 2023, Burke completed training with the Trial Lawyers College in the methods of Gerry Spence — the celebrated American trial lawyer who never lost a criminal case and rarely lost a civil one. The training focuses on authenticity, story, and connection with jurors as people rather than as evaluators of legal theory. Less courtroom theatrics, more truth told well. Burke uses that framework to translate complex case facts — medical, mechanical, financial — into something a jury (or an opposing adjuster) cannot dismiss.
How clients describe working with Burke
- Prepared. Every case is built as if it's going to trial from day one. That posture is what creates leverage with insurance carriers.
- Direct. No legal jargon, no hype. Clients get a clear assessment of liability, damages, the likely range of outcomes, and the realistic timeline.
- Multi-state perspective. Burke's practice spans California, Washington, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona — useful when a case has cross-jurisdictional elements (out-of-state defendants, transit-route trucking cases, federal claims).
- Personal. When he isn't in court, Burke is a husband and father who finds his quiet outdoors. He prefers steady people to flashy ones, and his case work reflects that.
Practice areas at The LawMax Group
- Car & auto accidents
- Truck and commercial-vehicle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Slip and fall / premises liability
- Wrongful death
- Workplace and catastrophic injury