Robert May

Robert May founded The May Firm with a singular vision: to deliver the same quality of personal injury representation Californians can find in Los Angeles or San Francisco to the working families who live and drive on Highway 101, Highway 99, the Grapevine, the 405, and the freeways and farm roads of the Central Coast and Central Valley. As a teenager Robert was the victim of a serious personal injury and had to navigate the claims process as a plaintiff without knowing what he was entitled to — an experience that shaped his decision to attend California Western School of Law and build a firm where every client is treated like family. Today The May Firm has nine California offices, has recovered more than $400 million for over 10,000 clients, and handles every major personal injury matter from car accidents and trucking collisions to wrongful death, sexual abuse, spinal cord injuries, and defective product cases. The firm's results include a $10 million sexual abuse settlement and a $6.875 million spinal injury recovery. Robert leads the firm alongside his brothers — Garrett May, who heads the litigation department, and Cameron May, the firm's pre-litigation director — and the team is bilingual by default, serving Spanish-speaking communities across California with the same depth of representation as English-speaking clients ("Se Habla Español").

What Inspired Robert?

Robert May's path to becoming a personal injury attorney began with his own injury. As a teenager he was hurt badly enough to have to file a claim and deal with insurance adjusters, and he learned firsthand how lopsided the personal injury system feels when you do not know your rights. That experience never left him. After law school at California Western, Robert returned home to Santa Maria — a town where his family has lived for four generations — and built a practice in the communities he grew up in rather than relocate to a big-city firm. He believes the people of California's Central Coast, Central Valley, and inland regions deserve the same caliber of representation as accident victims in Los Angeles or San Francisco, and he has built The May Firm around that belief. The therapy dog Copper greeting clients in the lobby, the surfboard on the office wall, and the bilingual intake team are not branding — they are the daily expression of how Robert thinks injured people deserve to be treated.

Mission & Vision

The mission of The May Firm is to deliver aggressive, compassionate personal injury representation to Californians who have been hurt — and to do it the way Robert and his brothers would want their own family treated. The firm operates exclusively on a contingency-fee basis: clients pay nothing unless The May Firm recovers compensation for them. The firm represents accident victims only, never insurance companies, which means every case decision is made with the client's interests at the center. From nine offices spanning the Central Coast, Central Valley, Long Beach, and the South Bay, the firm serves English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities with the same depth of preparation and the same bilingual access to a lawyer. The May Firm is committed to giving every client direct attorney access, transparent communication about case value and timeline, and the choice between negotiation and trial — not the fastest settlement, the right one.

Career History

Robert May's legal career has been built entirely in service of injured Californians. After earning his Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law and his admission to the State Bar of California, Robert co-founded The May Firm with his brothers Garrett and Cameron and opened the practice in San Luis Obispo. Over the years the firm has expanded to nine offices across California — Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Visalia, Salinas, and Chula Vista — and has recovered more than $400 million in verdicts and settlements for more than 10,000 clients. Robert has personally handled cases from early investigation through negotiation and, when necessary, trial, including catastrophic-injury matters, wrongful-death claims, sexual-abuse litigation, and complex multi-vehicle and trucking collisions. Notable firm results during his tenure include a $10 million settlement in a sexual abuse case and a $6.875 million spinal-injury recovery. Robert hosts the firm's podcast, Car Accident Attorney with Robert May, where he answers the questions accident victims most often ask but rarely get straight answers to.