Greg was raised in East Los Angeles in an area where many of the ethnic gangs of Los Angeles originated. At age 11, he was shot in the arm by a drive-by shooter as he walked home from school with his younger sister. He knew that he was not going to follow that path, and he was active from an early age in working to better the community and the legal system. He participated in a public interest project called “Court Watch” where he and other volunteers sat in Los Angeles courtrooms and monitored courtroom procedure in response to complaints of widespread judicial bias and corruption.
The information gathered by the “court watchers” was put into a database, and judges “operating out of the norm” were identified and dealt with. He began his college education at San Diego State University but chose to complete his undergraduate education at California State University, Domiguez Hills, the most ethnically diverse campus in Southern California. Following graduation, Greg attended Southwestern Law School while working full-time to support his growing family. Within weeks of passing the bar, Greg had his first trial. Greg obtained a jury verdict on a case where the defense offered a settlement of $4,000.00 in excess of $1 million.
As one of the Founding Partners of Owen, Patterson & Owen, Greg continues to try personal injury cases and represent victims, obtaining several multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, two of which, at the time, were the highest ever awarded. He continues to help victims, both in individual claims and in class action litigation, such as the Dow-Corning breast implant litigation, the Lockheed water contamination class action, and several pharmaceutical “defective drug” actions. Greg often travels throughout the nation to meet with firm clients, as well as other attorneys with the same focus. When Greg is not working, he spends time with his wife and six children, coaching softball, riding motorcycles, and expanding his collection of vintage motorcycles and classic cars.
