Patricia K. Oliver leads the environmental team at PARRIS Law Firm, where she oversees cases involving exposures to toxic air emissions, noxious odors, and water contamination from unsafe operations including oil and gas injection wells.
Oliver is dedicated to winning high-stakes cases for her clients in state and federal court and holds a track record of relentlessly fighting through challenges that might deter other attorneys. Her approach to mass actions — which emphasizes both efficiency and direct client engagement —helped tens of thousands of people impacted by environmental disasters, garnering significant results and settlements for her clients. She earned recognition on the Southern California Super Lawyers list in 2010—2012 and 2022—2024, and she has been recognized by the Consumer Attorneys of California as a Consumer Attorney of the Year finalist in 2022.
The Los Angeles Superior Court appointed Oliver to a leadership role as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Southern California Gas Leak cases, one of the largest mass torts in California history that spanned the claims of more than 35,000 victims of the Aliso Canyon gas well blowout in 2015. Oliver represented thousands of impacted families living near Porter Ranch, Save Porter Ranch, and first responders in personal injury cases stemming from the blowout. She served as a member of the trial team that secured a $1.8 billion settlement from SoCalGas and Sempra Energy. She also helped secure multiple sanctions totaling about $6 million against the defendants, including an order requiring the defendants to reopen more than a hundred depositions at their own expense.
Oliver currently serves as liaison counsel in representing hundreds of people impacted by the hydrogen sulfide gas exposures from the Los Angeles Sanitation, Hyperion Treatment Plant sewage spill. She also leads the representation of over one thousand people impacted by a years-long gas leak from the Valley Generating Station operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.
Oliver’s cases frequently appear in the media. Her work on the Southern California Gas Leak cases has been covered by numerous media outlets, including CBS and the New York Times. Her groundbreaking work helping Palla Farms and California farmers investigate saltwater contamination from waste injection wells garnered nationwide coverage by National Geographic and the Associated Press.
Oliver previously represented the Nature Conservancy on a pro bono basis, assisting the nonprofit in a condemnation action involving scarce environmental resources and in its support of conservation measures adopted by the State of California. Oliver is a founding member as well as former president and executive director of the Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles, where she spearheaded innovative programs to increase access to justice and enable people to obtain employment, retain family relationships, and secure housing.
She speaks French conversationally.
Patricia Oliver has obtained numerous seven, eight, and nine-figure verdicts and settlements in cases throughout California, including the following:
- $1.8 Billion historic settlement was obtained against Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and their parent company, Sempra Energy.
- State Bar of California
- United States District Court in the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California
Our Attorneys Serve Clients on a Contingency Fee Basis.
We cover the costs of fighting for you—including the costs of filing a lawsuit, performing any needed investigations, and going to trial if necessary. Once your case has been resolved, our team will obtain a percentage of the result we secured for you.
