About Brian
Brian Bickel leads Bickel Sannipoli APC as its president and principal lawyer, overseeing work from three California offices. He is based in San Diego and also manages matters through the firm’s San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles locations. His role combines practice oversight with casework and client counseling across the firm’s footprint.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996, then moved on to law school at the University of San Diego School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1999. The combination of a liberal arts undergraduate education and three years of legal study shaped a practice that values clear analysis and close attention to factual detail.
Bickel is admitted to practice in California. He built his career in the state and now handles the administrative and strategic responsibilities that come with running a law firm. As president, he balances client representation with supervising attorneys, setting firm policy, and coordinating the firm’s presence across multiple metropolitan markets.
Colleagues describe his approach as methodical. He emphasizes preparation and direct communication in client matters. That style applies whether he is preparing pleadings, negotiating settlements, or advising clients on procedural steps. He keeps written records and prefers to set expectations early in a case so clients understand timelines and potential outcomes.
Over the years Bickel has steered the firm through routine and complex work. He is involved day to day in intake and strategy, often taking an active role in shaping litigation plans and settlement discussions. Those responsibilities have made him a central figure in the firm’s operations, and he is frequently the point of contact when cases move between the firm’s offices.
Outside the office he is known to value practical problem solving. He favors straightforward explanations over legalese and aims to translate technical issues into terms clients can use for decision making. That practical bent informs how the firm structures client relationships and staff responsibilities.
He currently directs the firm’s legal practice from its San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles offices.
