About Bruce J.
Bruce J. Napell built a legal career that sits squarely at the intersection of business law and federal litigation. He entered law school after completing undergraduate studies at the University of California, San Diego, and earned his J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco in 1984. Those years laid the groundwork for a practice that blends courtroom experience with transactional work.
He is a partner at Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP. Over decades in practice he has handled matters in state and federal courts across multiple jurisdictions. He is admitted to the California bar and to several federal district courts, including Northern, Southern, Central and Eastern districts of California, as well as the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan. He is also admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Clients and colleagues point to one credential that shapes much of his workload: he is a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. That designation reflects a concentration of cases and transactions involving franchise agreements, distribution networks, and the regulatory framework that governs those relationships. The certification signals that he has devoted a significant portion of his practice to these issues and the procedural matters that often accompany them.
Napell’s courtroom experience covers both motions practice and trials in federal and state forums. He has represented parties in contract disputes, enforcement actions, and regulatory compliance matters tied to franchising and distribution. He also handles transactional work: drafting and negotiating franchise agreements and distribution contracts, and advising clients on the practical implications of franchising rules and statutes.
Active in the State Bar of California, he maintains his membership and continues to participate in matters that affect practitioners in his specialty. Within the firm he works alongside colleagues on complex commercial litigation and counseling matters. His role as partner combines case management, client counseling, and mentoring of junior lawyers.
He currently practices at Lagarias, Napell & Dillon, LLP, handling franchise and distribution law matters and related business litigation.
