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Biography –  Nathaniel Zwerdling

Nathaniel (Nate) Zwerdling was born & raised in Humboldt County and graduated from Arcata High School (Go Tigers!) in 2007. Nate completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. Nate thereafter earned his J.D. from Santa Clara Law. Nate passed up legal opportunities in Silicon Valley and chose instead to practice in Humboldt County — the community he loves and considers home. On January 1, 2022, Nate was made partner at the Zwerdling Law Firm. 

Nate’s practice is devoted solely to representing individuals injured by the wrongdoing of others and families who have suffered the loss of loved ones in wrongful death matters.  

Nate handles a variety of different injury cases at every step of litigation — taking depositions, advocating at mediation, drafting & arguing summary judgment motions, drafting & negotiating settlement demands, retaining expert doctors, conducting site inspections with retained engineering experts, preparing pre-trial motions, direct examining witnesses at trial, and resolving medical liens. 
                                                           

Before law school, Nate learned many tools of the trade while working at an insurance defense firm in the Bay Area, Michel & Fackler, APC. While in law school, Nate clerked at the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office. He also worked as a summer associate at Bay Area Bicycle Law, a San Francisco personal injury law firm specializing solely in the representation of bicycle accident plaintiffs. During his third year of law school, Nate clerked for the Honorable Conrad L. Rushing, the presiding Justice of California’s 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose.

In law school, Nate served as an associate on the Santa Clara Law Review and was selected to compete as a finalist in the Galloway Moot Court Competition. Nate received CALI and Witkin Awards for Academic Excellence for classes he took on Transitional Justice and International Human Rights Law.

Nate is passionate about giving back to the community. In February 2018, Nate and Heidi joined Humboldt County’s Teen Court as attorney mentors. Nate actually gained some of his first courtroom experience back in 2005-06 as a Teen Court youth volunteer. Nate enjoys mentoring the local highschoolers interested in the law and hopes to perhaps inspire some to pursue legal careers.

From March 2018 to December 2021, Nate served on the Board of Directors of the wonderful local-non profit, Wild Souls Ranch. Wild Souls Ranch’s mission is to provide equine assisted learning and family services to at-risk youth. During his tenure, he was elected Board President and oversaw many aspects of the organization’s recent growth and success. 

Nate currently serves as the 2024 Secretary of the Humboldt County Bar Association. 

In February 2024, Nate was awarded “Top 10 Under 40” For Excellence in the Field of Personal Injury by The National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys. 

An avid musician and music aficionado, Nate plays upright and electric bass in local bands. Nate also enjoys sports, reading, history, and traveling. In his free time, Nate can be found hiking some gorgeous trek with his beloved and newly-wed wife, Robyn Zwerdling and Australian Shepard, Vega. He also enjoys running, cycling, skiing and backpacking, and soaking in the natural beauty of the North Coast. 

He shares his father’s dedication to providing the best quality legal representation with compassion and integrity to those injured by the wrongdoing of others.

Endorsement from Michael Stephenson, Esq – Managing Attorney At Bay Area Bicycle Law:

Nathaniel worked for us at Bay Area Bicycle Law a few years back and did a great job. I particularly remember one case in which we attempted for the first time in our firm’s history to seek punitive damages against a reckless driver who was not intoxicated and who the police and DA had already cleared of wrongdoing (it is very uncommon to seek punitive damages in such a situation). Although we were able to find five witnesses to corroborate that the driver appeared to have intentionally struck our client in a fit of road rage, the driver’s insurance company fought tooth and nail, filing brief after brief, to get the court to strike our claim for punitive damages. Nathaniel did a fantastic job helping us prepare responses and with his help we ultimately prevailed and achieved a fantastic outcome that, justly, was almost 40 times the amount of our client’s medical expenses.   

– Michael Stephenson, Senior Attorney at Bay Area Bicycle Law

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