Attorney Profiles

Mr. Bening practices in the area of business litigation, insurance, real estate, construction, intellectual property, corporate and partnership disputes and professional liability. He also has an active practice acting as mediator, special master, and arbitrator, and conducts approximately 50 mediations per year. He is frequently called upon by local courts to mediate or act as special master in cases which present unique or complex challenges to case management and resolution.

Mr. Bening was born in Waterloo, Iowa in 1955, and was raised in the Midwest until moving to San Diego in 1965. His father owned an insurance brokerage, and his mother was a homemaker, although also was active in the arts and singing. From an early age, Mr. Bening loved theater, and was actively involved in drama in high school and through the San Diego Civil Light Opera. After high school, Mr. Bening attended San Diego State for 2 years, then transferred to Chico State where he graduated with Highest Honors in 1978 with a degree in political science.

Mr. Bening commenced law school at the University of California, Davis in 1979, but not before traveling the world for a year. While in college and law school, Mr. Bening subsidized his education by working as a black jack baccarat dealer at Harrah's Casino in Lake Tahoe, employment that allowed him to work a few weekends a month while focusing on school.

Mr. Bening graduated from law school in 1982, and joined the diverse and growing firm of Hoge, Fento9n, Jones & Appel in the San Jose office. He became a shareholder in 1988. While at Hoge, Mr. Bening developed a keen interest in business matters, and specialized in complex insurance matters, business, and construction.

In 1991, Mr. Bening left Hoge with Randy Willoughby and Alex Stuart to found Willoughby, Stuart & Bening, Inc. The mission of the new firm was, and is to bring highest quality of representation at a reasonable price, with the focus always being the best interest of the client.

Mr. Bening is an avid mountain biker, skier, kayaker, and swimmer. He has been on the board of Community Housing Developers, a large non profit developer of affordable housing, since 1988. Mr. Bening has been on the board of the Children's Musical Theater of San Jose since 1994, where he has performed many productions as a mentor adult member of the cast. He and his late wife, Billiana, were recently honored with the dedication of the Bening Family Courtyard and Play Space, focused on their dedication to children, and affordable housing.