Thank You, SFTLA Where Would We Be Without You?
In the Winter 2025 edition of The Trial Lawyer magazine, Walter “Skip” Walker wrote a feature entitled “Thank You, SFTLA Where Would We Be Without You?” Mr. Walker was honored to be asked to write a history of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s 75th anniversary.
A trial lawyer with 75 years of experience. What do you think of that?
Given the fact that very few of us passed the Bar before we were 25 years old, that would make the trial lawyer at least 100. More power to him or her! Still, there might be some drawbacks to having a 100-year old attorney.
But what if we could get 75 years of wisdom and experience without having to deal with the possible infirmities of an unusually aged practitioner? And what if we could get 75 years of wisdom and experience from not one, but scores or hundreds of colleagues dealing with the same issues, concepts and problems that we are dealing with ourselves? What if there were scores, hundreds, maybe thousands of people who have been developing techniques, finding precedents, creating new laws, and are willing and able to share their trials and tribulations with people just like us?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
When I started practicing law in San Francisco in the late 1970’s, the only plaintiffs’ firms of which I was aware that were of any notable size were the Cartwright firm and the Walkup f irm. A contingency law practice does not easily lend itself to a large-firm format. The bills come in constantly, the staff and associates have to be paid regularly, experts want increasingly large retainers and hourly fees, and it is never certain when settlement or judgment checks will arrive. There were a few individual stars—certainly Melvin Belli, perhaps the most famous lawyer in America, and the wild and wooly Adrian Palmquist— but a young practitioner did not go to them for advice.
Nate Cohn, he of the Rolls Royce? The fearsome Jim Boccardo? The intimidating Leroy Hersh? Marvin Lewis, who won a case in which he established that a woman had been turned into a nymphomaniac by being involved in a cable car accident? A new lawyer would no more dare go to them for help than the patrician-like Bruce Walkup.
There were some who were approachable, of course: Al Abramson, Jack DeMeo, Peter Hinton, Ron Rouda; but what was one supposed to do—call them up on their office telephones? There were no cell phones in those days. Drop by their offices? There was no email.
A few of the legends made themselves available through teaching, people like e. robert “bob” wallach and the father-and-son duo of Jack and Arne Werchick. They might be willing to listen to a fledgling litigator’s problems, but said fledgling litigator might also suddenly find him or herself no longer the client’s actual trial attorney. Camaraderie is not necessarily stoked by being in different offices in different places while operating under different agendas.
But as times changed, so did the legal community. With the start of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, solo practitioners and two-three-four person offices no longer had to operate on their own. Ironically, given what I have said above, Melvin Belli was the organization’s first president and Jim Boccardo was our only two-term president. Their motivations for leadership might have been different from those of their successors, but their prestige certainly helped establish the legitimacy of the association they founded.
And what started as a social group sharing food and drinks, advice and experience, gradually evolved into a teaching platform (without necessarily losing the food and drinks). Believe it or not, there was a time when computers were “new” and people had to be convinced to use them instead of electric IBM typewriters. There was even a time when (gasp) secretaries took dictation and used carbon paper. But, as Bob Dylan told us, “You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone.” And as the years passed, swim we did, with SFTLA providing a platform for an ever-increasing number of services, widening its embrace of all things “plaintiff.”
In 1977, we began hosting a “Judge of the Year” banquet that has proven immensely popular with both bench and bar, and continues to be held annually. The selections are not made arbitrarily—many plaintiff lawyers’ hearts have been quickened by entering a judge’s chambers and seeing the plaque that denotes an SFTLA honoree. People like Bill Smith, SFTLA President in 1993, established Continuing Legal Education events that emphasized such matters as how best to present demonstrative exhibits and graphics, and most efficiently use records, documents and deposition transcripts. A second annual banquet, this one honoring the “Trial Lawyer of the Year,” commenced in 1999, bringing the community together to honor one or more of our own. Anyone who has won this award takes special pride in being acknowledged not only by our peers, but by peers who actually know us. Just being nominated, once, twice, or in Tom Brandi’s case at least half a dozen times, is a mark of achievement making all those long and lonely nights, working weekends, and unpaid hours worth while.
Of equal significance to sharing the nuts and bolts of developing litigation techniques was the function of simply bringing people together, letting other plaintiffs’ lawyers see that we are all in battle together and, most importantly, that, to quote an oft-used phrase, “a rising tide raises all boats.” In that regard, no single thing has served our community better then the advent of the Listserve in 2001. One posted message, one plea for advice or cry for help could produce multiple responses from people who had “been there, done that.” Moreover, the Listserve is a living document, one that can be enhanced, modif ied, even challenged. The format encourages short and direct messages, thus sparing us from missed phone calls, unanswered correspondence, unnecessary office visits and time-consuming lunch meetings.
But lunches (see food and drinks, supra) have not been eschewed by SFTLA, only enhanced. The organization has successfully shown how one can be fed and educated at the same time by holding panel discussions and lectures providing insights about trials won or settlements obtained—sometimes introducing us to experts who could help us win or settle our own cases. From there developed the concept of War Room Wednesdays, first involving personal attendance and then, with the advent of Zoom, evolving into remote participation, allowing any member to seek advice and opinions in group discussion (thank you, John Vannucci).
An article written to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of SFTLA noted that the organization’s goals have never changed: “educate and train trial lawyers, achieve rulings and support and pass legislation to protect and advance individuals’ rights, and have fun doing it.” The fun is certainly still there with our banquets and ski seminars (thank you, Anthony Label) and karaoke nights and New Lawyers’ Division outings (thank you, Jeff Walker), but under the leadership of Juliette Bleecker, Executive Director since 1999, we have made significant strides in inclusion and diversity, creating events, caucuses and internships to promote women and minorities in the profession and making even the most progressive among us more aware of implicit bias in and around the services we are fortunate enough to provide. In symbiotic relationship, members help the organization and the organization helps us right back.
From our ranks have come some of the most important lawyers in the United States: Cynthia McGuinn, Doris Cheng, Ed Nevin, Bill Veen, Mike Kelly, Chris Dolan, Craig Peters, Bob Arns, and the aforementioned Bill Smith and Tom Brandi—to name just a few. And helping make their successes happen were outstanding SFTLA officers, including presidents who have given tirelessly of themselves, such as Rob Cartwright, Martin Blake, the Lawless sisters, Jon Gertler, Kathryn Stebner, Boone Callaway, Chuck Geerhart and Mark Zanobini. They have led us in the wars against tort reform and no-fault and have been instrumental in the fights for increases in MICRA and statutes of limitations.
The past presidents are uniform in telling us that, on this 75th Anniversary, we cannot rest on our laurels, as successful as we have been. We have come through the Covid crisis—thank you Markus Willoughby, Boone, Chuck, and Mark—learned to adapt and regroup; but now we are faced with new challenges in the forms of AI and ChatGPT, billboard advertisers from Southern California and settlement mills that offer slogans and jingles in the place of hard work and dedication. Individually, there might not be much we can do. Together, through SFTLA, we will cope, correct, and overcome.
Do not take this promise as simple cheerleading. In these days of technological advances and technological isolation where we can work from a table at a Starbuck’s, where we no longer have to trek around the Bay for a court appearance or across the State for a deposition, but where we have fewer opportunities to develop personal and professional relationships, we very much need the interaction that our organization provides.
So, thank you, SFTLA. And thank all of you who have made our careers better and, most importantly, helped to make the lives of our clients better.
Walter (“Skip”) Walker is the founding partner of Walker, Hamilton & Kearns. He has tried 75 jury cases to verdict and over 100 cases in various forums. He was San Francisco Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2018 and has been a finalist twice. He also has twice been a finalist for Marin County Trial Lawyer of the Year and a finalist for CAOC Trial Lawyer of the Year.
[To view the full article, including historical timeline, please visit the SFTLA Trial Lawyer Magazine Winter 2025, page 14.]