Richard H. Schoenberger is one of Northern California's top trial lawyers. He has been named one of The Best Lawyers In America for each of the past six years, a Super Lawyer every year since 2004 (including being named as one of the Top 100 for Northern California in 2010 and 2011) and has twice been nominated by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association as its Trial Lawyer of the Year.
He is an invited member of the most prestigious trial lawyer organizations in the country: the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellowship extended only to a select group of experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards; the International Society of Barristers, an honor society of trial lawyers chosen by their peers on the basis of excellence and integrity in advocacy; and, the American Board of Trial Advocates, where he serves as an officer and chaired the San Francisco Chapter's 2009 Masters In Trial program. He is "AV" peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Among his many trial successes, Rich recently spent four weeks in trial in San Mateo County Superior Court where he and his law partner Doug Saeltzer obtained a $12.2 million jury verdict against the State of California on behalf of a severely brain damaged 17 year old high school senior. This marked his eighth million or multi-million dollar jury verdict, and his second in excess of $10 million. In the past seven years alone, Rich has achieved trial or pre-trial results of greater than $1 million in more than 40 different cases.
After graduating from Santa Clara University in 1982, Rich attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He began practice in 1985 as a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted serious felonies. He joined the Walkup office in August of 1987 and became a partner in 1995. With Walkup, he has tried dozens of cases in more than ten counties throughout the state of California.
Rich has taught trial advocacy on a national and international level since the early 1990's. In California, he teaches Advanced Trial Practice as an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). He has also served as a faculty member for the Judicial Council of California's Judicial Studies Program. As a highly rated member of the faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Rich has been invited to teach advocacy at NITA's rigorous National, Midwestern, Northwestern, Western and Pacific Regional programs; as well as for private firms throughout the country. Rich has also served frequently as a team leader at Emory Law School's renowned Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program in Atlanta, Georgia.
In June of 2004, The American Bar Association, in concert with the Department of Justice's Central European Eurasian Law Initiative, invited Rich to the Republic of Georgia where he taught advocacy to 24 selected attorneys whose government had only recently allowed the right to a jury trial. In 2005, he was invited to lead a similar program in Sarajevo.
Rich is experienced in a wide variety of case types including traumatic brain injury, paralysis, workplace accidents, vehicular and bicycle negligence, medical malpractice, product liability, government liability, aviation disasters and wrongful death claims.
In an article printed in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, an opponent was quoted as follows: "Schoenberger is everything that a good plaintiff's lawyer should be: ethical, professional and smart, and he works hard."
For years, Rich served as CYO Athletic Director at St. Patrick's in Larkspur and as Minor League Rep for the Twin Cities' Little League Board of Directors. Rich also used to be found on some field or court, having coached more than 30 of his three kids' teams over the last decade. Now he just watches silently from the stands in full recognition that each of his kids is finally being coached by someone who knows what he or she is talking about.
Exemplar Verdicts and Settlements
Goodloe v. Bell Sports, Inc.
Jury verdict - defective consumer product - $17,000,000
Liou v. State of California
Jury verdict- dangerous condition of public property - $12,200,000
Perry v. Budget
Jury verdict - automobile accident - $8,765,000
Quackenbush v. CSAA
Jury verdict - general negligence - $2,500,000
Lown v. Mildenberger
Jury verdict - premises liability - $1,072,000
Chu v. Bay Area Community Services
Jury verdict - psychiatric malpractice/premises liability - $1,000,000
O'Cain v. Basu
Jury verdict - medical malpractice - $1,000,000
Bertram v. City and County of San Francisco
Jury verdict - public transit liability - $567,000
Loh v. County of Alameda
Settlement - bicycle accident - $9,500,000
Wrongful Death Heirs v. Car Company
Settlement - negligent operation of a vehicle - $6,500,000
Window Contractor v. Scoffolding Company
Settlement - dangerous workplace - $6,000,000
Minor v. Valley Unified School District
Settlement - negligent school supervision - $4,500,000
Machinist v. Industrial Machine Design
Settlement - product liability - $4,000,000
Thornburgh v. City of Auburn
Settlement - dangerous condition of public property - $3,000,000
Perez v. CCSF
Settlement - public transit liability - $3,000,000
