Richard H. Schoenberger

Richard H. Schoenberger is one of Northern California's top trial lawyers. 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 of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality; 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 on the Executive Committee and chaired the San Francisco Chapter's 2009 Masters In Trial program.

He has been named one of The Best Lawyers In America for the past six years , a Super Lawyer every year since 2004 and is "AV" peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Among his many trial successes, Rich has obtained seven or eight figure jury verdicts for his clients on seven different occasions. In the past five years alone, Rich has achieved trial or pre-trial results of greater than one million dollars in more than 30 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 is a frequent speaker for the Consumer Attorneys of California and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. 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 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."

When not practicing law, Rich is usually found on some field or court coaching any one of his three kids' teams. He also serves as CYO Athletic Director at his 6th grader's school, St. Patrick's in Larkspur.

Exemplar Verdicts and Settlements

Goodloe v. Bell Sports, Inc.
Jury verdict - defective consumer product - $17,000,000
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

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