Khaldoun Baghdadi is a Shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, where he has spent nearly three decades building a reputation as a trusted trial lawyer and advocate for those facing life-changing circumstances.
Known for his sincerity and client-centered approach, Khaldoun focuses on understanding not just the legal issues but the human story behind every case. He recognizes that clients often come to him during the most difficult moments of their lives and prioritizes guiding them through a complex and unfamiliar process with clarity and honesty. By listening closely, setting realistic expectations, and maintaining transparency, he builds the trust necessary to effectively advocate for his clients.
Khaldoun has dedicated his career to representing individuals and families in high-stakes litigation, serving as lead trial counsel in cases throughout California and across the country. His practice spans wrongful death, catastrophic injury, defective products, medical negligence, insurance disputes, and public transit liability. He has also played a leading role in complex mass tort and multidistrict litigation (MDLs), including medical device, consumer safety, and civil rights matters.
Khaldoun has achieved significant results in some of the most challenging and high-profile cases nationwide. His work includes a $100 million wrongful death recovery through the PG&E Fire Victims Trust and a recent $39 million medical malpractice settlement. He was part of the trial team in the Pinnacle hip implant litigation in Dallas, which resulted in a verdict exceeding $1 billion. He also secured an $8 million wrongful death verdict stemming from the death of a child, believed to be the largest of its kind in San Mateo County at the time.
His current and recent leadership roles include serving as lead trial counsel in a groundbreaking social media multidistrict litigation set for trial, involving claims that the conduct of social media companies has contributed to youth addiction and impaired school systems’ ability to fulfill their educational mission. He has served as liaison counsel in national litigation involving sexual assault cases against rideshare giant Uber, helping coordinate state and federal actions focused on corporate accountability and consumer safety. And he played a leadership role in the JUUL Labs Inc. litigation, addressing the marketing of addictive products to minors. In the Paraquat herbicide litigation, where he serves in a leadership role, a tentative resolution has been reached, and the product has since been removed from the market. He has also been deeply involved in wildfire litigation, serving as liaison and coordinating counsel in the North Bay Fire cases and representing the PG&E Fire Victims Trust in claims against vegetation management contractors.
Beyond his trial work, Khaldoun is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of lawyers. He believes that teaching and mentorship are essential to the profession, both to sharpen his own skills and to help young attorneys realize their potential. He is also involved with Just The Beginning – A Pipeline Organization (JTB), helping introduce high school students to the legal profession through mentorship and educational programs. He takes pride in guiding developing lawyers, helping them build confidence, refine their craft, and grow into effective advocates.
Khaldoun is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the International Society of Barristers (ISOB), and the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). He has served as an adjunct professor and trial advocacy instructor at UC Law San Francisco and UC Berkeley School of Law and has taught trial skills and deposition practice through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He also regularly guest lectures at leading law schools, including Stanford and NYU.
Active in both the courtroom and the community, Khaldoun previously served the City of San Francisco through a mayoral appointment to the Human Rights Commission, where he was elected Chair.
He earned his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine, and his law degree from UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings).
Khaldoun now splits his time between New York and San Francisco to be closer to his children—his proudest accomplishment and the center of his life.
