Welcome to Newdorf Legal.
My name is David Newdorf. I dedicate this website to the attorneys, judges, clients and cases that make San Francisco a fascinating venue for trials. Every day brings a new courtroom drama, civic scandal, or fresh take on the law. From the pressed dark suits of the Superior Court Law & Motion Department to the "Outlaws and Commotion" (as one judge calls it) of the Hall of Justice, there’s a daily diet of the noteworthy and interesting.
San Francisco, for better and for worse, is cutting-edge. It incubated the Gold Rush and the dot-com bust, the gay marriage cases and the Twinkie defense. The generation that nurtured the Summer of Love gave us 40 years later the summer of back-dated stock options. On good days, I am proud to call myself a San Francisco trial lawyer. On other days, I know we can do better. But rare is the day that I wished I had just stayed home.
One of the things I enjoy most about my job is teaching, mentoring and sharing ideas with other lawyers. I'm particularly excited to be able to share some of these ideas more broadly in my "Lit Tip Of The Week" feature. Make sure to check back at least weekly to catch the latest Litigation Tip of the Week.
To learn more about the author of Newdorf Legal, visit the About David Newdorf page.
In addition to ongoing postings, I have uploaded a number of Articles and Legal Commentaries (by or about me) and Court Decisions from some of my cases.
Have feedback or comments or ideas? Send me an E-mail.
Portrait Photograph by Jason Doiy, The Recorder
Defending your client’s deposition can be a nerve-wracking, sweaty armpit experience. At the end of the day, a weak performance or just one poor answer can sink a case. But even with stakes this high, most lawyers do not spend enough time preparing the client to testify. While the demands of your practice, your client’s calendar, or the […]
Dec 02 2007
One of the prime reasons to spend the time and money to depose an adverse witness is to gather impeachment material. Other than hiring a private investigator to delve into the witness’s past, the deposition is the most effective tool in the lawyer’s arsenal for uncovering dirt and chipping away at credibility. That includes attacking an […]
Nov 01 2007
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has calendared oral argument in the federal civil rights claims over a 2002 altercation between three off-duty S.F.P.D. officers (one of whom was the son of the assistant chief) and a San Francisco bartender and his friend. The media dubbed the case “fajitagate” because the […]
Dec 22 2007
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on November 6, 2007, heard oral argument in Bull v. City and County of San Francisco, a class action challenging the County Jail’s former strip search policy. Until January 2004, the San Francisco County Jail made an unclothed visual inspection for drugs and weapons of […]
Nov 11 2007
Do lawyers make better bloggers? I doubt it. But there are certainly hundreds (thousands?) of legal blogs and websites on the Internet. For reasons that will become plain below, Newdorf Legal announces its first contest: Tell me your favorite law-related website or blog. To enter, respond to this article with a Comment/Reply below and a […]
Nov 12 2007
Senate Bill 93 would have allowed accident victims insured by Medi-Cal (and their lawyers) to recover higher settlements and judgments. But the rhetoric of both sides fails to explain why the resulting medical damages would have been fair — or too high, depending on one’s point of view. Although the governor vetoed the bill (again), […]
Oct 31 2007
The plaintiffs’ bar is nothing if not relentless in pursuit of its agenda — mostly higher fees. After striking out in court decisions for the past few years, the plaintiffs’ bar has shifted its efforts to the political arena. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed one of the plaintiffs’ key measures — S.B. 93 — last Friday (10/5/2007).
The […]
Oct 08 2007
Answers to the “Around the Courthouse” Jurisprudence Luncheon Quiz. (Find the Quiz by clicking on the “Around the Courthouse” Category on the right sidebar.)
At the Bar Association of San Francisco’s First Annual Jurisprudence Luncheon, the all-star panelists identified their favorite legal thinkers as follows:
Hon. Joseph Grodin - Cardozo.
Hon. Stephen Reinhardt - Dworkin.
Hon. Alex Kozinksi […]
Oct 29 2007
