Craig Needham - Curriculum Vitae

Born: August 20, 1946 in Palo Alto, California

Admitted to California Bar: January 12, 1972

• United States District Courts, Northern, Central and Eastern of California

Education

Bellarmine College Preparatory (Honorary Classical Diploma, 1964)

University of Santa Clara (B.A., 1968)

• Alpha Sigma Nu
• Student Body President (1967-1968)
• Nobili Medal (Outstanding Male Graduate)

Hastings College of the Law, University of California (J.D., 1971)

Pepperdine University School of Law, Advanced Mediation Course, June 2004

Attended numerous education seminars since 1972

Faculty Member

Hastings College of Trial and Appellate Advocacy, Lecturer and Course Instructor (1983-1990)

Holy Names High School, Oakland, California, Introduction to Law (1985-1989)

University of Santa Clara, School of Law

• College of Advocacy, Course Leader (June 1993)
• Guest lecturer, course in mediation practice
• Judge for the 2001 Honors Moot Court Competition

Lincoln Law School, Lecturer in Trial Practice (Feb. 1994)

Lincoln Law School, Professor of Trial Practice (1998-2000)

Lincoln Law School, Outstanding Professor (2000-2001)

Lincoln Law School, Professor of Torts (Nov. 1994 to 2006)

Memberships

State Bar of California (Jan. 1972 to present)

American Board of Trial Advocates (1988 to present)

Lawyers Club of San Francisco (1973 to present)

• President (1985-1986)
• State Bar Delegation (1983-1989)

American Bar Association

• Member, Section on Tort and Insurance Practice Law

San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (1972-present)

Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (2003-present)

Consumer Attorneys of Santa Clara County (formerly Santa Clara Trial Lawyers Association) - (Board of Directors 1990 to 1995; Secretary 1995 to 1996; President-Elect Dec. 1996-Mar. 1997)

San Francisco County Bar Association

Santa Clara County Bar Association, Chair of the Civil Practice Section (2000-2001)

Consumer Attorneys of California (formerly California Trial Lawyers Association)

American Trial Lawyers Association (1975 to present)

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (1999-present)

Inns of Court (2001-present)

California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Referral Panel (2006-2007)

Employment History

Hoberg, Finger, Brown & Abramson, San Francisco

• Associate(1972-1975)

Sutton & Needham, San Francisco

• Partner (1975-1976)

Sutton, Needham & Hull, San Francisco

• Partner (1976-1980)

Needham & Hull, San Francisco

• Partner (1980-1986)

Needham, Hull & Dykman, San Francisco/Marin

• Partner (1986-1989)

Caputo, Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil

• Associated (12/89-12/90)
• Partner (1/91-12/92)

Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil

• Partner (1/93-9/30/01)
• President (1994)
• Needham Division (4/01-9/30/01)

Needham, Davis, Kirwan & Young

• Founding Partner (10/01/01-3/28/06)

Needham, Davis, Kepner & Young

• Founding Partner (03/29/06-present)

Lecturer

California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB).  A variety of civil litigation subjects (1976 to present). 

• Most recent:  "Courtroom Conduct - Tactics and Ethics" (1997, 1999), "Voir Dire" (1997), "Do's & Dont's of Courtroom Conduct" (10/2002), "CACI (California Jury Instructions)" (1/2004), "Wrongful Death" (3/ 2006), "Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Damages" (3/2006), "Key Evidence Issues" (3/2007) 

The Rutter Group

• A variety of civil litigation subjects (1984 to 1990)

Speaker and Co-Author, Recent Developments in Torts Practice

• CEB (1983-1991)

Speaker and Author, Tort Update

• San Francisco Trial Lawyers Assn. (1984 to 1991)
• San Mateo Trial Lawyers Assn. (1985-1990)
• Santa Clara Trial Lawyers Assn. (1986 to 1991)
• Marin Trial Lawyers Assn. (1990-1991)
• Santa Cruz Trial Lawyers Assn. (1990 to 1991)

Speaker and Author - "What's New in Torts and Trial Practice"

• Presented in locations throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Ventura, Orange and San Luis Obispo. Given in January/February of 1984 through 2008. This tort update has been given for 25 consecutive years and reviews all substantive and procedural law for the prior year.

Lorman Education Services

• Real Evidence for the Trial Practitioner in California, presented in San Francisco, California, 2003; 2006 

Northern California Association of Defense Counsel

• Annual Convention (1988, 1994)

Professional Education Systems, Inc. (PESI) (1990)

Law Schools

• Hastings College of the Law
• Golden Gate Law School
• University of San Francisco
• University of Santa Clara (including several years of instruction on Discovery and Trial Practice
  to law students at the East Side Law Clinic) (Mediation Techniques 2004-2007)

ABA National Institute Faculty

• "Trial of a Sexual Harassment Case" (San Francisco, March 1992)

American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

• "Masters in Trial Program" (San Francisco, June 1992)

Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (formerly known as Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association)

• "Ten Years of Product Liability Law" (Las Vegas, October 1992);
• Written Discovery (Las Vegas, August 2004)
• Tort Update (Las Vegas, August 2005)

University of Santa Clara, Department of Psychology

• "Negotiation" (November 1994)

14 Years of Products Liability Law

• Consumer Attorneys of Santa Clara County (October 1996)
• Sunnyvale-Cupertino Bar Association (November 1996)

The Use of CACI Instructions (Sunnyvale-Cupertino Bar Association 2004)

California College of Podiatric Medicine - San Francisco

• "The Podiatrist and Malpractice Claims" - Dealing With Lawyers (February 1997)

Santa Clara County Bar Association

• "Bridging the Gap Program" (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999)
• "Train the Trainer" Workshop Leader (May 1997, October 1998)
• "Law Office Management" (January 1998)
• "Alternative Dispute Resolution" (Feb. 1998); "Client Relations" (Feb. 1999)
• "Stress Management - Balancing Personal and Professional Life" (Feb. 1998, Feb. 1999, March 2005)
• "How to Plan and Shape a Coherent Civil Case" (May 2000); Leadership Workshop (2001, 2002 and 2003)
• "The Rhetoric of Torts: Themes, Stories, Analogies, Anecdotes and References to Popular Culture in Closing Arguments" (Sept. 2003)
• "The Nuts and Bolts of Elder Abuse (Physical & Financial)" (July 2005)
• "Retirement Options for Lawyers With 25 Years+ Experience (Feb. 2006)

WestMed Training

• 2002 Paramedic Class
• Legal and Ethical Responsibilities (Jan. 2002 & Nov. 2005)

Emergency Nurses Association

• Annual Medical Legal Update  (2001, 2002, 2004)

Monterey County Bar Association

• Elder Abuse Law (March 2006)

Santa Clara County Counsel

• Seminar on Mediating a Case (Nov. 2007)

Miscellaneous

• Martindale-Hubbell "A.V." rated (1976 to present)
• Spirit of CEB Award 2007 Given for Years of Teaching Lawyers in Civil Litigation Programs
• San Jose Magazine - Silicon Valley's Top Lawyers (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• Super Lawyers, Northern California (2004)
• Super Lawyers, Northern California Top 100 (2005-2006)
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2005)
• Trial Lawyer of Year (1997), Consumer Attorneys of Santa Clara County
• Board of Trustees, Lincoln Law School of San Jose (1999 to 2004) (Chairman 12/2001to 2003)
• CEB Core Faculty Training - Participant - San Francisco (November 1996)
• Pepperdine University Advanced Mediation Training in Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and Employment Litigation (Pepperdine, June 2004)
• Appointed Counsel in a variety of California State Bar disciplinary matters
• Awarded Outstanding Professor, Lincoln Law School (1999-2000)
• Serve as an Arbitrator in professional negligence cases for the Judicial Arbitration Program of San Francisco County
• Serve as an Arbitrator for uninsured and underinsured motorist cases, Kaiser cases, and Judicial Arbitration
• Serve as Judge Pro Tem in settlement conferences, San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties
• Serve as Mediator in all varieties of civil litigation matters
• Serve as Judge Pro Tem for trials, San Francisco County (1991-jury, 1994-non-jury, 1996-jury)
• Serve on Judge Pro Tem panel for trials, Santa Clara County (1996 - present)
• Serve as consultant/expert in a variety of civil litigation matters
• 1st Lt., U.S. Army (1971-1972)
• Ironman Triathlete (Hawaii 2005, 2007; Lake Placid 2003; Canada 2000, 2001).  Trained and participated for the benefit of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America - Team in Training, and for the benefit of AIDS research in five California AIDS rides, the European AIDS ride, and the Hawaii AIDS ride.
• Marathon Runner (12)
• Bicyclist
• Bay to Breakers - 38 in a row (1970-2007)
  

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