This week your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (https://www.walkuplawoffice.com/)

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Episode Details:

Acclaimed California trial lawyer and former San Francisco Bar Association president Doris Cheng of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger shares how she successfully represented a grieving mother after her son was fatally struck by a city bus while riding his bike. On May 15, 2017, Maria Renteria's son, Luis Alvarez, Jr., rode his bike in the right lane of a Los Angeles street until he came upon a stopped Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) bus and, adhering to the rules of the road, moved to the left lane to pass the bus. In an attempt to return to the right lane and travel in front of the bus, Luis was struck by the bus, dragged 70 feet and killed on impact. Trial lawyer Doris Cheng argued that the bus driver failed to be aware of her surroundings and did not adhere to her training, while defense counsel countered that the bus driver should not be held to a higher standard of care than Luis or any bicyclist. In spite of the defense's tactics, which included revealing the estrangement between Luis and his mother due to Luis's father's chronic abuse, a Los Angeles County jury assigned a percentage of negligence to both LACMTA and Luis, awarding Maria $1,400,000 in damages for the tragic loss of her son. In this in-depth discussion, Doris Cheng discusses everything from dealing with bad facts in voir dire to when to abandon the conventional "rules of the road" formula, instead focusing on the fundamental rules of persuasion: ethos, pathos and logos.

Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents

Guest Bio:

Doris Cheng

A frequent guest lecturer and adjunct professor, Ms. Cheng has trained lawyers and judges nationally and internationally. As part of the Rule of Law Initiative, she has had the privilege of training trial lawyers and judges in Mexico, Kosovo, and Macedonia.  She has also collaborated and trained with civil practitioners in Singapore and Belfast. This past year, she led trial skills training for criminal prosecution offices in Glasgow, Scotland and multiple Caribbean countries.

Ms. Cheng is also the Program Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Western Region Advocacy Teacher Training Program. In 2012, she was awarded the Robert E. Keeton Award for outstanding service by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She is the 2015 recipient of the University of San Francisco Professional Achievement Award.

Ms. Cheng is involved in local bar associations and community organizations. She is the current President (former Secretary) of the San Francisco Bar Association and immediate Past President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association.  She is a former Chair of the Civility Matters! Program and current national representative for the American Board of Trial Advocates (San Francisco Chapter).  She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board.

She is a co-author of the eminent Rutter Group California Practice Guide on Personal Injury, and the trial practice guide, Mastering the Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials.

Following the induction of new Fellows of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Doris Cheng gave a speech to all the new inductees about being awarded such an elite honor.

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Free Resources:

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2