Ronald H. Rouda

1934-2022

Profile
Associations
Awards
Notable Work

Bio

Ronald H. Rouda (Deceased), Founder

If practice makes perfect, then Ron should be getting close. In 2010 he celebrated 50 years in practice. But he is far from slowing down. He continues to combine his wealth of experience with an insatiable curiosity and desire for justice, making him one of the most respected (and feared) trial lawyers in California.

Rouda is the firm’s founding partner. He has obtained numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. In addition to record-setting verdicts and settlements, he has served as an officer in numerous organizations. He was the President of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1998 and was a local chapter president. In 1992, he was President of the California Trial Lawyers Association. His awards include ABOTA’s highest award, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, ABOTA’s California Trial Lawyer of the Year and Don E. Bailey Civility award, SFTLA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and CAOC’s Marvin E. Lewis and Robert E. Cartwright, Sr. Awards recognizing his excellence in trial advocacy and dedication to teaching trial advocacy. Rouda is the guiding spirit behind ABOTA’s successful nationwide program, The Youth Education Project, an Interactive Curriculum, teaching children about the history, importance, and value of a trial by jury. Ron has also been included in The Best Lawyers in America list every year since 1991.

Ron is a strong advocate for consumer safety, and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Greta Van Susteren, Geraldo Rivera, and The O’Reilly Factor. Rouda specializes in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He is a lecturer and author of numerous articles on trial practice, and coauthor of the 5-volume California Tort Practice Guide.

Ron is also an accomplished pianist. He performed a concert for the International Academy of Trial Lawyers’ 50th Anniversary Celebration, performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, in the Florence Gould Theatre at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. He also performed another Gershwin concert with an 18-piece orchestra at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco.

Best Lawyer Badge

Education

B.A. University of California at Berkeley - University 1956
LL.B. Hastings College of the Law - Graduate School 1960

International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow Board of Directors; 1991 – present
International Society of Barristers, Fellow
American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
American Board of Trial Advocates National President; 1998 National President Elect; 1997 National Vice-President; 1996 National Board of Directors; 1992 – present San Francisco Chapter President; 1988 San Francisco Chapter Vice-President; 1987 San Francisco Chapter President; 1986
Litigation Council of America, Fellow
American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, Diplomate
American Association for Justice
American Inns of Court Master Bencher; 1992 San Francisco Chapter Secretary; 1989
American Judicature Society
Public Justice
Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Consumer Attorneys of California President; 1992 President-Elect; 1991 Vice-President; 1989 – 1990 Parliamentarian; 1987
Editor-in Chief, Forum Magazine 1986-1989
Board of Directors, Forum Magazine 1984-1988
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
San Francisco Lawyers Club
Hastings Advocacy Institute
State Bar of California

Memberships

American Board of Trial Advocates Lifetime Achievement Award; 2011
American Board of Trial Advocates Don E. Bailey Civility Award; 2010
Consumer Attorneys of California Robert Cartwright Award; 2005
Consumer Attorneys of California Marvin E. Lewis Award; 2003
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award; 2002
American Board of Trial Advocates’ California Trial Lawyer of the Year; 1995
Consumer Attorneys of California Presidential Award of Merit for service as Forum Editor-in-Chief; 1988
“Best Lawyers in America” Personal Injury Category - CAOC President; 1993
American Board of Trial Advocates - San Francisco Chapter Presidential Award of Merit, 1989
San Francisco Chronicle survey, “One of the Best Personal Injury Plaintiff Lawyers in the Bay Area”

Presentations & Publications

How to Craft the Perfect Closing Argument (MCLE Accredited, 29th Annual Tahoe Seminar Syllabus, Page 349, April 8, 9, 1994)
Welcome to the Video Zone (CAL-ABOTA, Mauna Kea, 1993)
Some Closing Thoughts on the Business of CAOC (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 10, 12/92)
Nuances in Final Argument (Tahoe Seminar Syllabus)
State of the Civil Justice System (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 9, 11/92)
Change Must be Preceded by Principle (Tort Reform Workshop, San Francisco, 10/10/92)
Change Must be Guided by Principle – Presented at Tort Reform Workshop (9/92)
The Wrongful Death Case Without Economic Damages (Tahoe Syllabus Article, 1992)
Getting Out Our Side of the Story (Forum Magazine, 1992)
The ABCs of Handling Tire Cases (CAOC Seminar, 1992)
Lawyer Bashing--Myths and Lies (San Diego Trial Lawyers Association, Trial Bar News, Vol. XV, No. 8, 10, 92)
Profiles in Courage--Examples of Trial Lawyers Protecting People (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 8, 10/92)
Round Two (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 7, 9/92)
Lawyer Bashing and Scapegoats (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 6, 7/92)
Alternative Dispute Resolution--A Doozy of A Medusa (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 5, 6/92)
"...With Liberty and Justice for All?" (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 4, 5/92)
Getting Out Our Side of the Story (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 3, 4/92)
The Assault on the Civil Justice System Continues (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 2, 3/92)
Decentralizing CAOC (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 1, 1/92)
My Vision for 1992 (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 10, 12/91)
Marvin E. Lewis, A Giant of the Law (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 9, 11/91)
Voir Dire--The Benefits of Using a Jury Consultant and Conducting a Mock Trial (Forum Magazine, Vol. XXI, No. 7, 9/91)
Arguing Damages for the Elderly (Forum Magazine)
Jury Selection and the Ideal Juror Profile (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 10, 12/87)
Truce Doesn't Necessarily Mean Peace (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 9, 11/87)
Celebrating the Constitution--The Right to Trial by Jury, and the Role of the Trial Lawyer (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 8, 10/87)
The Attack on the Contingent Fee (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 7, 9/87)
Insurance Industry Executives Earn Millions (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 6, 7/87)
Who's Against Us? (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 5, 6/87)
Tort "Deform" or Insurance "Reform" (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 4, 5/87)
The Rich Get Richer (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 3, 4/87)
Where will CAOC be in the Year 2000? (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 2, 3/87)
It's Expensive (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 1, 1/87)
Grass Roots 1987 (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 10, 12/86)
Unity, Not Chaos (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 9, 11/86)
And Now the Rest of the Story (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 8, 10/86)
Justice, Justice (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 7, 9/86)
Why Contingency Fees Should Not Be Restricted (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 6, 7/86)
A New Perspective on Tort Claims (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 4)
Integrity and Competence (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 3)
Funny Bookkeeping--How to Orchestrate an Insurance Crisis Through Creative Accounting (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 2, 3/86)
A Rebuttal to the Insurance Industry's Attack on Royal Globe (Forum Magazine, Vol. XVI, No. 1, 1/86)
Physician's Alert--An Invasion of Privacy (Forum Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 10, 12/85)
Products Liability--Punch Press Accidents--To Manufacturers What Extent are the Manufacturers of Punch Presses Required to Guard Against Accidents? (Forum Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 9, 11/85)
The Buck Stops Here (Forum Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 8, 10/85)
Absence of Prior Similar Incidents--The First Victim Doesn't Always Lose (Forum Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 7, 9/85)
Co-Author California Tort Guide “Special Employee of Independent Contractor” CAOC Journal, 1981 “Closing Argument in Wrongful Death of an Eight-Year-Old Child" Forum Magazine, December 1982 “DPT Vaccine and the Cry of ‘Wolf’" Forum Magazine, January 1985 “Who's Going to be Supreme” Forum Magazine, April 1985 “What's All the Shouting About” Forum Magazine, May 1985 “Have We Forgotten What the Tort System is All About?” Forum Magazine, June 1985

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