Over 45 years, San Francisco’s Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn has recovered more than $500 million for clients seeking justice, establishing itself as a formidable advocate for individuals against powerful corporations and institutions.
“What makes us different is that we always have that unique, different, tough case,” said partner June P. Bashant. “It’s usually someone who is catastrophically injured or has died, and the liability is very tough, but they’ve left behind a family, children — a group of people that need to be taken care of.”
Founded in 1980 by the late Ron Rouda, the firm has grown through strategic partnerships forged over decades of litigation. Partner John M. Feder joined in 1981 after opposing Rouda. Bashant came aboard after working as defense counsel against the firm, while Cynthia McGuinn joined in 2008 from another prominent plaintiffs’ firm. Most recently, Loren Schwartz was recruited after impressing Feder with his work on a municipal railway case.
The firm handles catastrophic personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases — but it’s their collaborative approach that sets them apart. Every Monday at 9 a.m., the attorneys gather for case review meetings that typically run an hour long.
“We discuss the cases, and we discuss how things are going in a particular case, or if we have an issue, or if we’re coming up on a mediation,” McGuinn said. “It is not unusual — in fact, it is the norm — for each of us to see the other’s mediation briefs before they go out and to look at them for tone, how they read, to see if they’re going to be received appropriately.”
Among their recent victories, Bashant and McGuinn transformed a medical malpractice case at trial into a medical battery claim after their client was injected with an unbalanced toxic substance during what should have been a routine ER procedure. The case exposed systemic communication failures and resulted in permanent neurological damage to the client.
Currently, the firm is working on cannabis-induced psychosis cases against Stiiizy, a company producing vape products with THC concentrations exceeding 90%. “They have flavors, and the kids are drawn to the flavors of cannabis,” Bashant said. “Just like the Juul litigation, they’re marketing it to kids under 21.”
Recently relocated at 407 Montgomery Street — just three blocks from their longtime office — the firm maintains its boutique character with roughly 10 staff members, many of whom have been with the firm for decades.
“When one of us has a victory, it’s a victory for all of us,” Feder said.
