Who You Gonna Call?
February 2002 | Volume 22, Number 2 | California Lawyer

(excerpt)

Okay, so malpractice claims are somewhat different now than they were ten years ago, and when times get tough, the chances of becoming a target may rise. But the important question remains: What are the chances that a malpractice claim will have a damaging effect on one's career? Surprisingly, malpractice attorneys on both sides of the aisle say the chances are slim, unless an attorney is doing something really dishonest. First of all, investigators for the State Bar's discipline system rarely get involved in most malpractice claims. Negligence, unless it's repetitive, doesn't violate the Rules of Professional Conduct. Nor, conversely, is an ethics violation necessarily an element of malpractice. "The State Bar doesn't even make our radar screen," says Guy D. Calladine of San Francisco's Carlson, Calladine & Peterson. "If an investigator sends us a letter, we just inform the bar that the case is in litigation, and the matter drops."

Perhaps the fastest-growing malpractice claims category is conflicts of interest. Conflicts claims arise when an attorney fails to disclose a conflict between clients or obtain written consent for representing two or more parties whose interests are adverse. Malpractice attorneys attribute the boom in conflicts claims to the changing structure of the profession. "Through mergers, big firms have become megafirms," says Donald W. Carlson of San Francisco's Carlson, Calladine & Peterson, a professional and products liability boutique spun off from Long & Levit. "The profession is more impersonal today, there's less client contact, and it's harder to have quality control."

PLAINTIFFS

Mark B. Abelson
Campagnoli, Abelson & Campagnoli, San Francisco

James S. Bostwick
Bostwick & Associates, San Francisco

William C. Callaham
Dreyer, Babich, Buccola & Callaham, Sacramento

William Gwire
San Francisco

James D. Mart
Mart & deVries, Sacramento

Dan L. Stanford
Stanford & Associates, San Diego

Tanya Starnes
Berkeley

Peter R. Thompson
Thompson & Thompson, San Diego

Deborah A. Wolfe
Nugent & Newnham, San Diego

DEFENSE
On the defense side, the malpractice attorneys who have achieved the most prominence also make up a relatively small circle. These heavy hitters include:

Thomas H. Ault
Ault, Davis & Schonfeld, San Diego

Robert C. Baker and Karl A. Keener
Baker, Keener & Nahra, Santa Monica

Douglas M. Butz
Butz Dunn DeSantis & Bingham, San Diego

Guy D. Calladine and Donald W. Carlson (also represent plaintiffs)
Carlson, Calladine and Peterson, San Francisco

Jerry Coughlan and Robert Semmer
Coughlan, Semmer & Lipman, San Diego

Kevin Culhane
Hansen, Boyd, Culhane & Watson, Sacramento

John M. Drath
Drath, Clifford, Murphy, Wennerholm & Hagen, Oakland

Peter Q. Ezzell and John Sheller
Haight Brown & Bonesteel, Los Angeles

Timothy J. Halloran, James A. Murphy, and Michael P. Bradley
Murphy, Pearson, Bradley & Feeney, San Francisco

H. Gilbert Jones, Douglas R. Reynolds, and R. Gaylord Smith
Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, Costa Mesa, San Diego

Earl H. Maas III
Maas Miyamoto & Bernstein, San Diego

Ronald E. Mallen
Hinshaw & Culbertson, San Francisco

Edith R. Matthai
Robie & Matthai, Los Angeles

Joseph P. McMonigle
Long & Levit, San Francisco

David B. Parker (also represents plaintiffs)
Parker Mills & Patel, Los Angeles

Pamela Phillips
Rogers, Joseph, O'Donnell & Phillips, San Francisco

Daniel M. White
White, Noon & Oliver, San Diego