Richard M. Valdez
Contact
619.615.6768
Richard Valdez has a diverse practice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in all phases of complex commercial litigation. In his 22 years in practice, he has handled a wide variety of business disputes, product liability litigation, eminent domain, and civil rights litigation. Richard has represented business and property owners in more than 150 cases involving claims of disability access. He has been an adjunct instructor with USD School of Law for six years, teaching trial advocacy. He was a part-time instructor of USD Paralegal’s Program for 15 years, and an instructor with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. He has been the chair of the City of San Diego’s Ethics Commission. He is co-chair of the Lawyer Representatives of the Southern District of California and a member of the Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee. He has served on boards of various community organizations and served on the San Diego County Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee for four years.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Law School
University of San Diego School of Law, Juris Doctor 1991, top quarter of class
Undergraduate
University of California, San Diego, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science with Minor in History, 1985
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Partner, Sandler, Lasry, Laube, Byer & Valdez LLP
2000 to present
Heavy emphasis on general civil litigation, complex commercial litigation (plaintiffs and defendants), disability access laws, disability discrimination, product liability. Involved in all phases of litigation, including trial and arbitration.
USD School of Law, Adjunct Instructor
2008-present
Instructor -Trial Advocacy. Educating law students on trial skills, negotiation and depositions.
USD Lawyer’s Assistant Program
1993 to 2008
Instructor – Legal Research and Writing. Educating paralegal students on the methods of legal research and writing. Nine month course.
Partner/Associate, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
1991 to 2000
Heavy emphasis on general civil litigation, complex commercial litigation (plaintiffs and defendants), disability access laws, disability discrimination. Involved in all phases of litigation, including trial and arbitration.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
United States District Court, Southern District of California Lawyer Representative
Member/Co-Chair, 2011 to present
Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative Coordinating Committee
Member, 2012-present
City of San Diego Ethics Commission
Commissioner/Chair, 2007-2010
The San Diego LGBT Center
Member, Board of Directors 2002-2009; 2012-present
Board Chair 2004-2006, 2007-2008, 2013 – present
American Civil Liberties Union, San Diego & Imperial Counties
Member, Board of Directors, 2001 to 2005
1st Vice President 2004 to 2005.
San Diego County Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee
Committee Member, 2000-2004
The Access Center of San Diego, Inc.
Member, 1994-2000
Board Chair 1997 to 1999
California State Bar Standing Committee on Legal Services for Persons with Disabilities
Committee Member, 1996 to 1997
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
ADA: Access and Removal of Architectural Barriers
San Diego Business Journal, April 1995
PANEL PARTICIPANT
Disclosure and Discovery in the Southern District of California: Working with Expert Witnesses
May 2013
ADMISSIONS
- California Supreme Court
- United States District Court, Southern District
- United States Supreme Court
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- American Bar Association
- California Bar Association
- San Diego County Bar Association
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers
OTHER
- Named “Top Lawyer” 2014 by Southern California SuperLawyers®
- Named “Top Lawyer” 2013 by San Diego SuperLawyers®
- Named San Diego “Top Lawyer” (Complex Litigation) 2013, 2014, by Martindale-Hubbell® and San Diego Magazine
- Appointee, Mayor’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Board, San Diego, 2001 to 2004