Bio
Credentials
Education
Speaking Engagements
Affiliations & Memberships
Community Involvement

Craig Needham

Born in Palo Alto, California, Craig Needham is Partner at Needham Kepner & Fish LLP, serving clients in Silicon Valley, Sacramento, and the Bay Area.

Bar Admissions

California Bar: January 12, 1972 (State Bar No. 52010)
- United States District Courts, Northern, Central and Eastern of California
- United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Memberships

State Bar of California (Jan. 1972 to present)
American Board of Trial Advocates (1988 to present)
Lawyers Club of San Francisco (1973 to present)
- President (1985-1986)
- State Bar Delegation (1983-1989)
American Bar Association
- Member, Section on Tort and Insurance Practice Law
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (1972-present)
Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (2003-present)
Consumer Attorneys of Santa Clara County (formerly Santa Clara Trial Lawyers Association)
- (Board of Directors 1990 to 1995; Secretary 1995 to 1996; President-Elect Dec. 1996-Mar. 1997)
San Francisco County Bar Association (1972-present)
Santa Clara County Bar Association, Chair of the Civil Practice Section (2000-2001)
Consumer Attorneys of California (formerly California Trial Lawyers Association)
American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America) (1975 to present)
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (1999-present)
Inns of Court (2001-2005)
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Referral Panel (2006-present)

Employment

Associate: Hoberg, Finger, Brown & Abramson, San Francisco (1972-1975)
Partner: Sutton & Needham, San Francisco (1975-1976)
Partner: Sutton, Needham & Hull, San Francisco (1976-1980)
Partner: Needham & Hull, San Francisco (1980-1986)
Partner: Needham, Hull & Dykman, San Francisco/Marin (1986-1989)
Associated with Caputo, Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil (12/89-12/90)
Partner: Caputo, Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil (1/91-12/92)
Partner: Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil (1/93-9/30/01)
- President (1994)
- Needham Division (4/01-9/30/01)
Founding Partner: Needham, Davis, Kirwan & Young, LLP (10/01/01-3/28/06)
Name Change: Needham, Davis, Kepner & Young, LLP (3/29/06-8/31/09)
Name Change: Needham, Kepner, Fish & Jones, LLP (9/1/09-2/28/11)
Name Change: Needham Kepner & Fish LLP (3/01/11-08/31/14)
Name Change: Needham Kepner Fish & Rickard LLP (09/01/14 – 02/29/16)
Name Change: Needham Kepner & Fish LLP (03/01/16-Present)

Education

Bellarmine College Preparatory (Honorary Classical Diploma, 1964; Golden Diploma, 2014)
University of Santa Clara (B.A., 1968)
- Alpha Sigma Nu
- Student Body President (1967-1968)
- Nobili Medal (Outstanding Male Graduate)
Hastings College of the Law, University of California (J.D., 1971)
Pepperdine University School of Law, Advanced Mediation Course, June 2004
Attended numerous education seminars since 1972.

Speaking Engagements

Speaker and Author – “What’s New in Torts and Trial Practice”
- Presented in locations throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Ventura, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Stockton, and Riverside. Given in January/February of 1984 through 2017 (in 2015 and 2017 author only). This tort update has been given for 34 consecutive years and reviews all substantive and procedural law for the prior year.
California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)
- A variety of civil litigation subjects (1976 to present) – most recent “Courtroom Conduct – Tactics and Ethics” (1997, 1999), “Voir Dire” (1997), “Do’s & Don’ts of Courtroom Conduct” (Oct. 2002); “CACI” (California Jury Instructions) (1/2004), Wrongful Death (Mar. 2006), Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Damages (Mar. 2006), Key Evidence Issues (Mar. 2007), State Bar Convention, Evidence, The Jefferson Approach (Sept. 2008); “Effective Voir Dire, Picking the Right Jury” (Sept. 2009)
The Rutter Group
- A variety of civil litigation subjects (1984 to 1990)
Speaker and Co-Author, Recent Developments in Torts Practice,
- CEB (1983-1991)
Speaker on The Use of Post-Trial Motions and Statements of Decision Before the Appeal, ADC 2014 Annual Meeting,
SF Speaker on Helpful Mediation Techniques in Kaiser Cases – CAOC (Oct. 2014)
Speaker at the USLAW Convention in San Francisco on ADR from the Perspective of a Plaintiff’s Attorney and Mediator (9/2014)
Stanislaus County Bar Association – Achieving Balance in Your Professional & Personal Lives (6/2013)
Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers and Central Coast Trial Lawyers – 15 CACI Jury Instructions Every Lawyer Should Know About (2013)
Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers – Dealing with Workers’ Comp Liens in Third Party Cases (9/2011)
Medical Insurance Exchange of California (MIEC), Lecturer in Mediation Tactics for Annual Conference (2009)
Modesto County Bar Association, Trial Evidence 2010 In Light of CACI Instructions (March 2010)
Lorman Education Services
- Real Evidence for the Trial Practitioner in California, presented in San Francisco, California, 2003; 2006 Northern California Association of Defense Counsel
  - Annual Convention (1988, 1994, 2018 – Discussion of Mediation)
Professional Education Systems, Inc. (PESI) (1990)
Law Schools
- Hastings College of the Law
- Golden Gate Law School
- University of San Francisco
- University of Santa Clara (including several years of instruction on Discovery and Trial Practice to law students at the East Side Law Clinic) (Mediation Techniques 2004-2008, 2010-2015) (Trial Practice 2007-2009) (Department of Psychology, “Negotiation,” November 1994)
ABA National Institute Faculty
- “Trial of a Sexual Harassment Case” (San Francisco, March 1992)
American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- “Masters in Trial Program” (San Francisco, June 1992)
- “Masters in Cross-Examination” (Simi Valley, October 2009)
- ABOTA Civility Program @ UC Santa Clara (October 2010)
- “Masters in Trial Program” (San Francisco, October 2017)
Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (formerly known as Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association)
- “Ten Years of Product Liability Law” (Las Vegas, October 1992); Written Discovery (Las Vegas, August 2004) Tort Update (Las Vegas, August 2005)
Consumer Attorneys of California Annual Convention
- Lecture on Mediations (November 2015)
Stanford University, Guest Lecturer, Techniques of Failure Analysis, “Product Liability” (May 2010)
14 Years of Products Liability Law – Consumer Attorneys of Santa Clara County (October 1996), Sunnyvale-Cupertino Bar Association (November 1996)
The Use of CACI Instructions – Sunnyvale-Cupertino Bar Association (2004)
California College of Podiatric Medicine – San Francisco – “The Podiatrist and Malpractice Claims” – Dealing With Lawyers (February 1997)
Santa Clara County Bar Association – “Bridging the Gap Program” (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999); “Train the Trainer”
- Workshop Leader (May 1997, October 1998); “Law Office Management” (January 1998); “Alternative Dispute Resolution” (Feb. 1998); “Client Relations” (Feb. 1999); “Stress Management – Balancing Personal and Professional Life” (Feb. 1998, Feb. 1999, March 2005); “How to Plan and Shape a Coherent Civil Case” (May 2000); Leadership Workshop (2001, 2002 and 2003); “The Rhetoric of Torts: Themes, Stories, Analogies, Anecdotes and References to Popular Culture in Closing Arguments” (September 2003); “The Nuts and Bolts of Elder Abuse (Physical & Financial)” (July 2005); Speaker on Retirement Options for Lawyers With 25 Years+ Experience (February 2006); Speaker on Balancing Personal and Professional Life (2016)
WestMed Training – 2002 Paramedic & EMT Class – Legal and Ethical Responsibilities (Jan. 2002, Nov. 2005, Jan/Feb. 2009, Feb. 2010)
Emergency Nurses Assn. – Annual Medical Legal Update – 2001, 2002, 2004
Monterey County Bar Association – Elder Abuse Law, Mar. 2006
Santa Clara County Counsel – Seminar on Mediating a Case, Nov. 2007
Sunnyvale/Cupertino Bar Association – “The Nuts and Bolts of Elder Abuse (Physical and Financial)”, April 2007
Saratoga Senior Center – “Elder Abuse and Senior Citizen Law”, July 2009
San Francisco Bar Association – “Mediation Do’s and Don’ts”, September 2009
San Joaquin County Trial Lawyers Association – Masters Seminar – Trial Evidence 2010 in Light of CACI Instructions, August 2010
State Bar of California – State Bar Convention, “How to Say No: Sound Financial Consideration for Running a Practice” (Sept. 2010; June 2011)
Santa Cruz Bar Association – “Law Practice Stressors: Balancing a Personal and Professional Life”, Sept. 2017
DaVita Litigation Meeting – “Mediating a Case” (March 2018)
California Medical Legal Committee – “Mediating a Case” (April 2018)
Alameda County Bar Association – “Effective Mediation and Negotiating Tactics for Trial Attorneys” (May 2018)

Affiliations & Memberships

Hastings College of Trial and Appellate Advocacy, Lecturer and Course Instructor (1983 -1990)
Holy Names High School, Oakland, California, Introduction to Law (1985 -1989)
University of Santa Clara, School of Law
- College of Advocacy, Course Leader (June 1993)
- Guest lecturer, course in mediation practice (2009 -2013)
- Judge for the 2001 Honors Moot Court Competition
Lincoln Law School, Lecturer in Trial Practice (Feb. 1994)
Lincoln Law School, Professor of Trial Practice (1998-2000)
Lincoln Law School, Outstanding Professor (2000-2001)
Lincoln Law School, Professor of Torts (Nov. 1994-2017)

Community Involvement

California Rotary Clubs – Polio Talks on Jane Boyle Needham’s Life in an Iron Lung (2015 – Present)
Martindale-Hubbell “A.V.” rated (1976 to present) (Rated AV Preeminent for 2000 – Present)
ABOTA Don Bailey Award for Continued Civility, Integrity and Professionalism (2017)
Trial Lawyer of the Year, Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association (2014)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association (2012)
Professional Lawyer of the Year, Santa Clara County Bar Association (2011)
Awarded Mediator of the Year, San Francisco Trial Lawyers (2011)
Spirit of CEB Award 2007 Given for Years of Teaching Lawyers in Civil Litigation Programs
San Jose Magazine – Silicon Valley’s Top Lawyers (2002-present)
Super Lawyers, Northern California (2004-present)
Super Lawyers, Northern California Top 100 (2005-2006)
Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2005)
Trial Lawyer of Year (1997), Recognition of 25 Years of Presenting “What’s New in Tort & Trial Seminar” to trial lawyers at various locations in California (2008); Public Justice Award (2009), Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers
Board of Trustees, Lincoln Law School of San Jose (1999 to 2004) (Chairman 12/2001to 2003)
SEABOTA, Nashville, 2010
TEX-ABOTA, Santa Fe, 2011
CEB Core Faculty Training – Participant – San Francisco (November 1996)
Pepperdine University Advanced Mediation Training in Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and Employment Litigation (Pepperdine, June 2004)
Appointed Counsel in a variety of California State Bar disciplinary matters Awarded Outstanding Professor, Lincoln Law School (1999-2000)
Served as Judge in National Trial Competition – Western Regional
Served as an Arbitrator in professional negligence cases for the Judicial Arbitration Program of San Francisco County
Served as an Arbitrator for uninsured and underinsured motorist cases, Kaiser cases, Judicial Arbitration, and Fee Disputes
Served as Judge Pro Tem in settlement conferences, San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties
Served as Mediator in all varieties of civil litigation matters
Served as Judge Pro Tem for trials, San Francisco County (1991-jury, 1994-non-jury, 1996-jury)
Served on Judge Pro Tem panel for trials, Santa Clara County (1996 – present)
Serve as consultant/expert in a variety of civil litigation matters
1st Lt., U.S. Army (1971-1972)
Participated in 4,200 mile bike ride across North America (June-July 2010), participated in a 1,300 mile ride through British Columbia (August 2011) and participated in a ride through the French and Italian Alps (September 2011), all raising money for the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation
Participated in a 1,764-mile bike ride in 17 days, with 130,000 feet of climbing and 104 miles per day from Atlanta, Georgia to Portland, Maine (Eastern Mountains Ride) (September 2012). Also raising money for the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation.
Participated in a 2,500-mile bike ride over 33 days, with over 100,000 feet of climbing from El Paso, Texas to Jasper, Alberta (June and July 2015). Also raising money for the Children’s Skin Disease.
Triathlete
- Hawaii Ironman 2005, 2007
- Lake Placid Ironman 2002
- Canadian Ironman 2000, 2001
- Santa Rosa Ironman (Aqua, Bike) 2017
- Variety of ½ Ironmans and Olympic distances.
- ½ Ironman Santa Rosa (Aqua, Bike) May 2017
Trained and participated for the benefit of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America – Team in Training, and for the benefit of AIDS research in five California AIDS Lifecycle rides and three California AIDS rides, the European AIDS ride, and the Hawaii AIDS ride
Marathon Runner (12)
Bicyclist
Annual One Week of Bike Riding in Paso Robles (2012 – 2019)
Annual Bike Ride from Carmel to San Simeon (2011 – 2019)
Ride from San Jose to Hearst Castle and Back (350 miles, four days, 23,000 feet of climbing) (2019)
Tour of the California Alps, Death Ride (129 miles, 15,700 feet of climbing), 2013 (four passes), 2014 (four passes), 2016 (five passes)
Birthday Bike Ride Around the Bay, ~190 miles (2012 – 2016)
Tolerable Two’s (200K, 11,457 feet of climbing) (2016, 2019)
Participated in climbs in the Italian and French Alps September 2014 (Gavia, Stelvio, Galibier, Alpe D’Huez, Col De Sarenne, Col De Glandon, Col De La Croix De Fer)
Biked Haleakala up (10,023 feet) and down September 2016
Paso Gran Fundo (one week of bike riding) 2012 – 2019
America’s Most Beautiful Ride around Lake Tahoe 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Crater Lake Oregon, 100-mile bike ride, August 2017 and August 2018
Santa Cruz AIDS Ride (2015 – 2016, 100K) (2017 – 101.4 miles)
Tour de Tucson, 106-mile bike ride (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018)
Natchez Trace, 2018 (Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS 444 mile bike ride)
L’Etape California, Livermore 2016, Folsom 2018
Bay to Breakers – 52 in a row (1970-2021) (2020 and 2021 – virtual runs due to COVID-19)

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