Profile
Paul V. Melodia is a partner at the San Francisco-based law firm of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger. Widely acknowledged as one of the deans of the Northern California personal injury and wrongful death plaintiffs bar, Paul offers a wealth of experience in every facet of personal injury work. His reputation in the field of medical litigation (including medical malpractice, drug and device litigation and hospital-based liability) is unsurpassed. He is a veteran of hundreds of trials and arbitrations and was one of the pioneers in affixing liability on drugmakers for injuries resulting from contraceptives, including the Dalkon Shield IUD. Paul has also been active in the fields of mass tort litigation, product liability litigation and automobile crashworthiness litigation, in which he was one of the first attorneys to successfully prosecute a fuel-fed fire claim against an automobile manufacturer.
A San Francisco native, Paul obtained both his undergraduate and legal educations at the University of California at Berkeley. He holds an AV Preeminent* peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of numerous professional organizations and honor societies, including the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
*AV Preeminent and BV Distinguished are certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell peer review ratings fall into two categories: legal ability and general ethical standards.
About Paul Melodia
Law School: University of California Berkeley School of Law - Boalt Hall
Admitted: 1965, California
Professional Webpage: www.walkuplawoffice.com/CM/WhoWeAre/WhoWeArePaulMelodia.asp
Honors and Awards:
- Listed Among Best Lawyers in America
- Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Diplomate, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Order of the Coif, University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
- Top 5% of Graduating Class, University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Board of Directors, Boalt Hall Alumni Association
- Founding Father, Northern California American Inn of Court
- U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1965
- California, 1965
Verdicts and Settlements:
- In 2010, a $5,000,000 medical malpractice, wrongful death settlement for the husband and daughter of a young doctor who died while undergoing treatment at UCSF. Two $5,000,000 settlements for infants suffering from cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and developmental delays against a group of medical care providers in 2007 and 2008. Design defect of a personal watercraft caused severe internal injuries in a middled aged passenger resulting in a $3,750,000 verdict in Napa County, affirmed on appeal establishing that primary assumption of the risk does not apply to a product liability claim. See Resume for numerous other major verdicts and settlement achieved in recent years., 2010
Educational Background:
- University of California at Berkeley, A.B. in History, 1961
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