Merri A. Baldwin
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Areas of Practice

Ms. Baldwin is chair of the firm’s Attorney Liability and Conduct Practice Group and a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice Group. She focuses on litigating business disputes and attorney liability matters, including trials, arbitration and mediation, and appeals.

Professional Qualifications

Ms. Baldwin represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex litigation matters, including claims of breach of contract, fraud, and partnership disputes. Ms. Baldwin has tried cases to jury verdict and has significant arbitration experience. A significant part of her practice involves handling attorney liability and conduct issues, particularly claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, attorney sanctions and motions to disqualify. She regularly counsels lawyers and law firms on legal ethics and law practice management issues. She represents attorneys in disciplinary matters before the State Bar of California, and has significant experience handling attorney-client fee disputes. Ms. Baldwin has testified as an expert in the areas of legal ethics and attorney standard of care.

Ms. Baldwin is a member of the State Bar of California Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct. She is on the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She has been named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Northern California every year since 2004. Ms. Baldwin is co-chair of the Legal Malpractice Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a committee co-chair for the American Bar Association Litigation Section Committee on Professional Liability Litigation. She is a former vice-chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Program, and received an Award of Merit from the Bar Association of San Francisco for her role on the marriage fairness task force.

Ms. Baldwin frequently lectures to attorneys and professional organizations on issues related to litigation, legal malpractice and ethics issues, and she is an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law. She is co-editor of a book, "The Law of Lawyers' Liability," published in 2012 by First Chair Press and the American Bar Association.

Education

J.D., University of California at Berkeley,
School of Law (Boalt Hall), 1989

B.A., Smith College, 1984
Magna Cum Laude with honors

Bar Admissions
California - 1989