Press Release

MSU Law hosted San Francisco trial attorney Doris Cheng as a part of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute’s Annual Lecture series on March 13 from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Moot Courtroom.

Cheng, one of the top 50 women lawyers and top 100 lawyers in Northern California presented on the topic “Case Framing: Own the Story from Start to Finish.”

Currently, Cheng is a partner in Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger and has an extraordinary portfolio, including seven and eight figure settlements regarding burn victims and brain injuries. She also negotiated the largest civil rights settlement in the State of Arkansas.

Aside from her position in the law firm, she holds multiple positions in the law community, including the Secretary of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Treasurer of the American Board of Trial Advocates (San Francisco Chapter), and a national representative of the board. She is also a member of the Admission to Fellowship Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Internationally, she has organized training programs for trial lawyers and judges.

In academia, Cheng serves as an adjunct professor as well as a member of the Board of Counselors at the University of San Francisco School of Law, and has previously served as faculty at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and Emory University. Additionally, she is the co-author of The Rutter Group California Practice Guide on Personal Injury and Mastering Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials.

Attendees greatly appreciated her insight and found it extremely applicable to their lives.

“I thought her message was something that everyone could relate to, no matter your year in law school,” said Elizabeth Chirco, ’20. “Even as a 1L, we are taught to figure out a theme for our advocacy brief and oral arguments, so her points about framing an argument were particularly useful.”

Cheng also spoke with students separately about careers after the talk.

“The time Ms. Cheng took with a small group of us after the presentation regarding careers after law school and a handful of other topics was even more influential...” said Emily Sexton ’19. “The experience and knowledge I am getting from this program is helping me to gain confidence in my skills and continue to grow.”

Veronica McNally, Director of Trial Advocacy and Externships, stated that the college was thankful for Cheng’s participation in the lecture series.

“We were extremely fortunate to hear Ms. Cheng’s poignant insight into meaningful trial work in furtherance of justice.”