Attorneys > Renée Welze Livingston
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As the founding member of Livingston Law Firm, Renée Welze Livingston had the vision and resolve to build a preeminent civil trial firm in the thriving East Bay community of Walnut Creek in 2000. The firm attracts top lawyers dedicated to serving an elite and discriminating national client base, and is committed to increasing diversity in the legal profession. Renée serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms and takes an active role in mentoring women lawyers on the challenges and opportunities of being a woman attorney and business owner.
An accomplished trial lawyer, Renée is often engaged to handle complex legal matters in state and federal court that require thoughtful evaluation, creative resolution strategy and effective trial presentation. She handles catastrophic injury, wrongful death and other high-exposure cases primarily in the areas of product liability, trucking and transportation, premises liability and aggravated sexual assault. She brings legal excellence, genuine enthusiasm, unending dedication and the utmost professionalism to each engagement. Renée is an active member of the Defense Research Institute and the Association of Defense Counsel, a frequent lecturer on civil trial practice, and a tireless volunteer for her alma mater, the University of California, Santa Barbara.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EMPLOYMENT
A-V rated civil trial attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. Listed in Best’s Directory of Recommended Insurance Attorneys and Adjusters. Tried numerous cases to verdict before juries in state and federal court. Particular expertise in product liability, wrongful death and catastrophic injury, trucking and commercial transportation, fire and casualty, sexual harassment and discrimination, intentional torts including sexual assault and molestation, premises liability, and insurance coverage.
AUGUST 2000-PRESENT
SHAREHOLDER
Livingston Law Firm
A Professional Corporation
Walnut Creek, California
PARTNER
Livingston Tate LLP
Walnut Creek, California
General civil litigation practice with emphasis on representation of corporate and individual clients in complex personal injury and wrongful death matters. Served as regional counsel for national beverage bottling and distributing company, and currently serves as California counsel for national wholesale distributor of grocery and food service industry products and equipment.
JANUARY 1992-AUGUST 2000
PARTNER
SEPTEMBER 1986-DECEMBER 1991
ASSOCIATE
Bledsoe, Cathcart, Diestel, Livingston & Pedersen LLP
San Francisco, California
General partner in defense trial practice and litigation firm.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Defense Research Institute, Insurance Law, Product Liability and Trucking Law Committees; American Bar Association, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice and Litigation Sections; Queen’s Bench; Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada; San Francisco and Contra Costa County Bar Associations; National Association of Women Lawyers; National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF).
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Arbitrator/Mediator, San Francisco and Contra Costa County Superior Courts; Mentor, U.S.F. Women Lawyers Committee; Officer and Director, UCSB Alumni Association Board of Directors, 1991-1997; Member, UCSB Bay Area Leadership Forum, 1998-present; Member, UCSB Northern California Campaign Committee, 2004-present; Director, National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, 2004-present; Chair, NAMWOLF Annual Meeting Steering Committee, 2006.
PUBLICATIONS
Overcoming the Challenges of Starting and Growing a Woman-Owned Law Firm, ADC Defense Comment, Vol. 19, No. 2/Summer 2004; Contra Costa Lawyer, October 2003
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Featured Panelist, National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, Annual Meeting (October 2005)
Featured Panelist, Women in the Profession Rountable Discussion, Cal Law/The Recorder Roundtable Series (November 2006)
Faculty, National Business Institute
Trying the Wrongful Death Case in California: Strategies in Preparation and Valuation (January 2003)
Featured Panelist, California Continuing Education of the Bar
Maximizing the Use of Experts (May 2006)
Preparing & Examining Expert Witnesses (August 2004)
Getting the Most Out of Your Expert Witnesses (August 2003)
Preparing a Case for Trial: The Last 100 Days Before Trial (February 2001)
Preparing for and Conducting Expert Witness Depositions (November 2000)
Guest Lecturer on Civil Procedure and Evidence, Hastings College of Law; Guest Lecturer on California Litigation: Practices and Procedures, Premises Liability, Insurance Claims Handling, Discovery Procedures, Wrongful Eviction Under the San Francisco Rent Ordinance, Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith, for The PMA Insurance Group, State Farm Insurance Companies and The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies
PUBLISHED DECISIONS
Becker v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. (N.D. Cal. 1987) 664 F.Supp. 460; Bakanauskas v. Urdan (1988) 206 Cal.App.3d 621; Calvillo-Silva v. Home Grocery (1998) 19 Cal.4th 714
EDUCATION
JURIS DOCTOR, HONORS
University of San Francisco School of Law
MAY 1986, San Francisco, California
Admitted to California Bar, December 1986
Admitted to United States District Court
Northern District of California, December 1986
Eastern District of California, December 1998
Central District of California, September 2005
Southern District of California, March, 2008
Admitted to United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, December 1986
BACHELOR OF ARTS, LIBERAL STUDIES, HIGH HONORS
University of California, Santa Barbara
JUNE 1982, Santa Barbara, California
PERSONAL
East Bay Native. Married, three children. Enjoys swimming, rollerblading, gardening, wine tasting, traveling, entertaining.
