Christopher Dolan
VerifiedAbout Christopher Dolan
Christopher B. Dolan is the Founder and Chief Legal Counsel of the Dolan Law Firm, PC. The firm handles personal injury, employment, elder abuse, and civil rights cases throughout California, with offices in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Redondo Beach.
Dolan has tried more than 46 cases and obtained over 26 jury verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 million. His notable case work includes obtaining what has been described as the largest civil rights verdict in U.S. history — a $61 million verdict in a racial/ethnic discrimination case — as well as a $20 million verdict in a Wyndham timeshare wrongful-termination case (2016), a $6.5 million motorcycle injury recovery, a $6 million wrongful death recovery, a $4.25 million child injury recovery, and a $2.5 million employment-discrimination recovery.
He served as President of the Consumer Attorneys of California (2010) and President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (2016), and has twice been named Trial Lawyer of the Year. His honors include the California Lawyer of the Year Award, listings on the Daily Journal's Top 100 Lawyers in California and Top 30 Plaintiff Lawyers, Super Lawyers Top 100 for 11 consecutive years, Best Lawyers, an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and SF Weekly's Best Injury Lawyer (4 consecutive years).
He writes a weekly column, serves as a media legal expert, speaks at legal conferences, and advocates for legislative reforms.
Notable case results
An Alameda County jury awarded $61 million, including $50 million in punitive damages, to two Lebanese-American FedEx Ground drivers a manager harassed with ethnic slurs, a verdict the trial judge later cut to $12.4 million.
Chris Dolan represented the surviving Tran family and reached a $36 million settlement with Alameda County after an off-duty deputy who had failed his psychological exam shot Maria and Benison Tran in their Dublin home.
A San Francisco jury awarded former Wyndham sales representative Trish Williams more than $20 million after the company fired her for reporting a scheme that defrauded elderly timeshare buyers.
An Alameda County jury awarded $18,574,222 to Juanita Cerrato, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after she swerved to avoid a tractor-trailer left blocking her lane on a Fresno highway near midnight.
A Sacramento County jury awarded $17,220,807 to Lethesia Guzman, whose car stalled on the Yolo Causeway before a Morning Star tomato truck set off the chain-reaction crash that killed her fiance and left her with catastrophic injuries.
A San Diego jury awarded $16,702,050, including punitive damages, to Martin Castro-Gonzalez, a 61-year-old man left paraplegic when a drunk driver crashed into the parked truck he was leaning against.
A federal jury found that a City of Roy, Washington police officer used excessive force when he shot two unarmed men riding an off-road vehicle during a 2019 snowstorm, awarding $3.26 million.
Christopher Dolan secured a confidential settlement from Uber in what is widely described as the first wrongful-death suit filed against the company over a driver's conduct, after a New Year's Eve 2013 crosswalk collision in San Francisco killed a 6-year-old girl.
Civil rights verdict (racial/ethnic discrimination)
Wyndham timeshare wrongful termination verdict
Motorcycle injury recovery
Wrongful death recovery
Child injury recovery
Employment discrimination recovery
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
