About Cynthia McGuinn

Cynthia McGuinn is a trial lawyer whose jury trial record includes multiple eight-figure verdicts. In 2015 she obtained the largest personal injury verdict in Sonoma County history. She represents clients ranging from infants to the elderly, with a substantial portion of her work involving wrongful death, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and brain injury cases. Her client roster has included industrial workers across many trades as well as professionals such as nurses, doctors, teachers, and judges. McGuinn was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association in 2003 and again by the California chapters of ABOTA in 2022.

She was the first woman elected president of the San Francisco chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1998 and served as ABOTA's national president in 2018. She is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. She has been included in California Super Lawyers every year since 2005 and in The Best Lawyers in America since 2008. McGuinn also lectures on trial advocacy at UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School.

Proven verdicts and settlements at Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn

These results are credited to Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn. A result appears under an attorney's own name only when a published source names them as counsel on the case.

$47.5 millionSettlementTop 20 of 2018 · #16

A 12-year-old's catastrophic injuries from a rotten campground tree produced a $47.5 million pretrial settlement against San Mateo County, PG&E, and their contractors, reportedly the largest single-plaintiff personal injury settlement in California history.

San Mateo County, CA · 2018Premises LiabilityRead the full story →
$24 millionSettlement

A 27-year-old Bay Area woman suffered permanent paralysis after an Acura dealership employee, acting as a self-appointed Good Samaritan, forced her vehicle off I-680 and into a catastrophic rollover; the case settled for $24 million, the largest personal-injury settlement in Northern California for 2016.

Walnut Creek / Contra Costa County, CA · 2016Car AccidentsRead the full story →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of California

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$305 Million Settlement Ends 19-Year Lead Paint Fight Against Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra, and NL Industries
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$41.95 Million Verdict Against Walmart After In-Store Baseball Bat Attack

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.