Douglas Saeltzer

Douglas S. Saeltzer is a Shareholder at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger (Walkup Personal Injury Lawyers) in San Francisco. He has represented seriously injured clients at the firm since 1998 and has obtained more than $75 million in jury verdicts and settlements for the firm's clients.

Saeltzer specializes in large personal injury cases involving defective products, construction-related accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, brain injuries, wrongful death, and other catastrophic causes. He has successfully argued cases at the California Court of Appeal and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and one of his cases established law ensuring that all injured workers are entitled to full recovery for their lost wages.

Before joining Walkup, Saeltzer began his legal career as a prosecutor in the United States Army. He attended the U.S. Army Airborne School and was selected for the 82nd Airborne Division, where he prosecuted criminal cases, and was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain with a Meritorious Service Medal.

He earned his Juris Doctor from UC Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco), where he served on the Constitutional Law Quarterly. For the past 20 years, he has been an assistant professor at UC Law San Francisco, teaching an upper-level course called Practical Civil Litigation.

Saeltzer is the President-Elect of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and will assume the presidency in 2026. He has been continuously selected as a Northern California Super Lawyer since 2010, was elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in 2010, and has been voted to Best Lawyers in America since 2011.