Attorney Bios
JOHN D. WINER 
John D. Winer is recognized State-wide by his colleagues as an outstanding litigation and trial attorney.
He has obtained record setting verdicts and settlements totalling well over $50,000,000 over the last 20 years.
Mr. Winer is frequently asked to lecture to other attorneys in his areas of specialty which includes all types of personal injury cases, settlement
of significant cases, litigation techniques and psychotherapist malpractice / healthcare provider sex abuse, sexual harassment,
traumatic brain injury and serious physical and psychological injury cases, including post traumatic stress disorder cases.
In 1994, he spoke on a program with Johnnie Cochran on "Protecting the Young and Opressed, the Mentally Ill and Incapacitated".
Mr. Winer has received many awards for his contribution to the trial bar including four California Trial Lawyer Association Presidential
Awards of Merit and one California Trial Lawyer Association Outstanding Achievement Award.
Mr. Winer has received the Martindale-Hubbell AV rating which "is a public confirmation of the status [he]
has acheived as a highly respected, ethical member of the bar. It signifies that [his] legal abilities
are of the very highest standard and that [his] professional ethics and conduct are above question," John Agel, Vice President, Ratings, Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Winer has appeared on multiple television and radio programs and a number of his cases have received wide media attention.
Mr. Winer has been recognized as a leader in the San Francisco and State-wide trial bar. He was a Vice Predident of the Consumer Attorneys of California, the largest
plaintiffs' attorney State-wide organization in the country, for six years and he is currently the President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers
Association, a leading plaintiff attorney organization in San Francisco.
Please see below for more information regarding Mr. Winer's background
TRIAL EXPERIENCE:
1980-Present:
Many civil jury trials to verdict including Rahn v. Lowinger. M.D.,
resulted in a $7.1 million dollar verdict; Walker v. Parzen which resulted in a $4.5 million dollar verdict; and
Curtis v. Dizmang in which a jury awarded $1.5 million dollars.
PRESENT POSITIONS:
2000-Present: President, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1999-Present: Education Chair, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1996-Present: Advisory Board, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination
Reporter
1993-Present: Co-Founder of the National Advocacy Network for Abused
Patients
1991-Present: San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association Board
1989-Present : California Trial Lawyers Association Recognition of
Experience Board.
FORMER POSITIONS:
1994-1999: Vice President, Consumer Attorneys of California
(formerly California Trial Lawyers Association)
1998-1999: President Elect, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1996-1997: Treasurer, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1995-1996: Parliamentarian, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1995-1996: Education Chair, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1998: Parliamentarian, Consumer Attorneys of California
1992-1994: Financial Secretary, CTLA
TEACHING POSITIONS:
1988-Present: Faculty, Hastings College of Trial Advocacy
1988-1990 : Faculty Examiner, American Academy of Psychiatry
and the Law
1996-Present: Faculty, ATLA National College of Advocacy, Ultimate Trial
Advocacy Course
1999 : Taught class on therapist malpractice issues to San Francisco
State University psychology master students.
HONORS / CERTIFICATION:
California Trial Lawyers Association (Consumer Attorneys of California) -Recognition of
Experience certification in the following areas:
- Experienced Trial Lawyer
- Professional Negligence
- Products Liability
- General Personal Injury
- Public Entity Liability
AWARDS:
1991: CTLA Outstanding Achievement Award
1992 : CTLA Presidential Award of Merit
1993 : CTLA Presidential Award of Merit
1995: CTLA Presidential Award of Merit
1996: CA-PAC Trench Soldier Award
1996: Outstanding Service Award on Behalf of the Consumers of the State of
California by CA-PAC
1998: Consumer Attorneys of California, Presidents Club
1998: Consumer Attorneys of California, Presidential Award of Merit
RATING:
Martindale-Hubbell's AV Rating (the highest rating in the Directory).
SIGNIFICANT ARBITRATION AWARD:
1990: Webster v. DeAnda - Arbitration award of $1.37 million.
0'Hehir v. Kaiser - $175,000 binding arbitration award on behalf of
three sisters whose sister died as a result of medical malpractice
at Kaiser.
1999: Roe v. Doe - $200,000 binding arbitration award on behalf of a
woman abused by her internist/boyfriend
CHAIRPERSONSHIPS:
1998: Chair, CAOC Tahoe Seminar
1998: Education Chair, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1995: Chair, CTLA Annual Convention
1996: Education Chair, San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1993: Chair, CTLA Annual Convention
1992: Co-Chair, CTLA Annual Convention
COMMITTEES:
1993-Present: Consumer Attorneys of California, Medical
Malpractice Committee
1997-1998: San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association Employment
Law Committee
1993-1999: Consumer Attorneys of California, Education Committee
PRIVATE PRACTICE:
1990-Present: Principal, LAW OFFICES OF JOHN D. WINER
1986-1990 : Partner, LESS, WEAVER & WINER, San Francisco
1980-1986: Associate, LEWIS & LEWIS, San Francisco
EDUCATION:
1972-1976: B.A. University of Florida
1976-1979 : JD University of San Francisco
MEMBERSHIPS:
1980-Present: California Trial Lawyers-Association - Sustaining Member
1980-Present: American Trial Lawyers Association - Sustaining Member
1980-Present: San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
1997-Present: Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
JUDGE PRO TEM:
1996-1999: Judge Pro Tem, San Francisco Early Settlement Program
1996-2000: Judge Pro Tem, Settlement Conferences in San Francisco
on the day of trial
JUDGE. TRIAL ADVOCACY:
1996-1999: Judge Trial Advocacy Program, Golden Gate University
MEDIATOR:
1995-Present: Mediator in personal injury/therapist
sexual abuse cases/sexual harassment cases.
ARBITRATOR:
1985-Present: Arbitrator in many personal injury, medical malpractice
and other tort cases
PRACTICE GROUP LEADER:
1998-Present: Co-leader of San Francisco Trial Lawyer Employment
Litigation Practice Group
LEGISLATION:
1984-Present: Review legislation, Consumer Attorneys of California
1989-Present: Testified before Legislature in Sacramento on various bills
JENNIFER K. BERG
Ms. Berg has been a practicing attorney since 1989. She has spent the last six years working for the Law Offices of John D. Winer.
During that time, she has assisted Mr. Winer in handling all of the cases in his office. She actively participates in all aspects of litigation
including trial, depositions and written discovery. She shares the firms philosophy of aggressive, yet compassionate, representation and
her hard work has lead to many of the successful results achieved by the law firm.
Many of the clients of the Law Offices of John D. Winer are women, and they are able to relate comfortably to Ms. Berg.
Ms. Berg explains, "I have worked for the Law Offices of John D. Winer for over six years. I knew from the beginning that it was the
right place for me as I feel passionately about both the areas of law that we practice and our clients. In addition to the work that I do to advance our clients' cases,
I take particular pride in being a source of personal support to them at times when litigation can become difficult."
"I am always available to our clients to answer any questions and simply lend an ear during times of crisis. Indeed, this is particularly
important when uncomfortable feelings come up from our clients in the course of litigation."
"Although our female clients are comfortable in dealing with Mr. Winer, I have found that they sometimes find it easier to communicate some of the
more intimate aspects of their case to a women. I enjoy being able to work for a firm where not only the financial needs of our clients are met, but also the psychological needs."
EDUCATION:
1989: J.D. - Catholic University of America
1984: B.A. (with honors) - University of California at Santa Barbara
POSITION:
MEMBERSHIPS:
State Bar of California
Bar Assocaition of San Francisco
Barristers Club of San Francisco
Consumer Attorneys of California
San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
FELICIA C. CURRAN
Felicia Curran has been a practicing attorney since 1987. She has handled every aspect of litigation in both state and federal court, many times over, and is a vigorous advocate on her clients' behalf.
Prior to joining The Law Offices of John D. Winer, Ms. Curran was an associate at Sterns & Walker, where she represented plaintiffs in lawsuits involving employment discrimination and wrongful termination, sexual harassment, medical malpractice, dangerous conditions of public highways, aviation accidents, and personal injury. Together with other lawyers in the firm, she successfully concluded a wrongful death action brought against the State of California for its negligence in the design of a highway, which resulted in a cross-median crash with multiple fatalities, by defeating the claims for sovereign immunity from suit.
During 1998, Ms. Curran completed a three week federal jury trial on behalf of an Amtrak female locomotive engineer who had been the victim of sex discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment. Together with her co-counsel, she obtained a combined jury verdict/equitable relief award in excess of one million dollars, which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in the plaintiff's favor, Gotthardt v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (AMTRAK) 191 F.3d 1148 (9th Cir. 1999). The Gotthardt case is the first appellate decision in this Circuit holding that the damage cap of 42 U.S.C. Section 1981a(b)(3) does not apply to an employee's claims for lost future wages ("front pay") under Title VII.
Ms. Curran has also been in-house Of Counsel to Oakland Unified School District, where she handled all kinds of lawsuits involving public entity litigation, negligent supervision of children, and sexual harassment of students by teachers.
Ms. Curran has also worked on an important plaintiff's case involving ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), including doing the Ninth Circuit briefs in an important case, Silvera v. Mutual of New York, 884 F.2d 423 (9th Cir. 1989) where the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals first expanded the rights of public employees to sue their insurance companies for bad faith denial of health care insurance under the "governmental plan" exemption to ERISA.
EDUCATION:
1987: J.D. Hastings College of the Law, University of California
1977-1984: Ph.D. Candidate in Philosophy, U.C. Berkeley
POSITION:
MEMBERSHIPS:
State Bar of California
California Employment Lawyers' Association
Alameda County Bar Association
Alameda County Women Lawyers Association
JUDITH C. WOLFF
The Law Offices of John D. Winer handles many Sexual Harassment and Employment DIscrimination cases. Judith C. Wolff practices in the
same office space as the Law Offices of John D. Winer and participates in the litigation of many of their employment cases.
Ms. Wolff graduacted from Boston University School of Law in 1991. She has been litigating employment and sexual harassment cases since setting up a
practice in the Bay Area.
Mr. Winer and Ms. Wolff have worked together to achieve dozens of successful results in sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
Ms. Wolff brings a great deal of energy, enthusiasm and dedication to the representation of men and women who have been
abused, harassed and discriminated against in the work place.
Ms. Wolff explains, "my clients are men and women who have been abused in the workplace, usually by those who hold
positions of authority over them. Sexual harassment and discrimination is an abuse of power. Through the work that
we do on our cases, we help people to take their power back."
"I am proud to say that because of our work, many companies have changed their policies to eliminate or greatly reduce sexual harassment and discrimination."
POSITION:
EDUCATION:
1991: J.D. - Boston University School of Law
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