Doris Cheng

Doris Cheng has been ranked as one of the top 10 lawyers in Northern California. She is listed among the Best Lawyers of America®, LawDragon 500 Leading Lawyers, Super Lawyers® and San Francisco Best Lawyers. She was chosen as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers of America for 2017, and in 2025 was profiled on the cover of Super Lawyers Magazine.

Specializing in complex injuries caused by third-party negligence, Ms. Cheng has obtained multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of disabled plaintiffs. She obtained a $15,000,000 verdict on behalf of a young man who suffered brain injuries due to the delayed diagnosis of a stroke. She completed a $19,000,000 settlement for parents whose son was crushed by a defective gate. She secured a $19,000,000 settlement for wrongful death heirs against an auto manufacturer for a defective fuel line. She obtained a $9,000,000 award to care for a severely disabled boy in a wrongful life action.

A frequent guest lecturer and adjunct professor, Ms. Cheng has trained lawyers and judges nationally and internationally. As part of the Rule of Law Initiative, she has had the privilege of training trial lawyers and judges in Mexico, Kosovo, and Macedonia. She has also collaborated and trained with civil practitioners in Singapore and Belfast. She regularly directs trial skills training programs for criminal prosecution offices in Scotland and throughout the Caribbean Basin.

Ms. Cheng is the Program Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Western Region Advocacy Teacher Training Program. She is a past recipient of the Robert E. Keeton Award for outstanding service by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and a past recipient of the University of San Francisco Professional Achievement Award. She is the inaugural recipient of the American Board of Trial Advocates’ Champion of Justice Award (2022).

Ms. Cheng is involved in local bar associations and community organizations. She was the 106th President of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a past President of the San Francisco Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, San Francisco Trial Lawyer Association, and Justice and Diversity Center. She is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Board of Trial Advocacy, and International Academy of Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board and is a Board Trustee of the University of San Francisco.

She is a co-author of the eminent Rutter Group California Practice Guide on Personal Injury, and the trial practice guide, Mastering the Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials.

Following the induction of new Fellows of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Doris Cheng gave a speech to all the new inductees about being awarded such an elite honor.