Joseph W. Cotchett

As stated by the National Law Journal, Joseph W. Cotchett is considered by plaintiffs and defense attorneys alike to be one of the foremost trial lawyers in the country. He has been named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the nation for the past 20 years. In recent years, he has been in the Top 3 for best attorneys in Northern California. For several years, he has been named by Super Lawyers to be the number ONE lawyer in Northern California. Since its inception, The Daily Journal has named him to be one of the Top 100 in California for the past many years. In 2019, he was named Consumer Attorney of the Year for his 20-year fight against lead paint manufacturers for poisoning California’s most vulnerable children and communities. The California Labor Federation honored Cotchett with its “Top Slugger for Workers” award in 2019, recognizing his decades of fighting for the underdog. In 2020, Cotchett was named one of the Top 100 Lawyer and the Top 30 Plaintiff Lawyers in California.

As reported in the San Francisco / Los Angeles Daily Journal, Cotchett is “considered one of the best trial strategists in the state,” building a career out of representing the underdog against powerful interests. He is a fearless litigator--once trying two cases at the same time (one in the morning and one in the afternoon)--and winning them both in San Diego Superior Court in 1984. His clients range from corporate giants to groups like Consumers Union – but the issue must be correct for Cotchett. The San Francisco Chronicle rated him as one of the best in California, saying, “The Burlingame attorney has had a star career that’s not only talked about in legal circles but has made headlines around the country. Known mostly as a plaintiffs’ lawyer, many of his cases are filed on behalf of fraud victims and have a widows-and-orphan flavor to them.”

Cotchett consistently has been named one of the most influential lawyers in California, and has been named by the legal press as one of the top 10 trial attorneys in California and has been listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America since its inception.

During his 50-plus year legal career, Cotchett has tried more than 100 cases to verdict, and settled hundreds more, winning numerous jury verdicts, ranging from multi-million dollar fraud, antitrust and securities jury verdicts to several defense verdicts in complex civil cases. He successfully negotiated a multi-million-dollar settlement in a qui tam suit on behalf of the University of California and hundreds of millions of dollars in antitrust, securities, major fraud cases, and mass torts.

In recent years, Cotchett and his firm have taken on the Trump Administration, representing the City of Richmond in the Sanctuary City litigation and filed separate suits representing the City of San Jose in challenging the Trump Administrators' position on the DACA issues (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) pending in the U.S. District Court in Northern California.

Cotchett is the author of numerous articles and a contributing author to numerous magazines. His books include California Products Liability Actions, Matthew Bender; California Courtroom Evidence, LexisNexis; Federal Courtroom Evidence, LexisNexis; Persuasive Opening Statements and Closing Arguments, California Continuing Education of the Bar (1988); The Ethics Gap, Parker & Son Publications (1991); California Courtroom Evidence Foundations, Parker Publications (1993); and numerous law review articles.Cotchett is a prolific author of op-ed pieces and articles on public policy, environmental issues and public integrity. He co-authored and published the book The Coast Time Forgot, a historic guide to the San Mateo County coast. His most recent book The People vs. Greed, Pattons Press (2017) is available on Amazon.