![]() Donald Wild of San Francisco-based Wild, Carey and Fife, got a firsthand account of DeMeo’s approach as opposing counsel in a wrongful death case. Like most trial lawyers, DeMeo harps on diligent preparation and believes that it doesn’t hurt to be a straight shooter. And he co-authored California Deposition and Discovery Practice (Matthew Bender & Co), which many consider the leading textbook on discovery. He is a former faculty member of the Hastings Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy and has lectured frequently for the Continuing Education of the Bar. For instance, he is the only attorney from Sonoma County and one of few plaintiffs’ lawyers to serve as the California chapter president for the American Board of Trial Advocates, according to Weitzenberg. His influence is felt far beyond the office and courtroom walls and even stretches outside the bounds of Northern California. ![]() “I did everything,” DeMeo said, “and then kind of settled into an area that I enjoyed more than the other stuff.”įifty-two years and dozens of successful cases later, it’s safe to say DeMeo chose the correct path and carved it the right way. In those days, all lawyers were general practitioners, covering virtually all aspects of the law, from plaintiffs to defense to contested divorce and other areas of civil litigation. “I didn’t think I wanted to be a lawyer,” he said, “but once I got into it and did it for a while, it just started clicking.” Upon earning his law degree and being admitted to the bar at age 24, he returned to Santa Rosa and began practicing with his father. “I think I remember it so well because it was probably the only one he ever went to.”īorn and raised in Santa Rosa, DeMeo attended Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to the University of San Francisco and then Hastings College of the Law. “I remember my dad going to one of my ballgames when I was in high school,” DeMeo continued. He started working during the Great Depression and just got into that frame of mind that he needed to keep at it in order to survive. “I saw that my father never had any time to do anything but practice law,” DeMeo said. For 61 years, the senior DeMeo seemingly devoted all hours of the day to the family business. Time is one of the reasons DeMeo at first rejected the idea of following his father’s path into law. And he’ll take as much time as needed to help you out.” “Everyone in the county knows, if you have a problem, always call Jack. “That’s just the kind of guy he is,” Weitzenberg continued. “He showed up at my house the next morning with all the documents, and he helped me go through them. “I remember it was a Friday, and I called him, and Jack says to me, ‘What are you doing tomorrow morning?’ I told him I’d be at home,” Weitzenberg recalled. Young Weitzenberg’s boss told him to subpoena DeMeo for documents related to the case, and Weitzenberg decided to place a courtesy call ahead of the order. ![]() That year, the two were on opposite sides of a case. To hear Weitzenberg tell it, DeMeo already was the “preeminent trial lawyer in Sonoma County” in 1974, the year Weitzenberg arrived in Santa Rosa. Obviously, he brings a lot of skills to the table, but his integrity is what impresses people most.” “There isn’t anybody who doesn’t respect Jack, and there isn’t anybody who wouldn’t put him on their short list of great trial lawyers. That’s what I like most about him,” said Bart Weitzenberg, of Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren and Emery, a Santa Rosa-based firm. “Life is so much simpler when you’re working with or against Jack. His is a tale of hard-earned respect, dogged determination and an unfailing generosity that few other attorneys - or persons, for that matter - have been able to match. But DeMeo’s story goes far beyond durability and staying power. Known as the veritable “dean” of Sonoma County trial lawyers, the principal of DeMeo, DeMeo and West in Santa Rosa has been practicing law for 52 years and shows few signs of slowing down.įor someone who as a youth initially resisted law as a profession, the longevity in itself is quite an accomplishment. “Jack” DeMeo certainly should be counted among them. Wine Country has its share of charms, and John F. Courtesy and generosity have molded the so-called “dean” of trial lawyers in Sonoma County 2011 July
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