Michael G. Watters

Mr. Watters is the firm’s senior litigation partner as well as the firm’s Administrative Partner. He was born on April 20, 1945, in Richland, Washington. Mr. Watters specializes in all aspects of trial work, with emphasis on complex civil litigation, business litigation, employment litigation, family law, insurance defense including professional liability, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He also defends professional licenses.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with emphases in managerial economics and accounting in 1967 from the University of California at Berkeley. He then attended its Graduate School of Business Administration (now the Haas School) and earned an M.B.A. degree in 1968. Mr. Watters then served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer on active duty from 1969 to 1971, with tours of duty on Okinawa and in Vietnam. He was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V.” He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve for 20 years, retiring in 1991. In 1990 he was called to active duty in support of Operation Desert Shield. Following his release from active duty in 1971, he attended Hastings College of the Law, University of California, graduating with a J.D. in 1974. He then moved to Santa Rosa and was an associate with Spridgen, Barrett, Achor, Luckhardt, Anderson, James & Zeigler, becoming a partner in 1980 in 1982. Just prior to that firm’s dissolution, he founded this firm along with Laurence K. Sawyer, a Sonoma County Superior Court Judge since 1985, and Mr. O’Brien.

Mr. Watters is a member of the State Bar of California and the Sonoma County, Marin County, Napa County, and American Bar Associations. Since 1979 he has been an Arbitrator for the Sonoma, Marin, and Napa County Superior Courts and has been a Superior and Municipal Court Judge (Pro Tem). He also sits as a Mandatory Settlement Conference Panelist for the Sonoma and Marin County Courts. He has also been appointed from time to time as a Special Master and a Discovery Referee by the Sonoma County Superior Court. Mr. Watters has been active in ADR. He has been a Mediator as well as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association for many years. Mr. Watters is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). He is a veteran of numerous Superior Court jury trials and a number of administrative law proceedings. Between 1994 and 1997, Mr. Watters was in trial more than 100 days in 10 cases in the following areas: family law, personal injury, business litigation, employment discrimination (2), bankruptcy, malicious prosecution, and legal malpractice. In each case, the firm’s clients prevailed except for the one day bankruptcy trial. More recently, in 2002, he was in trial for 20 days on three cases including business litigation (fraud in sale of a business) and two family law matters (setting aside a 14-year-old judgment based on duress and defeating a premarital agreement). In his insurance defense practice he has lost only one jury trial in his career. He has also handled numerous appeals and has a number of reported appellate decisions. These include cases in the area of attorney conduct.

He is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). He is a member of the Board of Directors of United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake (Chairman of Corporate Board, 1993, General Campaign Chairman, 1990). He is a member of the local Salvation Army Advisory Board. He is on the faculty of Empire College School of Law and was also a Professor of Law (Torts) (1990-1992).