This is the property of the Daily Journal Corporation and fully protected by copyright. It is made available only to Daily Journal subscribers for personal or collaborative purposes and may not be distributed, reproduced, modified, stored or transferred without written permission. Please click "Reprint" to order presentation-ready copies to distribute to clients or use in commercial marketing materials or for permission to post on a website. and copyright (showing year of publication) at the bottom.
Subscribe to the Daily Journal for access to Daily Appellate Reports, Verdicts, Judicial Profiles and more...

Torts/Personal Injury

May 18, 2026

Chris Dolan got pissed, and it resulted in a historic verdict

Fresh off a record-setting Alameda County settlement, plaintiffs' lawyer Chris Dolan discusses suing police agencies, exposing misconduct through video evidence, and why cases against authority still drive his practice.

Chris Dolan got pissed, and it resulted in a historic verdict
Chris Dolan

A case must meet one of three requirements for San Francisco powerhouse trial lawyer Christopher Dolan to consider taking it on.

"It has to either make me a profit, change a policy or piss me off," Dolan said.

He was speaking by phone Thursday from Cabo San Lucas, where he was teaching at the annual trial college of another powerhouse in the plaintiffs' bar, Gary Dordick.

Cases against law enforcement agencies, Dolan said, rarely make money, but the...

To continue reading, please subscribe.
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$895, but save $100 when you subscribe today… Just $795 for the first year!

Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)

Already a subscriber?

Enewsletter Sign-up