Widely recognized for her legal work, Ms. Cheng has been ranked as one of the top 50 women lawyers and top 100 lawyers in Northern California. She is listed among the Best Lawyers of America®, LawDragon 500 Leading Lawyers, SuperLawyers®, and San Francisco Best Lawyers. She was chosen as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers of America for 2017. Specializing in complex injuries caused by third-party negligence, Ms. Cheng has obtained multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of disabled citizens throughout California.
She obtained a $19,000,000 award for the death of a 7-year-old caused by a defective rolling gate; a $13,500,000 settlement on behalf of 60-year-old gentleman who suffered severe brain damage due to carbon monoxide poisoning; a $6,800,000 award on behalf of a mother and her child for birth injuries resulting in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy to the child; and a global $14,250,000 settlement on behalf of a 45-year-old man who suffered severe burn injuries in an industrial accident.
Ms. Cheng serves as the Program Director of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Teacher Training Program. In 2012, she was awarded the Robert E. Keeton Award for outstanding service by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. She has led training programs for trial lawyers and judges in Kosovo, Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, and the Caribbean Basin. She created the first trial skills program in San Francisco to promote women lawyers as first chair in civil jury trials. She is the 2015 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 served as the 106th President of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a past President of the San Francisco Trial Lawyer Association and the San Francisco Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. She served two terms on the Executive Committee of ABOTA National. She is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and American College of Trial Lawyers. She serves on the Kaiser Arbitration Oversight Board.
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.
LAW SCHOOL AND TEACHING AFFILIATIONS
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TRIAL ATTORNEYS
Board of Trustees, 2019 to present
Program Director, Advocacy Teacher Training
Program Director, International Training (Kosovo & Macedonia in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice)
Program Director, Caribbean Basin Securities Initiative Trial Advocacy Training (in connection with the National Center for State Courts)
Faculty, Trial Skills & Deposition Training Programs (public, private and government programs)
UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
Board of Trustees, 2022 to present
UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF LAW
Board of Counselors, 2011 - 2018
Board of Governors, 2003 - 2006
Intensive Advocacy Program, Director, 2014 - present
UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW
Adjunct Professor, Trial Advocacy Course, 2010 - 2011
Guest Lecturer, Oral Advocacy for International LLM Program, 2013-2018, 2021 to present
Guest Lecturer, Negotiations 2019, 2022
UC LAW SCHOOL SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY HASTINGS)
Guest Lecturer, Trial Advocacy Course
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
Faculty, Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, 2019. 2021, 2022
