Up & Comers: 10 of California's promising young litigators
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Operation Underdog When David Ring entered law school, his aspirations soared no higher than the nearest sports stadium. He was going to be the ultimate sports agent, a broker to the stars of modern athletics. His first internship position at a talent agency opened his eyes, he says. "I didn't want to baby-sit well-paid adult athletes," Ring says. His response to these excesses was to become determined to achieve justice through the legal profession. "My choice of plaintiff-side litigation was easy," he says. "I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the underdog. I'm always rooting against Goliath." Starting with cases in product liability and personal injury, his practice focuses largely on the liability of third parties, such as school districts, which act negligently in supervising children. In 1993, Ring joined Los Angeles' McNicholas & McNicholas, making partner in 1997. "David is a complete lawyer," Patrick McNicholas, one of Ring's colleagues at the firm, says. McNicholas notes Ring's versatility in any mater related to litigation. "He's the Magic Johnson of the law. He can play any position, from work-up to trial to appeal, and consistently perform with excellence, integrity and competence," McNicholas says. Ring says he sees his job as empowering children and their families. In the absence of a strong and dedicated advocate, he says, they are helpless to navigate the bureaucracies with which they are faced when the system breaks down. Ring says his greatest challenge in litigation is finding the most compassionate way to resolve cases. In a recent action, he represented a young female student who had been in a sexual relationship with a female teacher. "The school district was warned of the relationship but performed an inadequate investigation," Ring says. The relationship between student and teacher eventually soured and the student suffered a nervous collapse. Ring sued the school district, but rather than subject the fragile girl to the rigors of a formal deposition, he arranged an informal interview with the defense attorney. The approach allowed the girl to tell her story in a comfortable and more private atmosphere over the course of a few hours, rather than over several days under the rigors of sworn deposition testimony. "The case settled soon after [the interview], without the girl's appearance in court," Ring says. According to Ring, the defendants in these types of cases can often avoid the lawsuits they face. "It's shocking how often red flags pop up and are ignored until it's too late," he says. These obvious warning signs are a significant part of Ring's motivation in his representation of children. "I try to force school districts and other entities to use a higher level of scrutiny in these red flag areas," he says, "so that future incidents might be avoided." He strives to achieve this through a straightforward trial philosophy. "Be yourself, so you never lose your credibility," he says. "You have to know yourself, which can be tricky. But it's an essential tool." Ring's approach also requires strict attention to detail. "Once a jury sees inaccuracies, even unintentional or minor ones, its trust in the lawyer may be gone forever," Ring says. Gaining a jury's trust requires hard work and long hours, Ring says. During trial, he arrives in court early, before the jury assembles, and stays late, until after the jury leaves. "This helps the jury see how important this case is to the lawyer, which helps the jurors respect the advocate, the client and the case," he says. Ring says he values hard work over theatrics in trial advocacy. "I'm not a screamer in court," he says. "Jurors value logic over loudness." Law partner Patrick McNicholas says he admires Ring's ability to communicate with just about anyone. "He has an uncanny ability to deliver a succinct, eloquent message to the jury," Patrick McNicholas says. Ring says he is most comfortable when he puts his faith in the jury. "They're smarter than most lawyers give them credit for," Ring says. |
