Article source: Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, CA
The very fact that you’re looking for a clergy abuse lawyer means you’re probably not in the mood to look through dozens of websites and compare lawyers. It’s not like you’re online shopping. And the whole thing isn’t easy when you realize everyone calls themselves experienced, compassionate, and says they’re “fighting for survivors”.
It’s almost cringey.
The problem is that sexual abuse cases that involve the clergy are very specific, and not every lawyer can take them on. A lot of lawyers can handle sexual abuse claims, but not all of them have actually gone up against a Catholic diocese and represented survivors.
| For childhood sexual assault that has occurred before Jan 1, 2024, California allows a civil claim within 22 years after the victim turns 18, or within a 5-year period after psychological injury/illnes caused by the abuse has been discovered. – California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.11 |
That’s what this article will focus on, so keep reading.
Top Clergy Abuse Lawyers in California
Injury Lawyer Team focuses a lot on sexual abuse and cases of institutional misconduct, which involve claims that include clergy and religious organizations.
The great thing about them is that their material on California is incredibly specific.
Usually, what you’d see is a generic page on clergy abuse, but Injury Lawyer Team California attorneys site has information tied to dioceses and archdioceses across the state. That includes Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Oakland, and so on. That comes in really handy when you’re trying to wrap your head around an older case or check which exact institution was involved.
Another thing you’ll find on the site is information on accused clergy, filing rules, settlements, and resources for survivors.
Keep in mind that Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers says that they might work with firms they’re affiliated with on these cases, so there’s a chance that some other law firm could be part of your representation.
Manly, Stewart, Finaldi & Thom
Some law firms like to say that they handle clergy abuse cases. Then there are those that have a public record that makes that claim easy to verify, and Manly, Stewart, Finaldi & Thom fall into that category.
John C. Manly has spent more than 25 years working on sexual abuse litigation, and his firm has been involved in some of the biggest cases that involve the Catholic Church in California. The numbers are impressive, too – a $660 million (USD) Los Angeles Archdiocese settlement and (roughly) a $198 million Diocese of San Diego resolution. These aren’t all of the recoveries, of course, but they’re some of the more impressive ones, so they deserve a mention.
If you want more information on that, you can find it on their website. You can go see the actual results of their cases, see who the defendants were, settlements, litigation history, etc.
The Zalkin Law Firm
When you start looking up big California clergy abuse cases, one name will keep popping up: Irwin Zalkin. His track record is impressive, to say the least. He was part of the legal team in the $100 million Diocese of Orange settlement, he served as liaison counsel for 144 survivors in the San Diego Diocese bankruptcy, and he was also one of the lead lawyers in the trial against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. That gives you a clear picture, doesn’t it?
There’s also another thing that the Zalkin Law Firm does that’s incredibly useful: they publish details on accused priests by diocese. You can easily look up if a certain priest has been named before, or if they served.
These pages can save you a lot of digging.
Boucher LLP
Raymond Boucher is another name that stands out from the rest, and there are two reasons for that: the size of the clergy cases in California that he’s worked on, and the fight over church records that came with those cases.
Boucher was involved in the $660 million Archdiocese of Los Angeles settlement (mentioned previously), and in litigation that ended up with survivors connected to the Diocese of San Diego getting almost $200 million. But that isn’t even the most interesting part of his work. What’s even more worth mentioning (and remembering!) is what happened behind closed doors. He spent YEARS pushing the Los Angeles Diocese and other religious orders to release their clergy files, and if you’re curious about those records, you’ll be happy to know that many of them can be found on their firm’s website.
This can give you something concrete to research, especially if the abuse happened a long time ago.
Although the statute of limitations in California has been removed for childhood sexual abuse that happened on or after Jan 1 2024, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything if what you went through happened 10 or 20 years ago.
Conclusion
You really can’t go wrong with any of the law firms mentioned in this article.
When you sum it all up, it all comes down to details, and even if you’re the kind of person who’s easily impressed by the numbers, most of the lawyers presented here have them.
Generally, before you decide to work with someone, check their track record and see if they’ve ever even handled a case that involves clergy.
If they have, then they’re worth researching further.
2 Interlinking Opportunities:
From https://www.lawfuel.com/tony-buzbees-mass-tort-diddy-comb-litigation-wave-thousands-hit-hotline/ with anchor high-profile abuse cases
From https://www.lawfuel.com/california-reopens-the-door-what-the-new-assault-law-means-for-firms/ with anchor claims filed against institutions
