Litigation
Jun. 15, 2002
The Doctors' Defender
Top 30 Women Litigators - Margaret Holm - Margaret Holm Margaret Holm led the way for female attorneys in Orange County. Holm's many firsts include first female partner and managing partner of Bonne Bridges Mueller O'Keefe & Nichols; first woman in Orange County to be elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers; first woman in Orange County elected to the International Society of Barristers; and the first woman honored with the Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year award by the Orange County Chapter of American Board of Trial Advocates.
Margaret Holm
Margaret Holm led the way for female attorneys in Orange County. Holm's many firsts include first female partner and managing partner of Bonne Bridges Mueller O'Keefe & Nichols; first woman in Orange County to be elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers; first woman in Orange County elected to the International Society of Barristers; and the first woman honored with the Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year award by the Orange County Chapter of American Board of Trial Advocates.
Holm's record is especially impressive for someone who never wanted to be a lawyer. She always had dreamed of being a pediatrician but decided against it and, later, enrolled at the University of Santa Clara School of Law.
Holm, however, sustained her love of medicine and now has a successful medical malpractice and health care practice. She specializes in complex injury matters, wrongful death, medical negligence, HMO liability and elder neglect.
Holm enjoys representing the doctor whose judgment is on trial.
"The person had to make a tough call and now has to defend himself or herself," Holm says.
Holm has to "step into their shoes when they made the decision" to convey to the jury why the doctor made the choice that he or she did, Holm says.
She stresses the need to take the sympathy out of the case so that the jury focuses solely on the facts of the case, which can be difficult. For instance, in 1999, Holm's client faced charges of negligence by a 9-year-old girl who suffered massive brain damage, cerebral palsy and severe retardation during her birth. One person during jury selection began crying, claiming that they couldn't possibly be fair, Holm remembers.
"[That's the] challenge I enjoy the most; help everyone deal with sympathy and then explain," Holm says.
Stefanie Knapp
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