Litigation
Jun. 15, 2002
The Glow Success
Top 30 Women Litigators - Carol A. Salmacia - The victories of plaintiffs' attorneys often make for splashy headlines. But when defense counsel win, their cases rarely garner the same attention.
Carol A. Salmacia
The victories of plaintiffs' attorneys often make for splashy headlines. But when defense counsel win, their cases rarely garner the same attention.
"I have never seen one of my defense verdicts in a newspaper," medical malpractice attorney Carol A. Salmacia of Santa Ana's Ahrens Rosa & Salmacia says.
That's fine by her.
"My thing is to keep things under control, to keep things quiet," Salmacia, 56, says.
Rather than having the public heap praise, Salmacia celebrates privately with her clients, who have given her fine crystal, champagne and red roses in gratitude over the years.
The glow of success she often basks in is sometimes tempered with cases in which she must confront plaintiffs who suffer from tragic injuries. Her clients have faced allegations that they've caused comas, brain damage and blindness, among other things.
"My friends don't really understand how I can deal with it," the Seattle native says.
To help cope, she assumes a professional, detached point of view.
"You have to stand back," she says. "I'm not the judge. I'm not the jury."
Salmacia says she always can find facts or laws favorable to her clients. And if opposing counsel doesn't recognize the wisdom of her arguments, she'll see them in court. She has tried more than 80 cases.
Her experience has earned her membership in the exclusive American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates. Next year, she'll be inducted into the International Society of Barristers.
Eron Yehuda
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