Doug Straus is Shareholder and Chair of Litigation for Buchalter’s San Francisco office. He focuses his practice on high-stakes commercial litigation in the areas of financial services, real estate development and lending, solid waste management and healthcare. Mr. Straus represents both private and public sector clients in dispute resolution in business, real estate, and public sector conflicts.

As a skilled litigator, Mr. Straus has prevailed in jury trials, court trials and arbitrations involving tens of millions of dollars.  He views himself as a problem solver and, despite his consistent successes in trial, his goal is always to obtain the most favorable outcome for his clients as quickly and efficiently as possible.  This means Mr. Straus focuses on all paths for helping clients to settle or otherwise resolve legal disputes while minimizing the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation.  But, where appropriate, Mr. Straus is a superior advocate for his clients in all legal forums.

He has attained an AV rating, the highest rating available, from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been identified as one of San Francisco’s Top Rated Lawyers™.  Mr. Straus has also been recognized in the Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2023 – 2025.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• UC Berkeley School of Law
• Northwestern University

Significant Accomplishments
<ul><li><strong>Partnership/LLC Litigation – </strong>Prevailed at trial to successfully protect LLC Members and Managers from effort to oust them from multi-hundred million dollar real estate project and instead helped them recover tens of millions of dollars in damages and equitable relief.*</li><li><strong>Hospital Ownership Business Dispute </strong>– Helped public entity client recover possession and ownership of community hospital together with tens of millions of dollars in damages from previous hospital operator through a combination of lawsuits, mediations and arbitrations.</li><li><strong>Mortgage Lending/Financial Institutions </strong>– Has successfully defended mortgage servicers, banks and financial services companies in hundreds of mortgage fraud, Homeowners’ Bill of Right, RESPA, TILA, debt collection and other statutory, tort and contract claims involving millions of dollars.*</li><li><strong>Government Contracting Verdict</strong> – Helped franchisee defeat government claim for tens of millions of dollars in damages and instead obtained a jury finding that the franchisor had acted wrongfully and owed money to the franchisee.</li><li><strong>Business Tort Verdict </strong>– Acted as plaintiff’s counsel in a business torts case involving claims of misappropriation of partnership assets. Obtained a multimillion-dollar verdict on client’s behalf.*</li><li><strong>Business Fraud </strong>– Obtained a defense jury verdict on behalf of Fortune 500 client in extremely sensitive high-stakes trial involving allegations of business fraud.*</li><li><strong>Medicare Reimbursement</strong> – Prevailed at the appellate level on behalf of hospital client to compel government payment of large MediCal claim. *</li><li><strong>Hospital Development</strong> – Defended a healthcare district against a quasi-public legal challenge to development plans for a new $400 million, community hospital.*</li><li><strong>Solid Waste Management</strong> – Represented a recyclables processor who was delivered garbage instead of recyclables from a solid waste collection company. Obtained a multimillion-dollar award in arbitration on behalf of the client.*</li><li><strong>Waste Collection Rates</strong> – Prevailed over city authorities on behalf of the client, a garbage company. Convinced the judge the city abused its discretion in its treatment of the client.*<br /><em>*Matter from a previous firm</em></li></ul>