Shawn M. Ridley

Shawn M. Ridley, one of the founding partners of Howard Rome Martin & Ridley LLP, obtained his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from Santa Clara University’s School of Law.  Upon securing his license to practice, he immediately embarked on his legal career as a civil litigator with Eisenberg & Specter, a small insurance defense firm in San Mateo.

In 1991, Mr. Ridley joined Branson, Fitzgerald & Howard, a well-respected Peninsula-based insurance defense firm, eventually becoming the first – and also youngest – new partner named to the firm in more than a decade.  He subsequently co-founded Howard Rome Martin & Ridley in May 1998.

As an AV-rated civil trial lawyer, Mr. Ridley has represented clients in hundreds of mediations, arbitrations and trials, having tried scores of cases to various stages of completion, with several verdicts to his credit.  He is admitted in all California Federal District Courts, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He has been a court-appointed arbitrator for San Mateo County for more than 15 years.

Mr. Ridley has extensive experience defending public entities in various matters including excessive force, dangerous condition of public property, subsidence, catastrophic injury and civil rights cases. Mr. Ridley also has also been a featured speaker and active contributing consultant to a Fortune 100 company with respect to the implementation and coordination of a national litigation strategy for defending environmental and asbestos-related claims. This included international travel and participation in multiple mock trials and various litigation matters pending in jurisdictions across the country. Mr. Ridley has been a featured speaker and presenter for ACI on asbestos-related issues and has also lectured on the subject of Workers’ Compensation subrogation for several California insurance companies. He authored the article Workers’ Comp Subrogation, which appeared in the August 2013 edition of California Lawyer Magazine.

Mr. Ridley has played guitar professionally for 35 years and continues to do so at venues throughout the Pacific Northwest.  He also enjoys outdoor sports such as snow skiing and hiking. On most fall Saturdays, he can be found rooting for his beloved Fighting Irish. First and foremost, however, he loves spending time with his wife, Cheryl, his family and his black Labrador, Gus.