Richard A. McFarlane, J.D., Ph.D. is a seasoned legal professional, founder and principal of a law firm that emphasizes performing legal research and writing for other attorneys, mostly those working in small firms or as solo practitioners.

Dr. McFarlane received his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California. While there he was a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Honor Society. Dr. McFarlane received his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of California at Riverside in the legal history of the Western United States. His dissertation is "‘The Waters ... Belong to the People’: The 1913 Nevada Water Law as a Populist Response to Progressivism." He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history from California State University at Fullerton. While there he was an officer in the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and was on the Dean’s List.

Dr. McFarlane is a member of the bar of the states of California and Utah, of the United States Supreme Court, of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, of the United States District Court in the Central and Southern Districts of California, of the United States Court of International Trade, and of the United States Tax Court.

Dr. McFarlane opened his own law firm almost immediately after passing the California bar in 1991, and has over twenty years of extensive experience in civil litigation representing plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts including substantive knowledge and experience with all aspects of pre-trial and trial litigation, pleadings, law and motion, written discovery and depositions, first-chair trial experience, and appeals to prosecute or defend clients’ interests. He also has represented debtors and creditors in chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy proceedings. Dr. McFarlane also has experience in elder law, probate, trusts and estates, and criminal defense.

Dr. McFarlane is the author of several articles on legal history and legal ethics.  Some current/recent projects include the role of minor political parties in presidential elections, and an annotated edition of the decisions of the Nevada Territorial Supreme Court.

Complete Curriculum Vitae

Bar Admissions

California, Utah, United States Supreme Court, other federal courts

Professional Experience

Attorney at Law, Principal, Sole Practitioner 1992 to present

The Law Office of Richard A. McFarlane, Orange, California

Founded, grew and managed a successful legal practice focusing on civil litigation in State and Federal Courts, and business transactions representing small- to medium-sized businesses, mostly in the transportation industry.

Provided legal counsel to all levels of clients’ management teams, including senior management and executives.

Used substantive knowledge and experience with all aspects of pre-trial and trial litigation, including responsive pleadings, law and motion, written discovery and depositions, first-chair trial experience, and appeals to prosecute or defend clients’ interests.

Applied advanced knowledge of the theories, principles, practices and procedures of litigation management to efficiently handle a busy legal practice.

Employed excellent verbal and written communication, negotiation and presentation skills to successfully resolve disputes without resorting to litigation.

Personally tried over forty cases to jury or to court, handled alternate dispute resolution proceedings, settlement negotiations and settlement conferences.

Provided legal services as an independent contractor to solo legal practitioners, and small and mid-sized law firms in a broad range of practice areas, especially legal research, pleadings, briefs, memoranda of points and authorities, and court appearances and depositions.

Education

J.D. Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1991.

Ph.D. University of California, Riverside, 2011.

M.A. California State University, Fullerton, 2006.

B.A. California State University, Fullerton, 1987.

Significant Cases

Alvis v. Espinosa,  ___ U.S. ___, 118 L. Ed. 2d 976, 80 U.S.L.W. 3425 (2012) (representing amici curiae).

Rozypal v. Estate of Rozyspal, No. B181023, B181024, 2006 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3192 (Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist) (representing appellant).

Horton v. Starmann, No. G031062, 2003 Cal.App.Unpub.LEXIS 9301 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist.) (representing appellant).

Articles and Book Chapters Published

"Good As Gold: An Inquiry Into the Constitutional Legal History of Legal Tender Notes in the United States," Humanities and Social Sciences Journal 1987: 96.

"Ethics In the Estate Planning Context," in How to Draft Effective Wills and Trusts for Your Clients in California. Eau Claire, Wis.: National Business Institute, 2005, 170-216.

"‘There Is No Substitute For A Mother’s Love’: The Rise and Fall of the ‘Tender Years’ Doctrine in California," California Legal History 2 (2007): 165-182.

"Historiography of Selected Works on Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902)," History of Africa 34 (2007): 437-446.

"The Lady in Purple: The Life and Legal Legacy of Gladys Towles Root." California Legal History, 6 (2011): 357-401.

"ACLU v. Reno," Encyclopedia of American Women’s History. Hasia R. Diner, editor. New York: Facts on File, (forthcoming 2012).

"Grove City College v. Bell," Encyclopedia of American Women’s History. Hasia R. Diner, editor. New York: Facts on File, (forthcoming 2012).

"Los Angeles Department of Water & Power v. Manhart," Encyclopedia of American Women’s History. Hasia R. Diner, editor. New York: Facts on File, (forthcoming 2012).

　

Book Reviews Published

Review of Majesty of the Law by Sandra Day O’Connor, Western Legal History, 17 (2004): 266-267.

Review of Ambiguous Justice: Native Americans and the Law in Southern California, 1848-1890, by Vanessa Ann Gunther, Journal of the West, 46, no. 3 (2007): 83.

Review of Scottish Shepherd: The Life and Times of John Murray Murdoch, Utah Pioneer by Kenneth W. Merrell, Journal of the West, 46, no. 3 (Summer 2007): 89.

Review of Thunder over Zion: The Life of Chief Judge Willis W. Ritter by Patricia F. Cowley and Parker M. Nielson, Journal of the West, 46, no 4 (Fall 2007): 86.

Review of Making Indian Law: The Hualapai Land Case and the Birth of Ethnohistory, by Christian W. McMillen, Journal of the West, 46, no. 4 (Fall 2007): 97.

Review of The Enigma Woman: The Death Sentence of Nellie May Madison, by Kathleen A. Cairns, California Legal History, 3 (2008): 231.

Review of Alcatraz: The Gangster Years by David Ward and Gene Kassebaum, Journal of the West, 48, no. 3 (Summer 2009): 95.

"Atoms and the West: Two Views," Journal of the West, 50, no. 1 (Winter 2011): 98-100. (Review of The Dragon’s Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Bomb by Robert A. Jacobs and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Cold War, and the Atomic West by Jon Hunner).

Review of Amasa Mason Lyman: Mormon Apostle and Apostate: A Study in Dedication by Edward Leo Lyman, Journal of the West, 50, no. 1 (Winter 2011): ___.

Presentations

"Leave It To Your Children, NOT Your Uncle Sam." Public lecture presented at various venues and dates in and around Orange County, California, 1997-2000. Presented basic estate planning information to the public.

"How to Draft Effective Wills and Trusts for Your Clients in California." Mandatory continuing legal education seminar sponsored by National Business Institute, Irvine, California, June 22, 2005. Presented topics of professional ethics in estate planning.

"Irrigation in Australia and the Western United States, Circa 1885." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic and Business History Conference, Berkeley, California, February 18-20, 2011. Discussed Australian influences on irrigation in the Western United States, and American influences on irrigation in Australia.

Professional Activities

Academic:

Legal: