Attorneys
Employment, Civil Rights & Criminal Defense Attorneys
Jivaka Candappa
J.D., Hastings College of Law
Jivaka Candappa is the principal of the Candappa Law Firm. He is an aggressive and passionate trial lawyer with over 15 years of litigation experience in employment, civil rights, personal injury, criminal defense, and education law. He has tried over 50 trials to verdict in federal and state courts. In 2012 and 2013, he was named a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers Magazine, an honor that recognizes only 2.5% of attorneys in California for attaining a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Mr. Candappa was the Managing Attorney of The Bloom Firm for several years prior to starting the Candappa Law Firm. At The Bloom Firm, Mr. Candappa was instrumental in developing the litigation strategy for high profile and complex cases. He was lead counsel in many employment, civil rights, and personal injury cases handled by The Bloom Firm. Through hard work and creative trial lawyering, Mr. Candappa secured a number of seven-figure settlements on behalf of his clients. Mr. Candappa successfully represented Janice Dickinson in her defamation case against Bill Cosby. His representation of Ms. Dickinson in the California Court of Appeal resulted in a published opinion in Ms. Dickinson’s favor and paved the way for Ms. Dickinson’s highly publicized settlement of her case.
Mr. Candappa was formerly a Deputy Public Defender with the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office in Northern California, where he maintained an excellent track record as a trial attorney. In cases that he tried before juries, Mr. Candappa obtained better results for his clients than the plea bargains offered by prosecutors and the courts.
Education
- Hastings College of the Law, University of California, J.D., 2002
Professional Recognition
- Named “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine (2012, 2013)
- Named “Top Attorneys Rising Stars” in Northern California by San Francisco Magazine (2012, 2013)
- Named in 2011 Top Verdict Search Settlements by The Recorder (2012)
Bar Admission
- Licensed in California
Testimonials
While working with Jivaka Candappa on several cases, I was deeply impressed by his commitment to staying true to his personal core values in his professional conduct: integrity, equality, and a passionate commitment to justice. His real-time competence and fine wit increase his effectiveness with opposing counsel, the bench and juries. If the situation were ever to warrant it, I would not hesitate to hire Jivaka to represent or defend my own interests.
I wouldn’t consider my case closed without providing feedback about how Mr. Candappa stepped in and saved me from an unbelievable nightmare. At that time, I lived 600 hundred miles away and was tempted to plead guilty just to eliminate repeat court appearances. Fortunately, Mr. Candappa came to my rescue, advising me that if I was not guilty of any crime then I should not be tempted to plea bargain. Mr. Candappa did such a good job that the judge dismissed the case and overruled one of the other judge’s earlier rulings.
