Civil Rights & Criminal Defense Attorneys

Jivaka Candappa

J.D., Hastings College of Law

Jivaka Candappa is the principal of Candappa Law Firm. He is an aggressive and passionate trial lawyer with over 15 years of litigation experience in civil rights, criminal defense, education, employment and personal injury 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 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.

Mr. Candappa has provided pro bono representation on select First Amendment and criminal defense cases through the National Lawyers Guild.

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

Memberships

•  Los Angeles County Bar Association
•  National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
•  National Police Accountability Project, National Lawyers Guild