Attorneys
Experienced Attorney, Proven Results
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 18 years of experience in civil rights, employment, health care, personal injury, criminal defense, and public entity litigation. He has tried over 50 cases to verdict in federal and state courts.
Mr. Candappa has served as lead counsel in many employment, civil rights, personal injury and criminal defense cases. Through hard work and creative trial lawyering, Mr. Candappa has secured a number of seven-figure settlements on behalf of his clients in civil cases. 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
The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank that focuses on increasing public participation and fair debate on critical food and agriculture, poverty and international development issues. Our successful campaigns in the U.S. and abroad, especially on the topic of international land deals, have resulted in threats of legal action. The thoroughness, timely response, and attentiveness to every detail by our legal counsel, Jivaka Candappa, allows us to continue with our mission without operating from a place of fear. In this struggle of David vs. Goliath, Jivaka Candappa's legal support is an invaluable asset to us!
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.
