Angus M. “Sandy” MacLeod has had an active civil trial practice since his first trial in 1982. His practice focuses on product liability, professional liability and employment cases in both federal and state courts.

Sandy graduated from UCLA in 1977 and Hastings College of the Law in 1981, where he was an editor and published author of the Hastings Law Journal. He was admitted to the State Bar of California the same year and joined Patrick Becherer and Lori Schweitzer at Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May. Before coming to Becherer, Kannett & Schweitzer, he had his own law practice in Oakland, as well as being a partner in one of the oldest firms in Sacramento. He is committed to the practice of law as a profession of service to clients. His goal is to combine excellence with efficiency to the end of effective, economical and responsive representation for each client in each case.

As a product liability lawyer, Sandy has defended clients in claims of asbestos injury and product defect claims. As a professional liability advocate for physicians, he has successfully tried many cases for physicians accused of malpractice and has likewise represented physicians in administrative and staff privileges matters. As an active advocate and counselor in employment disputes, Sandy has represented both employers and employees in termination and discrimination cases. He has also represented public employees in administrative appeals and has acted as a neutral investigator for a major health-care provider to help resolve disputed allegations of employee misconduct. His expertise working with physician experts has resulted in persuasive presentations at trial on key medical issues.

Sandy is no stranger to complex litigation, from answer to trial and appeal. Efficient use of resources, imaginative and effective planning and advocacy of the highest quality, he believes, are the proper goals of an experienced attorney serving clients both big and small. In addition to many trial successes, Sandy is proud of the successful outcomes for his clients that have come short of trial, through pre-trial motions in court or through alternative means of resolving disputes. He has often consulted with managers and executives in workplace disputes, usually to the end of achieving a fair result without litigation.

Sandy has served as judge pro tempore of the Sacramento Superior Court in settlement assignments. On appointment by the United States District Court for the Eastern Division of California, he has represented indigent civil rights plaintiffs; and as a volunteer, he has advised homeless persons in untangling legal issues.

Admissions:

California Bar, 1981
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. 1981
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. 1981
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. 1984
U.S. District Court, Central District of California. 1987

Education:

University of California at Los Angeles, B.A. 1977
Hastings College of Law, J.D. 1981

Professional Associations & Memberships:

Alameda County Bar Association
Contra Costa County Bar Association