Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

What Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger does

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger is a San Francisco-based personal injury law firm established in 1959 that represents individuals injured due to the negligence of others across Northern California. The firm's practice spans medical malpractice, automobile and truck accidents, wrongful death, brain and spinal cord injuries, product liability, public transit accidents (including MUNI, BART, cable cars), rideshare incidents (Uber and Lyft), Amazon delivery accidents, sexual abuse (including AB-218 cases), and electrically triggered wildfire litigation. Notable results include a $1.35 billion PG&E Northern California wildfire settlement, a $47.5 million trucking wrongful-death settlement, a $33.1 million medical malpractice verdict, and a $23.2 million spinal cord injury verdict, with cumulative client recoveries exceeding $1 billion.

The firm is structured as a private partnership of 11 shareholders plus associates, headquartered at 650 California Street, 26th Floor, San Francisco. Operationally, it is differentiated by a full-time physician-attorney on staff (with a second doctor-lawyer on call), Tier 1 national ranking in Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs (Best Law Firms 2026), Tier 1 rankings across San Francisco practice areas, and a stated 98% client recovery rate over the past ten years. Client acquisition is primarily referral-driven: word-of-mouth from past clients, attorney referrals of complex cases, and earned media from high-profile verdicts and rankings, rather than paid marketing.

The firm's revenue model is exclusively contingency-based: no retainers or upfront fees are charged, with the firm advancing all case costs (investigation, expert witnesses, filing, trial) and collecting legal fees only upon successful recovery. Income is therefore directly tied to case outcomes, mitigated by diversification across practice areas and by repeatable mass-tort engagements such as the PG&E wildfire, Eaton Fire, and Depo-Provera matters. Marketing is concentrated on the firm website, online reviews (Google, Yelp, Avvo), law-firm rankings, and trade press coverage rather than on performance paid acquisition.

Name

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

Legal name

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

Website

https://walkuplawoffice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger is a San Francisco-based personal injury law firm founded in 1959 that represents injured individuals on a 100% contingency-fee basis across medical malpractice, automobile, trucking, product liability, and mass-tort matters in Northern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Injury Legal Services

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

Keywords

• Personal injury law
• Medical malpractice litigation
• Wrongful death representation
• Product liability law
• Contingency fee representation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee - Personal Injury Cases: The firm operates exclusively on a 100% contingency fee basis. No upfront fees or retainers are charged for investigation or expert reviews. The firm advances all costs to investigate, file, prosecute, and try cases. Legal fees are only collected when a recovery is obtained for the client. No recovery means no fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger is a plaintiff personal injury law firm that represents individuals injured by negligence in cases involving medical malpractice, motor vehicle and trucking accidents, rideshare incidents, public transit accidents, brain and spinal cord injuries, birth injuries, wrongful death, product liability, sexual abuse, and large-scale wildfire litigation (including PG&E). All services are offered on a 100% contingency fee basis with no upfront fees or retainers; the firm advances all investigation, filing, prosecution, and trial costs and is compensated only upon a successful recovery.

Product overview

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger is a premier personal injury law firm established in 1959, offering comprehensive legal services through a unified practice model. The firm provides specialized representation across multiple practice areas including personal injury litigation, medical malpractice, truck and rideshare accidents, brain and spinal cord injuries, product liability, wrongful death, and public transit accidents. The firm operates on a 100% contingency fee basis with no upfront costs to clients. The core service is personal injury legal representation, with specialized modules for specific accident types and injury categories. All services are delivered through the firm's main office in San Francisco with reach across the Bay Area and Northern California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Injury Legal Services Comprehensive plaintiff-side personal injury legal representation covering car accidents, trucking accidents, bicycle and pedestrian accidents, brain and spinal cord injuries, wrongful death, product liability, public transit accidents, rideshare incidents, and large-scale wildfire (PG&E) litigation, delivered on a 100% contingency fee basis with no upfront costs to individual clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.
• Medical Malpractice Legal Services Legal representation for victims of medical negligence, including birth injuries, surgical errors, failure to diagnose, and Kaiser Permanente malpractice claims. Distinctively supported by the firm's full-time physician-attorney on staff for in-house medical analysis.
• Truck and Commercial Vehicle Accident Legal Services Plaintiff-side representation for victims of trucking and commercial vehicle accidents against motor carriers, freight brokers, and commercial operators, on a contingency fee basis.
• Rideshare Accident Legal Services (Uber and Lyft) Legal representation for victims of Uber and Lyft accidents, including claims against rideshare companies and their drivers, operating in conjunction with the firm's public transit accident practice.
• Public Transit Accident Legal Services Legal representation for victims of public transit accidents in the San Francisco Bay Area, including MUNI cable car, BART, ferry, and taxi incidents, with documented results including a $4 million+ MUNI cable car settlement for a tourist.
• Wrongful Death Legal Services Legal representation for families who have lost loved ones due to negligence, covering wrongful death claims arising from accidents, medical malpractice, and defective products, on a contingency fee basis.
• Brain Injury Legal Services Legal representation for traumatic brain injury victims, including cases involving closed-head injuries, anoxic encephalopathy, and birth-related brain damage.
• Spinal Cord Injury Legal Services Legal representation for spinal cord injury victims, including paraplegia and quadriplegia cases, with support for long-term care planning and rehabilitation needs.
• Birth Injury Legal Services Legal representation for families of infants who suffered injuries at birth due to medical negligence, including cerebral palsy and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy cases.
• Kaiser Permanente Malpractice Legal Services Specialized legal representation for victims of Kaiser Permanente medical malpractice, including birth injuries and failure-to-diagnose cases, leveraging the firm's physician-attorney expertise.
• Product Liability Legal Services Legal representation for victims injured by defective products, including automotive defects, consumer product failures, and medical device issues.
• Amazon Delivery Vehicle Accident Legal Services Specialized legal representation for victims of accidents involving Amazon delivery contractors, including claims against Amazon, its Delivery Service Partners (DSPs), Relay carriers, and Flex drivers.
• Sexual Abuse Legal Services Legal representation for survivors of sexual abuse, including school sexual abuse cases, with expertise in California's AB-218 statute of limitations extensions.
• PG&E Wildfire Loss Legal Services Legal representation for victims of electrically triggered Northern California wildfires, including claims against PG&E. The firm served as counsel in the PG&E wildfire litigation, achieving a $1.35 billion settlement on behalf of wildfire victims.
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Legal Services Legal representation for bicyclists and pedestrians injured in accidents, including cases against motorists, taxi drivers, and rideshare operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of clients have recovered compensation over the last 10 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Just The Beginning - A Pipeline Organization (JTB)minorOthersShareholder Khaldoun Baghdadi is actively involved with JTB, a nonprofit dedicated to introducing students to legal careers. The organization works to promote diversity in the legal profession.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GJEL Accident Attorneys: California-based plaintiff personal injury firm with a strong Bay Area presence; comparable by contingency-fee model, auto/truck accident focus, and trial-ready reputation-building.
• Minami Tamaki LLP: San Francisco plaintiffs' firm with deep personal injury, medical malpractice, and consumer protection practice; comparable in size, geography, and plaintiff-only mission.
• Mesriani Law Group: California-based personal injury and employment firm with a contingency-fee plaintiff model and heavy advertising presence; comparable in PI focus and California geography, though more employment-tilted.
• West Coast Trial Lawyers: California personal injury firm with multiple offices including Los Angeles and surrounding metros; comparable by plaintiff-only contingency model, catastrophic injury focus, and aggressive marketing posture.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: San Francisco-based premier plaintiffs' law firm with strong personal injury, mass tort, and class action practices; closest peer by geography, plaintiff-side focus, and high-stakes litigation profile.
• The Clayeo C. Arnold Law Firm: California-based plaintiffs' firm specializing in catastrophic injury, brain injury, and wrongful death—directly comparable to Walkup in catastrophic-injury case mix and contingency model.
• The Dolan Law Firm: San Francisco personal injury, employment, and consumer protection firm; comparable by city, plaintiff focus, and contingency-fee model serving California injury victims.
• Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP: Los Angeles-based top-tier plaintiffs' trial firm specializing in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and mass tort—directly comparable to Walkup in practice mix, trial orientation, and case-value profile.

Broad incumbents

• Morgan & Morgan: Largest U.S. plaintiff personal injury firm; comparable in contingency-fee model and PI focus, but operates at national scale with hundreds of attorneys and outsized advertising spend.
• Robins Kaplan LLP: National plaintiffs' firm with a substantial personal injury and mass tort practice; comparable in plaintiff-side high-stakes litigation but broader in scope (IP, antitrust) than Walkup's PI focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/walkuplaw
• Instagraminstagram.com/walkuplaw
• Xx.com/walkuplawfirm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger