M Gerald Schwartzbach

Mr. Schwartzbach, a trial lawyer for over 45 years, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Super Lawyers and the Marquis publications Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law.

Mr. Schwartzbach is a recipient of the Skip Glenn Award, presented for outstanding service in defense of a client by California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a statewide organization of over 2,000 criminal defense attorneys. Mr. Schwartzbach has also been a recipient of Outstanding Service Award, of the Northern California Innocence Project.  In addition, Mr. Schwartzbach was named Distinguished Advocate by the Advisory Board of the Heafey Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy at Santa Clara University School of Law, an honor shared with, among others, Richard Racehorse Haynes, Shirley Hufstedler, Albert Kreiger, Stephen Bright, Charles Ogletree, Barry Scheck, and Johnnie Cochran. 

In addition to his trial work, Mr. Schwartzbach has lectured extensively on a variety of subjects related to trial practice and the criminal justice system. He has spoken to numerous audiences at seminars and meetings.

Mr. Schwartzbach has also testified in capital murder habeas corpus proceedings as an expert on the competence of counsel, and has served on the boards of numerous professional organizations.

Mr. Schwartzbach is the author of Leaning on the Arc, A Personal History of Criminal Defense, scheduled for publication on March 16, 2016, by Ankerwycke Books, a publishing arm of the American Bar Association.  Ankerwycke has described Leaning on the Arc as a memoir that details “the author's illustrious career that run the gamut from murder to malpractice, sexual assault to domestic abuse, from protecting the right of dissent to advocating expanded rights for defendants. Schwartzbach stands at the intersection of some of the key issues of our time and demonstrates how true justice can only happen when we refuse to objectify the defendant, whoever he or she may be, whatever his or her alleged crime.”