Ms. Cranston is immediate past-Chair of the firm.

Her practice specialties include:

Complex class action litigation: Ms. Cranston has litigated over 300 class actions in state and federal courts, and is an expert on class action procedural and trial issues, as well as all aspects of class action settlements. Ms. Cranston is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is one of five trial lawyers in San Francisco highly recommended by Global Counsel 3000.

Antitrust counseling and litigation: Ms. Cranston has handled state and federal civil and criminal antitrust investigations, and civil litigation under the Sherman and Clayton Acts, and under the California Cartwright and Unfair Business Practices Acts. Ms. Cranston has served as an officer of the ABA Antitrust Section and is a past-chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section of the California State Bar.

Regulated industries counseling and litigation: Ms. Cranston’s substantive experience includes telecommunications regulation—federal and state, cable and wireless regulation, and the economics of regulated industries.

Securities litigation: Ms. Cranston has served as lead counsel in litigation involving broker dealer claims, limited partnership issuer fraud, lender liability, Civil RICO, and 10(b)(5) class actions. In addition, she has handled shareholder and regulatory litigation as a part of Pillsbury’s mergers and acquisitions team.

Management Experience: In addition to serving as Chair of the Firm since 1999, Ms. Cranston has served as Chair of the Litigation Department, and on the firm’s Compensation Committee, Professional Recruitment Committee, Finance Committee, Legal Education Committee, Partnership Selection Committee, Communications Committee, and Marketing and Client Service Committee.

Honors and Awards:

The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America
National Law Journal List; June 8, 2000

Named one of two Best Law Firm Leaders in the United States
Of Counsel’s Best of the Law Firm Leaders List; October 2002

Named among the “Top 100 Lawyers in California”
Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals; 2005

The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California
Los Angeles Daily Journal List; 1999 – 2002

Recommended Attorney
Expert Guide to Competition & Antitrust Lawyers

Global Counsel 3000 Highly Recommended Trial Lawyer

Global Competition Review:  Profiled as One of the best Female Antitrust Lawyers in the World, 2004

The 50 Most Influential Business Women in the Bay Area
The SF Business Times List; 1999 - 2005

Margaret Brent Award
Recipient of the highest award given by the American Bar Association in recognition of accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and paved the way for other women lawyers.
ABA Commission on Women, 2005

Athena Award
Recipient for professional accomplishments and community service. Specially noted for mentoring others and providing a role model to encourage women to achieve their full leadership potential. 2004

Stanford Associates Award
Stanford University; for distinguished service; 1999

Distinguished Jurisprudence Award
Anti-Defamation League; May 24, 2000

Summit Award for Women Explorers
Learning for Life Program; December 2000

Award of Merit
Bar Association of San Francisco; 2002

Named a “Super Lawyer,” one of the Top 4-5% Northern California Attorneys
Northern California SuperLawyers, Key Professionals Media, 2005

Named a “Super Lawyer," one of the Top 4% Northern California Attorneys
Northern California SuperLawyers, Law & Politics Media Inc.; 2004

Education

J.D., Stanford Law School, 1975
Member, Law Review

M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1970

A.B., Stanford University, 1969
with distinction, Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

State of California

Affiliations

Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, 1998--
Trustee, Stanford University, 2000--
Chair, Stanford Law School Board of Visitors, 2001
Board of Directors, GrafTech International, 1999--
Trustee, San Francisco Ballet, 1996--
Board of Directors, Catalyst, 2006--
Chair, Catalyst Western Region Board of Advisors, 2004--
Board of Governors, Commonwealth Club of California
Board of Directors, Bay Area Council, 1999--
Board of Directors, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 1999-2001
Member, Editorial Board, The National Law Journal, 2004--
Member, The American Law Institute, 2003--
Board Member, Episcopal Charities, 2003--
President, National Stanford Alumni Association, 1990
Board of Directors, Stanford Alumni Association, 1986-1993; 2001-
Executive Committee, Stanford Law School Board of Visitors, 1977-80; 1996--
Board of Directors of the Historical Society, United States District Court, Northern District of California, 2001--
Member, The Yosemite Fund
Member of the National Centennial Committee of the Girl Scouts of the USA, 2001
Council Member, ABA Antitrust Section, 1994-97
Officer ABA Antitrust Section, 1997-2000
ABA Commission on Women Member, 1993--2000
Chair, California State Bar Section of Antitrust and Trade Regulation, 1998--1999
California State Bar Committee on Women, 1986-89
Board of Directors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, 1993-97