Team
Biography
Madeline M. Espedal is an associate attorney specializing in general litigation, personal injury defense, and trucking and transportation matters. Madeline joined EGHB from the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office where she began as a graduate law clerk and went on to serve as a deputy public defender managing all aspects of her caseload for more than 100 clients. Prior to that she was a certified law clerk in Contra Costa County’s Alternate Defender’s Office. She began building her legal resume with the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Community Justice Clinic as a certified law student handling all aspects of de novo appeal from a labor commissioner decision in Superior Court, and as a certified legal intern representing indigent criminal defendants in San Francisco County. She also previously worked at a law firm as a legal secretary and file clerk providing attorneys with support on complex personal injury cases involving multiple defendants.
Madeline obtained her J.D. from UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings), graduating cum laude in May 2021. She distinguished herself as a law student by earning a place in the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Honor Society, CALI Awards for Jurisprudence, Trial Advocacy, and Evidence; a Witkin Award for Trial Advocacy; and Best Oralist Moot Court Award. She also served in the roles of executive senior editor and staff editor of the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Women’s Law Journal, completed a professional skills certificate from the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, was a teaching assistant for the courses Legal Research and Writing I and Evidence, and worked as a Sack Teaching Fellow for Civil Procedure. In addition, Madeline was vice president of the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Public Interest Law Foundation, vice president of UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Prisoner Outreach, a member of the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) Criminal Law Society, and a 1L representative of First Generation Professionals. Her article, “Pregnancy, Incarcerated: How Incarcerating Pregnant Women in the United States is Incompatible with Theories Justifying Punishment,” appeared in the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings)Women’s Law Journal in 2020. Madeline earned her B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Boston University College of Arts and Sciences, graduating cum laude in January 2017. In recognition of her outstanding academic achievement, the faculty of the Philosophy Department faculty selected her to receive a Bertocci Award.
Practice Areas
- General Litigation
- Personal Injury Defense
- Trucking and Transportation
Education
- University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), San Francisco, California
- J.D. – 05/2021
- Honors: cum laude
- Honors: CALI Awards for Jurisprudence, Trial Advocacy, and Evidence
- Honors: Witkin Award for Trial Advocacy
- Honors: Best Oralist Moot Court Award
- Law Journal: University of California College of Law Women’s Law Journal, Executive Senior Editor and Staff Editor
- Boston University College of Arts and Sciences
- B.A. – 01/2017
- Honors: cum laude/li>
- Honors: Philosophy Department faculty selected her to receive a Bertocci Award./li>
- Major: Philosophy and Psychology/li>