Daniel E. Wilcoxen, ‘72, received his JD, cum laude, from McGeorge School of Law in 1972, and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1972. Wilcoxen practiced with the defense firm of Rust & Armenis for the first 7 years of his law career before leaving to open his own practice in 1979 where he began his emphasis in representing injured plaintiffs. He is the founding and senior partner in the law firm of Wilcoxen Callaham, LLP. The firm handles a variety of cases: all types of personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, business, discrimination, and wrongful termination employment cases. Wilcoxen also handles the day-to-day management of the firm’s 10 lawyers and 15 staff members. Over the years, Wilcoxen has obtained in excess of 90 multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements. 

Wilcoxen has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) since 1993 and currently holds the rank of Advocate. He was President of the Sacramento Valley Chapter in 2008, was the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2010, and is also currently a member of the National Board of Directors of ABOTA. He is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA) and was named a Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a founding member and a certified diplomat in Medical Malpractice, of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, and a member of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC). He was the 1989 President of the McGeorge School of Law Alumni Association. He is a past President and current Board of Directors member of the Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association (CCTLA) where he was recognized as Advocate of the Year in both 1996 and 2002. Wilcoxen was also the recipient of the Joe Ramsey Civility Award in 2014 and the Morton L. Friedman Humanitarian Award for service to Sacramento in 2023. 

Wilcoxen is a pioneer in the area of medical lien law and has had much success in getting liens waived and reduced. He spends many hours teaching attorneys how to deal with medical insurance providers, Medi-Cal, Medicare, and ERISA liens. He has spoken at numerous seminars for the CAOC, CCTLA and ABOTA. He has also successfully handled an ERISA lien case before the U.S. Supreme Court, three lien cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and three lien cases before the Third District Court of Appeal. 

Wilcoxen has been a long-time instructor for the University of California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB).  As a faculty member of the University of San Francisco Law School in their intensive advocacy program, he instructs at many seminars and lectures for CAOC and CCTLA, and other Trial Lawyer Associations, including San Francisco, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and San Joaquin. He has also participated as an instructor in the ABOTA Masters in Trial Program for varied programs. He serves as an arbitrator and Judge Pro Tem in Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado Superior Courts. He is an experienced mediator and is a member of the American Arbitration Association, and the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Association of Attorney-Mediators.  

Wilcoxen is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and his firm is listed among the preeminent lawyers in the country. He has been named as a “Super Lawyer” for the past 17 years, one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California for the past 5 years, and one of the top 25 attorneys in Sacramento.

Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is part of a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni.  

Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary.