Natalie Weatherford

Natalie Weatherford,

“Giving Voice to the Silenced: Anatomy of a Sexual Abuse Practice at Taylor & Ring”

I think that sometimes, lawyers can go into court and they change their voice, or they change the way that they speak. They try and put on some sort of facade. But for me, I just want to walk into court and be exactly who I am outside of court, inside of court. I think jurors relate to that. You want to speak to them in a language that they understand. The language I understand is, how I speak to my friends and my family. So I try to bring that into court.

Natalie Weatherford 2022 Super Lawyers

Featured on the cover of 2022 Super Lawyers

Natalie Weatherford, partner with Taylor & Ring, was featured in Super Lawyers Magazine where she discussed her work on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and assault. Please give it a read here.

Natalie Weatherford

LOCATION: Los Angeles, California
VCARD:

Natalie Weatherford is a Senior Partner at Taylor & Ring. She focuses her practice on representing both children and adults in sexual harassment, assault, abuse and misconduct cases as well as civil rights litigation.

Natalie is a trial lawyer. She has obtained many large verdicts and settlements in high profile cases including:

  • $102.5 million verdict on behalf of two former students sexually abused while attending Dartmouth Middle School in San Jose.
  • $35 million verdict on behalf of an adult woman who was raped by her adult, male track coach when she was a minor high school student at Pomona High School in the 1990s.
  • $25.3 million verdict on behalf of client who was sexually abused over the course of four years at the Westerly School in Long Beach.
  • $25 million verdict for a former student of Dos Pueblos High School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District who was sexually abused by an assistant coach.
  • $14 million settlement in sexual abuse case against Moraga School District on behalf of two adult females who were victimized by their middle school teacher in the 1990s. Each victim obtained $7 million, which is the largest amount “per victim” ever paid by any school district in any state.
  • $13 million verdict in a childhood sexual abuse case. The client was sexually molested when she was a teenager attending Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Van Nuys.
  • $8.05 million verdict in a sexual abuse case where a 14-year-old female student was manipulated into a sexual relationship with her eighth-grade teacher. The school district was liable for its negligent supervision of the student and the teacher. A.M. vs. Pomona Unified School District.
  • $5.6 million verdict for a 14-year-old girl who was sexually abused by her ninth-grade teacher.
  • $5 million settlement on behalf of child who was sexually abused by her junior high school teacher. The litigation of this case led to the enactment of Civil Code Section 1708.5.5 and Evidence Code Section 1106(c) which changed the laws regarding consent evidence for minors in California.  v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Elkis Hermida.
  • $5 million settlement for a client who, while working as a student driver for a national trucking company, was raped by her Lead Driver.
  • $4 million settlement on behalf of a woman who was raped at gunpoint in a Los Angeles shopping mall. The case involved premises liability and negligent security against a mall owner and security company.
  • $3.5 million settlement on behalf of several children who were abused by their elementary school teacher.
  • $2.5 million settlement on behalf of 3 teenage boys who were sexually harassed by their male supervisor.
  • $2 million settlement for a young girl who was verbally harassed, but never physically touched by her high school coach. Jane Doe v. School District.

Education

  • J.D., Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California
    • Honors: Dean’s Merit Scholar
    • Honors: Chair, Negotiation Honors Program
  • B.A., California State University, Long Beach

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • State Bar of California, Member
  • Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), Board of Governors
  • Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), Member
  • American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member
  • American Bar Association (ABA), Member

Publications

  • Litigating Childhood Sexual-Abuse Cases; The Advocate (February 2014)
  • Seven Key Evidentiary Issues in Sexual Assault, Abuse and Harassment Cases; The Advocate (October 2015)
  • Motions to Compel: The New Reality; The Advocate (December 2016)
  • Government Tort Claims: Practice and Procedures; The Advocate (November 2018)
  • Unwanted Advances; Best Law Firms 2020 (November 2019)
  • Interview with Lawyer Monthly about the impact of AB 218.
  • Protecting Your Plaintiff in Sexual-Misconduct Cases; The Advocate (April 2020)
  • Featured in Super Lawyers Magazine where she discussed her work on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and assault (2020) Please give it a read here.
  • Delivering a Powerful Closing Argument, Telling Your Story Using Demonstratives And Evidence; The Advocate (October 2024)

Honors and Awards

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Natalie Weatherford,

“Giving Voice to the Silenced: Anatomy of a Sexual Abuse Practice at Taylor & Ring”

I think that sometimes, lawyers can go into court and they change their voice, or they change the way that they speak. They try and put on some sort of facade. But for me, I just want to walk into court and be exactly who I am outside of court, inside of court. I think jurors relate to that. You want to speak to them in a language that they understand. The language I understand is, how I speak to my friends and my family. So I try to bring that into court.

Natalie Weatherford 2022 Super Lawyers

Featured on the cover of 2022 Super Lawyers

Natalie Weatherford, partner with Taylor & Ring, was featured in Super Lawyers Magazine where she discussed her work on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and assault. Please give it a read here.