Contact Information

Admissions

California

District of Columbia

Admitted to practice before:

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
  • U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky

Credentials

  • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1986
    • cum laude
  • A.B., Economics, Harvard University, 1983
    • magna cum laude

Kirk Jenkins is a distinguished appellate lawyer with nearly 40 years of experience in high-stakes litigation across a broad spectrum of legal areas. He has a proven track record of successfully representing clients in both state and federal appellate courts, particularly excelling in federal preemption cases, regularly navigating the complex interplay between state and federal laws, ensuring robust defense of his clients' interests. Kirk’s proficiency also extends to constitutional law, where he has been involved in significant litigation impacting fundamental constitutional issues.

Additionally, with a keen eye on scientific and regulatory standards, Kirk has significant experience handling a variety of intricate matters such as groundwater contamination, asbestos exposure, electrocution injuries, and cases involving failure to warn and design defects. His deep understanding of liability law and the processes of certification and decertification of consumer class actions consistently yields favorable outcomes.

Kirk excels in crafting and arguing complex motions, providing critical leadership in litigation strategy from the trial level through to appeals. His ability to dissect intricate legal issues and present clear, compelling arguments has made him a trusted advisor to his clients and colleagues. Kirk's commitment to excellence and unwavering dedication to his clients' success have solidified his standing as a leading figure in appellate law.

Representative Experience

Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients. 

  • Hecox v. Little, 104 F.4th 1061 (9th Cir. 2024) 
  • Banks v. Hoffman, 301 A.3d 685 (D.C.App. 2023)
  • Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Sabal Insurance Group, 786 Fed. Appx. 167 (11th Cir. 2019)
  • Stevens v. Jiffy Lube International, 911 F. 3d 1249 (9th Cir. 2018)
  • Sperling v. DSWC, Inc., 699 Fed. Appx. 654 (9th Cir. 2017)
  • Doyle v. Chrysler Group, Inc., 663 Fed. Appx. 576 (9th Cir. 2016)
  • Motorola Mobility LLC v. AU Optronics Corporation, 775 F. 3d 816 (7th Cir. 2014)
  • David Lerner Associates Inc. v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., 542 Fed. Appx. 89 (2d Cir. 2013)
  • Beaufort County School District v. United National Insurance Co., 392 S.C. 506 (S.C. App. 2011)
  • Chandler v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 598 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010)
  • Federal Insurance Co. v. Binney & Smith Inc., 393 Ill.App.3d 277 (Ill. App. 2009)
  • Blazevska v. Raytheon Aircraft Co., 522 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2008)
  • Iseberg v. Gross, 227 Ill.2d 78 (Ill. 2007)
  • TH Agriculture & Nutrition, LLC v. Ace European Group Limited, 488 F.3d 1282 (10th Cir. 2007) AND 416 F.Supp.2d 1054 (D. Kan. 2006)
  • North American Container, Inc. v. Plastipak Packaging, Inc., 415 F.3d 1335 (Fed.Cir. 2005)
  • Chavers v. Gatke Corporation, 107 Cal.App.4th 606 (Cal.App. 2003)
  • Chambers v. Kay, 29 Cal.4th 142 (Cal.2002)
  • Mycogen Corp. v. Monsanto Company, 28 Cal. 4th 888 (2002)
  • Platinum Technology, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co., 282 F.3d 927 (7th Cir. 2002)
  • Jackson v. Pacific Gas & Elec. Co., 94 Cal.App.4th 1110 (Cal.App. 2002)
  • Massie v. Woodford, 244 F.3d 1192 (9th Cir. 2001)
  • Johnson v. City of Loma Linda, 24 Cal.4th 61 (2000)
  • Britz, Inc. v. Dow Chemical Co., 73 Cal.App.4th 177 (Cal.App. 1999)
  • Toland v. Sunland Housing Group, 18 Cal.4th 253 (1998)
  • Ford v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., 60 Cal.App.4th 696 (Cal.App. 1997)
  • Carlin v. Superior Court, 13 Cal.4th 1104 (Cal. 1996)
     

Professional & Civic Engagement

  • American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow
  • American Bar Association, Commission on Law and Aging, Judicial Division Liaison
  • American Bar Association, Council of Appellate Lawyers (CAL), California State Chair
  • American Law Institute Members' Consultative Groups: Restatement of the Law, Constitutional Torts Restatement of the Law Liability Insurance; Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Economic
  • Loss Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm Restatement Third, Torts: Intentional Torts to Persons, Member
  • California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America, Appellate Law, 2010-2025

Thought Leadership

Presentations

  • “The Law in the States Post-Dobbs: Understanding and Avoiding Risks,” Arnold & Porter Client Webinar, October 18, 2022
  • “The Supreme Court: Looking Back and Looking Ahead,” Harvard Club of San Francisco Salon Talk Series, March 8, 2022
    “What to Expect from the Brown Court,” Bar Association of San Francisco, May 8, 2019
  • “Big Data in Litigation: Leveraging Analytics for Jury Selection, Trial Costs and Determining Case Strategy,” Strafford Webinars, March 12, 2019
  • "Litigation Analytics and Appellate Law: What the Numbers Tell Us About the California and Illinois Supreme Courts," Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association & South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, November 15, 2017
  • “Adding an Appellate Specialist to the Trial Team: The Sooner the Better,” Sedgwick Appellate Task Force Webinar, June 7, 2016
  • “Data Analytics and the Illinois Supreme Court,” Kane County Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee, July 10, 2015
  • “The California Supreme Court: What to Expect in 2015,” Sedgwick Appellate Task Force Webinar, April 29, 2015
  • “The Illinois Supreme Court: Preview of Coming Attractions, 2014-2015,” Sedgwick Appellate Task Force Webinar, October 22, 2014
  • "The United States Supreme Court’s Busy Class Action Docket,” California State Bar Convention, San Jose, California, October 13, 2013
  • “Lawyers Guide to Using Social Media for Professional and Client Development,” Practicing Law Institute, San Francisco, California, May 2, 2012
  • "Coming Attractions: What to Expect in the Appellate Courts, and What to Do (and Not Do) Once You’re There,” Sedgwick LLP Chicago Seminar Series, July 2011
  • “Punitive Damages Post-Campbell: Using Recent Decisions to Your Client’s Advantage,” the 13th Advanced National Forum: Bad Faith and Punitive Damages, American Conference Institute, San Francisco, California, April 28, 2006
  • “Punitive Damages Post-Campbell: Using Recent Decisions to Your Client’s Advantage,” Bad Faith and Punitive Damages Conference, American Conference Institute, Miami Beach, Florida, November 15, 2005

 Publications

  • The California Supreme Court in Judicial Year 2024: The C.J. Guerrero Era is Underway, Author, California Lawyers Association - California Litigation - Volume 37 - Issue 3, December2024
  • Why 2024 should be the last electoral college election, Author, Daily Journal, September 27, 2024
  • “The California Supreme Court in Judicial Year 2021-2022: Emerging From the Pandemic,” California Litigation Magazine, 2023, Vol. 35, No. 3
  • “A New Path to Common Sense Gun Control: The Thirteenth Amendment,” The National Law Journal, July 25, 2022
  • “Finding Your Way in a World of Data,” Appellate Issues, American Bar Association, August 24, 2021
  • “The Senate’s Filibuster Rules Are Unconstitutional,” Law360, April 13, 2021
  • “Yes, You Can Try a Former President: A Constitutional Primer,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 2, 2021
  • “The California Supreme Court, 2020-2021: Tracking the Impact of the Pandemic,” California Litigation Magazine, 2021, Vol. 34, No. 3
  • “The California Supreme Court, 2019-2020: Continuing Evolution of a Diverse Court,” California Litigation Magazine, 2020, Vol. 33, No. 3
  • “Justice Leondra Kruger by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 23, 2020
  • “Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 4, 2019
  • “California Supreme Court, 2018-2019: Rise of the Brown Court?” California Litigation Magazine, Vol. 32, No.3, November 2019
  • “Justice Goodwin Liu by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 3, 2019
  • “Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 13, 2019
  • “Justice Carol A. Corrigan by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 18, 2019
  • “Justice Ming Chin by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 26, 2019
  • “Brown’s Impact: Baxter to Cuellar,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 13, 2019
  • “How Have Brown’s Appointees Changed the Supreme Court (Part 2),” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 9, 2019
  • “The California Supreme Court, 2017-2018: Coping With a Short Bench,” California Litigation Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 3, November 2018.
  • “The Brown Court’s Impact,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 11, 2018
  • “Working Without Werdegar,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 28, 2018
  • “Delay in our Courts of Appeal,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 6, 2018
  • “California Supreme Court by the Numbers: Oral Arguments (Part 2),” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 19, 2018
  • “California Supreme Court by the Numbers: Oral Arguments (Part 1),” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 18, 2018
  • “The Justices of the California Supreme Court: 2017 by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 24, 2018
  • “The California Supreme Court: 2017 by the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 23, 2018
  • "Making Sense of the Litigation Analytics Revolution," The Practical Lawyer (American Law Institute), October 2017
  • “Why Does It Take Longer to Affirm Than to Reverse?” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 25, 2017
  • “Questions From the Bench Can Help You Assess Your Case, Chances,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 16, 2017
  • "Justices Eye Credit Card Laws and Free Speech," Law360.com, November 3, 2016 (with Meegan Brooks)
  • “Dissent Rising at High Court?” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 12, 2016
  • “Just How Far Does an Employer’s Duty of Care Extend?” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 1, 2016
  • “The Geography of the High Court Docket,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 28, 2016
  • “Data Shows Average Appeal Time Increasing in California,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 31, 2016
  • “How Many Pages Long are Supreme Court Civil Decisions?” Illinois Bar Journal, May 2016
  • “California Supreme Court in 2015: A Year in Transition,” Law 360.com, February 4, 2016
  • “The Illinois Supreme Court in 2015: A Statistical Analysis,” Law 360.com, February 3, 2016
  • “How Long Does It Take the Illinois Supreme Court to Issue a Decision After Oral Argument,” Illinois Bar Journal, December 2015
  • “What Percentage of the Supreme Court’s Civil Opinions Have Dissenters,” Illinois Bar Journal, October 2015
  • “Does an Unpublished Decision or Dissent Help You Get to the Illinois Supreme Court,” Illinois Bar Journal, September 2015
  • “From Which Counties Do the Supreme Court’s Civil Cases Come,” Illinois Bar Journal, August 2015
  • “What Kinds of Civil Cases Does the Supreme Court Decide,” Illinois Bar Journal, July 2015
  • “The Illinois Supreme Court in 2014: A Look at the Stats,” Law360.com, February 12, 2015
  • “Iskanian Decision Not Such a Clear Win for Business,” The Recorder, September 5, 2014
  • “The California Supreme Court’s Iskanian Decision: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back,” Washington Legal Foundation, July 1, 2014.
  • “What We Learned About the Illinois Supreme Court in 2013,” Law360.com, February 19, 2014
  • “Guaranty Fund’s Indemnity Payments Not Limited by Statutory Cap,” WorkCompCentral.com, November 8, 2013
  • “What We Can Learn from Illinois’ Kilbride Court,” Law360.com, October 31, 2013
  • “Iskanian v. CLS Transportation: Will California Fall in Line on Class-Wide Arbitration Waivers,” Washington Legal Foundation, February 8, 2013
  • “The Kilbride Court After Two Years: Pragmatic and Collegial,” Law360.com, January 24, 2013
  • “The Illinois Supreme Court 2012: Year in Review,” Law360.com, January 15, 2013
  • “Supreme Court to Consider Mailbox Rule,” WorkCompCentral.com, January 7, 2013

Audio Interviews

  • November 14, 2022 – “Am Law 50 Senior Counsel Cements His Authority Through Two Appellate Analytics Blogs,” Legally CONTENTed Podcast, by Wayne Pollock
  • October 15, 2020 - “Kirk Jenkins Discusses How Legal Blogging is a Career-Changing Experience,” This Week in Legal Blogging Podcast, by Robert Ambrogi
  • March 8, 2019 – “A Tentative Proposal: The First District and Tentative Rulings,” Daily Journal Podcast, by Brian Cardile
  • July 16, 2017 – “How Data Analytics Are Impacting the Law,” KCBS-Radio (San Francisco)
  • June 6, 2017 – "How a Recent California Supreme Court Decision May Be a Harbinger for Change on the Bench," AirTalk, by KPCC Radio (NPR, Los Angeles) 
  • March 1, 2017 – "What's Next From the California Supreme Court: A Data Junkie's Take," The Recorder Podcast, by San Francisco Recorder 
  • February 23, 2017 – "Can Appellate Outcomes Be Predicted?", Law.Com Podcast, by Ben Hancock
     

Licenses & Certifications

  • Certified Specialist in Appellate Law, California Board of Legal Specialization, 2002-present

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