David Freitas was very proud to be a 5th generation California and that 6 generations of his family have lived in Marin County. Born October 21, 1940 in San Francisco, he was raised and lived his entire life in Marin County. He attended Bellarmine College Prep, the University of San Francisco, where he played tennis and the University of Santa Clara.
He graduated first in his class at San Francisco Law School where he received his J.D. Degree. David was a civil and business trial lawyer for 40 years. David tried over 100 jury trials to verdict, mostly in Marin, San Francisco, Sonoma and Humboldt Counties. Among his many honors for his professional work, David was elected a Diplomate Emeritus in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), was President of the San Francisco Chapter of ABOTA, a Member of the National Board of Directors of ABOTA and Chairman of Cal-ABOTA. He was elected Emeritus Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (limited to 1% of lawyers in US and Canada), Emeritus Fellow of the International Society of Barristers (limited to 500 members worldwide) and Emeritus Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (limited to 500 members worldwide). He served as President of the Association of Defense Counsel of California and Nevada and was on the Association's Board of Directors for over a decade. He was a founding member and later President of the Edward McFetridge American Inn of Court in San Francisco and a founding member of the Richard Sangster Inn of Court in Sonoma County. In the mid-1980s David and his friend Dan Kelley started the first Northern California company to hire retired judges to serve as arbitrators and mediators resolving civil disputes in the private sector.Â
David was active in many civic endeavors. He served on the Boards of St. Vincent's School, Guide Dogs for the Blind, San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), Marin Humane Society, Marin County Historical Society, Marin History Museum and the San Francisco Law School. David also served for many years as President of the philanthropic Freitas Foundation established by his uncle Louie Freitas in 1962 (MarinIndJournal).Â
