Douglas A. Pettit has extensive trial and litigation experience in the areas of civil litigation, business litigation, and professional liability. He has tried over 50 cases in California. His extraordinary record of favorable outcomes and exemplary client service has resulted in recognition by his peers over the years. He was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2007 as the youngest member of the San Diego Chapter and has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards. He has been selected for inclusion in the San Diego Super Lawyers list every year since 2007 and most recently listed as one of the Top 10 San Diego Super Lawyers for 2015, 2016, 2023, and 2024. Doug has been recognized by every possible “Top Attorney” list for San Diego including “San Diego’s Top Attorneys” by The Daily Transcript, the San Diego Business Journal’s Inaugural Best of the Bar in 2014, the San Diego Magazine’s Top Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. Notably, Best Lawyers in America recognized him as San Diego “Lawyer of the Year” for Legal Malpractice in 2015, 2018, 2023, 2025 and for Professional Malpractice in 2024. Doug is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honor limited to one third of one percent of the lawyers in America.

Doug was born in New Cumberland, West Virginia, and attended Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, where he graduated summa cum laude with a major in Economics and a minor in English. He then obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. He has been licensed to practice law in the State of California since 1992. Doug is also a lecturer at the University of San Diego, where he teaches a course in Experiential Advocacy.