Adanté Pointer

– LAWYER –

Mr. Adanté D. Pointer is an Oakland, California based attorney who has represented clients in civil and criminal litigation in courts throughout the State of California since 2005.

He is a Bay Area native and completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley and earned his law degree from University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Adanté is not a stranger to high profile and high stakes police abuse cases. For example, in 2009, 22 year-old Oscar Grant was shot and killed by a BART police officer as he lay unarmed on his stomach. The shooting was captured on video and made national and international headlines for the shocking nature of incident. After litigating the matter for several years, Adanté managed to secure Mr. Grant’s mother and daughter a multi-million dollar settlement. The case was turned into the block-buster movie “Fruitvale.” He has represented many other families whose loved ones were also killed by police officers including, but not limited to, the families of Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, Luis Gongora and Willie McCoy. He has had the honor of representing survivors of police abuse such as Nandi Cain who was infamously choked and beaten on videotape by a Sacramento Police Officer for merely being suspected of jaywalking as well as NFL football player Michael Bennett who suffered abuse at the hands of police while attending the Floyd Mayweather – Connor McGregor Fight in Las Vegas.

Adanté, actually tries cases to verdict. For example, in 2018 he tried a case in Sacramento Federal court on behalf of Tan Lam whose mentally ill son stabbed a police officer with a pair of scissors prompting the officer to shoot and kill the young man in front of his father. A federal jury returned a verdict in favor of Tan Lam to the tune of $2.75 million. In 2019, Mr. Pointer tried a case against two City of San Jose Police officers on behalf of the family of 18 year-old Anthony Nunez. The Officers claimed Anthony pointed a gun at them which caused them to shoot him. The jury rejected the Officers’ story and returned a verdict on behalf of Anthony’s family for $2.65 million. Both of the aforementioned verdicts were amongst the highest jury verdicts in the State of California for the years 2018 and 2019.

Mr. Pointer has used his passion to advocate on behalf of victims of environmental discrimination and disasters. He currently represents over 10,000 people who were injured as a result of the 2012 Richmond, California Chevron Refinery Fire. He is honored to represent countless other people who have suffered catastrophic injuries due to the reckless conduct of others.

Adanté is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. For the past several years Superlawyers Magazine has named him a “Rising Star” an esteemed designation reserved for less than 3% of all attorneys. In 2012, the National Bar Association selected him to receive the prestigious Nation’s Best Advocates Award. In addition, Ebony Magazine counted him among the country’s future leaders who they tabbed the “30 on the Rise.” He frequently hosts Know Your Rights events to educate the community on how to survive police encounters and his commentary and opinions are often featured in the media. He is a proud father and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

Meet Your Attorney

Education

• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Courts Admitted

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Northern, and Eastern Districts of California
• All California State Courts

Civic Groups, Volunteer Organizations, & Awards

• Featured in the February 2008 Ebony Magazine article entitled 30 On The Rise;
• In 2006, the Congressional Black Caucus recognized him as a CBC Emerging Leader at their Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC.
• Superlawyers Magazine Rising Star Award Winner, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• National Bar Association Nations’ Best Advocate Award Winner 2013.

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