Edward C. Stark
With a strong professional foundation in law, science, government, and academia, Edward C. Stark is not just a partner at a top-tier law firm, Cron, Israels & Stark, in Santa Monica, but also one of California’s leading attorneys covering torts, medical malpractice, business litigation, and professional licensure defense.
Ed’s legal specialty is more than just a profession. It is a passion that stems back to his humble beginnings in the Bronx, in New York City. Like many young men of his generation, he spent countless hours on a baseball diamond, dreaming of eventually playing Major League Baseball. Although Ed’s dreams shifted to science and, later, to the law, he never lost his competitive spirit. Paired with his quest for knowledge and his personable, compassionate—yet firm—approach to his legal practice, he is today regarded as a “major league” player in the law.
After attending New York’s famed Bronx High School of Science, Ed spent his undergraduate years at City College of New York (part of the City University system), where he obtained his B.A. and M.A. in Chemistry, with a minor in psychology. Always wanting to eventually live in Southern California, he then moved west, where he obtained his Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. Following that, he qualified to receive a coveted spot in a NASA program for scientist-astronauts to perform experiments on space shuttles and at orbiting space stations.
However, his passion for serving the greater good on Earth compelled him to change course and attend Southwestern Law School, in Los Angeles, where he graduated cum laude (top 10% of the class). Prior to embarking on his legal career, and during his early years of practice, Ed embraced his scientific, academic career as a Professor of Chemistry at Los Angeles City College between 1977 and 1990 and authored the college-level textbook Essential Chemistry (London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1979), which has been used at universities around the world.
Beyond the courtroom and the office, Ed has dedicated much of his career to leading the next generation of lawyers and legal professionals at several law schools in adjunct professorial positions, teaching Torts and Medical Malpractice. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern School of Law, teaching Torts, Medical Malpractice and Remedies.
As a trial attorney, Ed tried to verdict over 75 jury trials and 150 court trials. For the past 25 years, he has also served as a Judge Pro Tem on numerous occasions and an Arbitrator in more than 100 matters. In 2014 and 2015, he was chosen by special invitation to present before American Specialty Health in San Diego on the topics of "Boundary Issues" and "Professional Board Defense for Health Care Practitioners." In 2015, he presented before the ACC (Association of Chiropractic Colleges) on Risk Management facing Chiropractic colleges.
Samples of recent successful plaintiff's results are $8.4 million, $2.25 million and $2.1 million for medical malpractice cases, and $415,000 and $300,000 obtained in personal injury cases. Though these are not atypical or infrequent results in his caseload, Ed remains modest and fully committed to the welfare of his clients, personally and financially.
Another hallmark of Ed’s career is protecting his defense clients from heavy financial damages while helping his plaintiff clients win significantly and decisively. The majority of his defense cases result in the payment of no money, or minimal money, below the costs of defense, to those who filed against them. A sampling of achievements beyond the courtroom and the classroom are also notable. Ed was a Commissioner on a State Senate Advisory Commission on Franchises in 1989, and from 1990-1997, he was a Commissioner on a State Senate Advisory Commission on Malpractice Insurance. Additionally, Ed was a member of the California Committee of Bar Examiners from 2000 – 2004, serving as Chair of the Examinations Subcommittee from 2001-2003, and as the Committee’s Vice-Chair from 2003-2004.
These accomplishments have added up over the years, earning Ed recognition as a Southern California Super Lawyer consecutively from 2011-2022, an AV-rated (highest level) lawyer according to Martindale-Hubbell’s lawyer peer ranking system. Los Angeles Magazine has also repeatedly recognized Ed as one of the pre-eminent attorneys in Southern California. In addition, Ed has been recognized as America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators for Southern California from 2018-2022.