Educational Background

B.A. from Stanford University (Social Sciences)
M.A. (Religion) jointly from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University
J.D. from University of Chicago

 Legal Experience

Attorney – Sole Practitioner

LAW OFFICE OF DOUGLAS W. OTTO
1983 to the Present
Trial and appellate attorney with a private practice in Long Beach, California, primarily in criminal defense, land use and adminstrative law.

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Adjunct Professor of Law

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
1984 to 1996
Adjunct Professor of Law at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California, teaching courses in Advanced Criminal Theory, Jurisprudence, and Sentencing.

Co-author of Misdemeanor Appeals and Line-up and Identification chapters in California Criminal Law, Procedure and Practice, the Bible for defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges in California.

Research Interests:

• Appellate Procedures
• Crime Victims in the Criminal Justice System
• Eyewitness Identification
• First Amendment Issues
• Jurisprudence
• Sentencing

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Associate

PAUL, HASTINGS, JANOFSKY & WALKER
1981 to 1983
Associate in the Litigation Department in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California; involved in complex civil and criminal litigation, including business torts, defamation, and environmental issues.

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Deputy District Attorney

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
1978 – 1981
Deputy District Attorney, trial and appellate work, including responsibility for environmental/air quality cases in the County of Orange.

Admitted to Practice Law

Admitted to practice in all the courts in the State of California including all appellate courts and the California Supreme Court.

Admitted to practice in United States District Courts for the Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California, the Eastern District for Virginia and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal.

Admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court.

Recognition and Professional Affiliations

AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell – Peer Review Attorney Rating Service
Long Beach Bar Association Lawyer of the Year 2005
Calif. State Bar Association Small Firm Lawyer of the Year 2011

Long Beach Bar Association, President 2002
Los Angeles County Bar Association Board of Trustees 2000-2003
Long Beach Bar Association, Board of Governors 1985-88, 1994-97, 1999-2001
Long Beach Legal Aid Foundation, Board of Directors 1997-99
Member, Orange County Bar Association 1984-present
Member, California State Bar Association 1978-present
Member, Bar Association of the City of New York, 1989-present
California State Bar Access to Justice Commission
Co-chair, American Bar Association Committee on Victim’s Rights