Natalie L. Weatherford

Personal Injury

Manhattan Beach

Natalie L. Weatherford's successful practice as a Taylor & Ring partner focuses on childhood and adult sexual abuse cases, frequently taking on powerful institutions that try to silence victims or evade accountability.

As an example of her successes, she and co-counsel produced one of the Daily Journal's Top Verdicts of 2022 by persuading jurors to award $102.5 million to two female students who were victims of a sexual predator teaching music at a middle school. Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 v. Union School District, 19-CV-343088 (S. Clara Co. Sup. Ct., filed Feb. 11, 2019).

Weatherford joined Taylor & Ring in 2011. It was her first job out of law school. "I really wanted to help people and be in the courtroom," she said. "This is my dream job."

The big wins have kept coming: $25 million in December 2023 against the Santa Barbara Unified School District; $35 million in January 2024 against the Pomona Unified School District; $13 million in February 2024 against the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Three trials over three months are a lot. "I'm still tired from those," she said. She never asked for continuances. "Trial dates are precious, and I protect them," she said.

In the LAUSD case, a 14-year-old girl was groomed and sexually abused by a 19-year-old special education paraprofessional at a Van Nuys school. The defense tried to minimize the impact. "The school made excuses for him. The defense lawyer said he fancied himself a Romeo," Weatherford said. The jury took two hours to return its verdict. The school district has appealed. Jane Doe v. Los Angeles Unified School District et al., BC659059 (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed Apr. 25,2017).

In the Pomona case, a coach violently raped the 16-year-old victim on an overnight track trip. It was part of a pattern of abuse by authority figures at the school; Weatherford has eight other clients who were victims and has settled three of those cases. "They didn't take this one seriously because it happened 'just' one time," she said. Jane Doe 4 v. Pomona Unified School District et al., 22PSCV00686 (L.A. Sup. Ct, filed July 7, 2022).

The Santa Barbara case, a high school campus security guard and assistant football coach groomed and sexually abused a boy beginning when he was 14. "He did not report the abuse for ten years, which is very common, but the defense always tries to zero in on that. 'If it was so bad, why did he wait so long,'" she said, quoting a familiar argument. "That's not so hard to overcome. Jurors get it." John Doe 2 v. Santa Barbara Union School District et al., 22CV01055 (S. Barbara Co. Sup. Ct., filed March 14, 2022).

"These cases are important, and I can't imagine doing anything else," Weatherford said.

-- John Roemer