Donahue Bates
Blakemore & Mackey

Mr. Bates completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University and received a B.A. in History in 1983. He received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1987. While attending McGeorge, he was a member of the Traynor Honor Society.

Mr. Bates was an associate for three years with the Los Angeles defense firm of Hagenbaugh & Murphy. He rejoined this firm in September, 1990 and became a partner January 1, 1995. Since that time, he has participated in more than 20 superior court jury trials.

Mr. Bates' emphasis is in civil litigation, handling the entire spectrum of general liability tort claims, including premises liability, wrongful termination, and low-impact motor vehicle accidents. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, the Sacramento County Bar Association, Placer County Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court (Eastern and Central Districts).

Mr. Blakemore completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Davis and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science in 1981. To fulfill the requirements of that degree, he held a position as a legislative liaison for Protection & Advocacy, an oversight group focusing on federal and state guidelines for persons with developmental disabilities. He received his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1984.

Mr. Blakemore initially joined our firm in 1983 as a law clerk and then in 1985 as an associate. He became a partner in 1994. His practice includes all aspects of civil litigation (auto and general liability) as well as insurance coverage disputes and bad faith litigation. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association (Tort and Insurance Law Subsections), and the Sacramento and El Dorado County Bar Associations.

Mr. Blakemore is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California, including the California Courts of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. His practice also includes the United States District Court (Eastern, Central and Northern Districts) and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a frequent lecturer on recent developments in civil litigation and insurance coverage and has several published opinions dealing with coverage issues. (American States Insurance Co. v. Canyon Creek (N.D. Cal. 1991) 786 F.Supp. 821; Alta v. Fremont Indemnity Co. (1994) 25 Cal.App.4th 455).

Mr. Mackey earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the College of Administrative Science at The Ohio State University in 1982. He graduated with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and was admitted to the California State Bar in December 1987. While at McGeorge, Mr. Mackey was a staff member on the Pacific Law Journal and a member of the Traynor Honor Society. While attending McGeorge, he worked at the firm as a law clerk and joined the firm as an associate in 1987. Mr. Mackey became a partner January 1, 1995. He is a member of the State Bar of California. He has been awarded an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Mackey's practice emphasizes the defense of medical and legal malpractice claims and insurance "bad faith" litigation. He also has considerable appellate experience, having handled appeals resulting in published opinions in the California Supreme Court, the First, Third and Fifth District Courts of Appeal, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Connolly attended law school at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he was awarded his Juris Doctorate degree in May of 1988. In 1981, he received a Finance degree from California State University at Chico and in 1986 completed all but his thesis in the Masters of Business Administration Program at California State University at Sacramento.

Prior to completing law school, Mr. Connolly spent seven years handling litigation files as a claims representative at several national insurance companies ( Maryland Casualty Company, Industrial Indemnity, and Aetna Insurance Companies). This experience provided him with unique perspective into the needs of insurance companies and how he can best satisfy those requirements.

Mr. Connolly joined this firm in 1989 and has been a partner since 1996.

Mr. Connolly has participated in over 200 arbitrations and numerous Superior Court jury trials. His emphasis is civil litigation, trucking lliability and MAIT exposure cases, premises liability and construction litigation.

In his 18 years as a litigator, he has personally handled over 17 trials , along with hundreds of arbitrations and mediations. He is a member of the California Trucking Association (CTA) and his membership application to join the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) is pending.