Peter Nicholas Molligan

1938 - 2025

Peter Nicholas Molligan
03/08/1938 - 06/27/2025
Peter Molligan, 87, passed away peacefully at home on June 27, 2025. He was born in New Orleans on March 8, 1938, to Peter and Violet Molligan. Despite growing up in a working-class neighborhood, he graduated from Jesuit High School before becoming the first person in his family to attend college, receiving his bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University.
In 1960 he graduated from the Naval Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an Ensign. He served as a line officer aboard the USS Oriskany CVA34 for three years during which time he qualified as Officer on the Deck Underway. He left the Navy as Lieutenant JG.
Peter worked for GEICO from 1963-1970, starting as a claims adjuster and ending after several promotions as Regional Claims Manager to pursue a legal career. At the age 33, he went from being the youngest Regional Claims Manager in California to one of the oldest first-year associates when he joined the established civil trial firm of Hoberg, Finger, Brown and Abramson. Within eight years, the firm was renamed Molligan, Cox and Moyer, with Peter serving as CEO until his retirement in 1999.
During his legal career, Peter served as a pro-tem judge for the San Francisco Superior Court, Marin Superior Court and Alameda Superior Court, between 1989 and 2000. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the National Board of Trial Advocates.
While in just his fourth year of practicing law. Peter obtained a seven-figure jury verdict, one of the few to have done so at that time, a major achievement for a new attorney. Peter was also involved in the prosecution of several major multi-state toxic tort cases.
Peter was named to Best Lawyers in America for his trial results in the areas of medical and legal malpractice. He also received an AV-Rating, the highest attainable score by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been showcased in several editions of Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in the World. In addition, he received Recognition of Experience Certificates in Trial Law, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Professional Negligence and Insurance Bad Faith from the California Trial Lawyers Association.
As a person, Peter could be seen as a mass of contradictions. Raised in a rough-and-tumble area of New Orleans, he had a tough exterior, was ruthlessly competitive, and did not suffer fools quietly. He was also a voracious reader with a taste for fine art, modern jazz and well-made movies. Peter was witty with an extraordinary command of the English language, an accomplished raconteur, a master of timing and the salient detail. He loved tennis and chess. Like his father, he also enjoyed hunting and shooting sports. And he could never pass a dog without stopping to pet it. In any group picture, Peter was always the one, sometimes the only one, looking squarely at the camera lens the same way he looked at life. Peter was always Peter, come what may.
Peter is survived by his wife, Paula Peterson Molligan; his daughters, Rene Molligan, Jessica Molligan and Liza DeMartini (Paul); his step-daughter, Kelly Zapp Ginsberg (Klindt); his grandchildren, Miles Molligan Scott, Jack DeMartini, Emily Ginsberg, and Gavin Ginsberg, and three siblings, Sheila Diecidue (Dennis), Nicholas Molligan and Michael Molligan (Melanie) as well as many nieces and nephews.