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Five Kazan Law Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers for 2026

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Kazan Law is pleased to announce that five attorneys at the Kazan McClain Satterley & Greenwood, PLC, have been selected for the 32ⁿᵈ edition of The Best Lawyers in America®: Steven Kazan, David McClain, Gordon Greenwood, Denyse Clancy, and Denise Abrams.

Kazan Law Best LawyersFor over 40 years, Best Lawyers has been esteemed by both legal professionals and the public as a premier benchmark for legal integrity and distinction in the United States. Consequently, being recognized by Best Lawyers is a testament to exceptional practice. Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® is determined through a comprehensive peer-review survey, and the 32ⁿᵈ edition reached a historic milestone with over 280,000 voters having participated in Best Lawyers’ voting process. The winners were selected after more than 26 million evaluations were analyzed, including a 3.5 million responses from this year alone.

Having practiced in the areas of Mass Tort Litigation and Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Litigation for over 50 years, we thank all who recognized and identified our attorneys, resulting in this honor.

Kazan Law Partner Denyse Clancy Honored With Appellate Advocacy Award From the National Civil Justice Institute

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The Institute recognizes victory in a major challenge to default judgment procedures in the California Supreme Court through the pro bono efforts of Denyse Clancy of Kazan, McClain, Satterley, & Greenwood. After Cory Michael Hoehn’s apartment burned down, the building’s insurer sued him. It claimed to have served Mr. Hoehn’s girlfriend, but he never received the complaint or summons. After that, the insurer got a default judgment, and it assigned the judgment to a debt collector, which placed a lien on Mr. Hoehn’s wages nine years after the default judgment. When Mr. Hoehn attempted to vacate the default judgment, lower courts held that he was time-barred from doing so. Denyse Clancy took Mr. Hoehn’s case to the California Supreme Court. In California Capital Ins. v. Hoehn, 558 P.3d 590 (2024), the California Supreme Court held that motions to vacate judgments for lack of proper service were not subject to the two-year time limit courts had previously imposed. As a result of this decision, individual litigants will have an easier time setting aside default judgments obtained by predatory corporations.

Eleven Kazan Law Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers for 2025

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We are proud to announce that eleven Kazan Law attorneys were selected as Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars for 2025.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented attorney selection process is peer-influenced and research-driven, selecting the top five percent of attorneys to the Super Lawyers list each year

PERSONAL INJURY PRODUCTS:  PLAINTIFF

Steven Kazan

David M. McClain

Joseph D. Satterley

Denyse F. Clancy

Henry A. Steinberg

PERSONAL INJURY GENERAL:  PLAINTIFF

Gordon D. Greenwood

John L. Langdoc

Benjamin H. Adams

Michael T. Stewart

RISING STARS

Angelina Austin

Michael Reid

The Super Lawyers annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

Kazan Law Continues to Support Alameda County’s Annual Law Day Program

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This year, Kazan Law participated in the 2025 Law Day, an annual day dedicated to celebrating the role of law and to cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal profession.  In Alameda County, the Law Day Committee invites high school students from the Alameda County Philip A. Harley Memorial Scholarship Mock Trial program, named in 2009 in memory of Kazan Law’s beloved partner, Phil Harley, shortly after his passing. The theme for Law Day this year was America’s national motto, E Pluribus Unum, which means “Out of many, one.”

 

Students from five high schools met in Department 1 of the Alameda County Superior Court where both District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson and Public Defender Brendon Woods did opening discussions.  The group of students then went across the street to attend the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ general meeting where they witnessed firsthand the legislative process and were presented with a Law Day Proclamation by the Board, a tradition that began years ago and continues to honor the value of America’s rule of law.  

Justice Charles Smiley,

The group then returned to Department 1 for lunch and a presentation by Special Guest Speaker Justice Charles Smiley, followed by a panel of Alameda County Judges who introduced themselves and answered many questions.  The participatory nature of Law Day is most memorable to the students who in many cases have never seen a real courtroom–-experiential learning at its best!

Kazan Law has participated in the Alameda County Law Day for the past 25 years and continues to carry on the tradition of supporting this unique program aimed at inspiring young students to pursue a career in public service law. 

Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation Celebrates its Grantees’ Landmark $16.5 Million Settlement for Section 8 Tenants

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Kazan McClain Satterley & Greenwood salutes Centro Legal de la Raza, Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee, the Impact Fund, Law Offices of Andrew Wolff, and the California Civil Rights Law Group for their amazing victory in U.S. ex rel. Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group which resulted in a $16.5 million settlement on behalf of Section 8 tenants.

 

 

The outstanding victory includes the return of 100% of the unlawful excess rent paid by tenants plus interest, and injunctive relief eliminating the unlawful practices.

We whole-heartedly endorse The Daily Journal’s decision to present Centro Legal’s litigation director Jessie Newmark the 2025 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award.

We are proud of our Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation’s financial contribution to Centro Legal de la Raza and the Impact Fund. This financial support allows them to provide vital legal services to vulnerable and underserved communities, like the plaintiffs in this case.

The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation was founded in 1994, and to date has distributed over $38 million in grants to diverse organizations.  We look forward to being a part of their continued success.

Asbestos Personal Injury Law Firm Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood Has Been Recognized For Its Exceptional Expertise In Products Liability

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Firm Logo

On Thursday, April 10, 2025, Chambers and Partners (Chambers) launched its new Spotlight California 2025 Guide and Rankings on Chambers.com. As part of Chambers comprehensive review of the legal market across California, Kazan Law based in Oakland, has been recognized for our exceptional expertise in Products Liability.  

Traditionally, Chamber and Partners selects law firms based on its in-depth research that assess lawyers and law firms across more than 200 jurisdictions around the world, providing independent and impartial intelligence for those in need of representation. The 2025 Guide highlights small to mid-sized firms with sophisticated expertise, superb reputations in their community, and nationally recognized practice areas that demonstrates intimate knowledge of the local courts, regulations and cost-effective solutions for sophisticated legal work.   

For over 50 years, Kazan Law has represented thousands of people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, particularly mesothelioma. Our principals are the most experienced mesothelioma lawyers in California and have won precedent-setting rulings by the California Appellate and Supreme Courts. Kazan Law specializes in these complex catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases involving products liability, premises liability, negligence, intentional disregard of the life and safety of the victims,  and punitive damages.  

Kazan Law also has extensive expertise in representing claimants in the bankruptcy reorganizations of asbestos defendants, and before the resulting asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Funds, and indeed was proclaimed the nation’s leading claimants’ bankruptcy trust law firm by the Wall Street Journal. 

Kazan Law’s support for our clients extends beyond simply providing legal services. Kazan Law is a source of online information, attends and presents at legal and medical conferences, financially supports cutting-edge medical research, and supports legislative and regulatory efforts to ban asbestos.  We are deeply honored by Chambers’ recognition, which reflects Kazan Law’s commitment to delivering extraordinary service and accomplishing excellent results for our clients.

If you or a family member have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact us now to speak with one of our partners. We will bring you our more than 50 years of expertise and success. Kazan Law is located at 55 Harrison St., Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94607 and can be contacted by calling 888-887-1238 or online via our contact form.

Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood, PLC, Ranked 37th in Top 100 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists List

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San Francisco Business Times
   

Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood announced today that it has ranked number 37 on the San Francisco Business Times’ 2024 Bay Area Top 100 Corporate Philanthropists List, published on July 26, 2024. 

The annual list recognizes 100 top corporate philanthropists ranked by local cash giving.  It includes both for-profit companies and nonprofit health care organizations that made contributions to Bay Area based charitable organizations in the following counties:  San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

While most of the top donors are large corporations, such as Google, Genentech, and Wells Fargo, the Top 100 lists includes a handful of law firms. Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood, a 20-attorney firm, ranked as the second largest law firm donor, just behind Morrison & Foerster, a global firm with over 1,000 attorneys. Since Morrison Foerster formed its foundation in 1986, it has distributed over $44 million, while the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation, founded in 1994, has distributed over $38 million in grants to organizations that support research and treatment for occupational and environmental disease; increase awareness about workplace health and safety; enhance access to education about the legal system; advance programs that provide services to the underprivileged; and provide support for communities in distress, including grants to Bay Area Legal Aid, East Bay Community Law Center, International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Seven Tepees, Stanford University Hospital, UC Law San Francisco’s Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, UCSF, and Worksafe. 

This year, Kazan Law celebrates its 50th anniversary with an intense focus on representing mesothelioma patients and their families. “Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood’s generosity helps to raise the bar on corporate philanthropy and inspires more giving,” said Mary Huss, Publisher of the San Francisco Business Times.  “Their participation in this program helps challenge others to do more.”

“I am so pleased to receive this honor on behalf of the Kazan Law firm and the Kazan McClain Partners Foundation which it funds,” said Steven Kazan, Founder and Senior Partner of Kazan Law.

 
 

ABOUT KAZAN, McCLAIN, SATTERLEY & GREENWOOD:

Since 1974, Kazan McClain, Satterley & Greenwood has represented people suffering from mesothelioma and related illnesses   Kazan Law principals are among the most experienced mesothelioma lawyers in the United States and have secured billions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts. We are located at 55 Harrison St., Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94607 and can be contacted by calling 888-887-1238 or online.

ABOUT THE CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY AWARDS:

For 24 years the San Francisco Business Times has published the Corporate Philanthropists List.  The list features 100 top corporate philanthropists in the Bay Area ranked by local cash giving.  Each year the list is unveiled at the San Francisco Business Times’ Corporate Philanthropy Awards event.  The Corporate Philanthropy Awards program was founded in partnership with Northern California Grantmakers.  A portion of the proceeds goes to NCG to fund the Corporate Philanthropy Institute, with the mission to educate more companies about effective giving and best philanthropy practices.  The aim is to honor those who give the most and in doing so to help raise the bar and inspire more giving. 

Our Foundation will continue to provide grants to research and Bay Area organizations to increase better opportunities for all.

Kazan Law Pro Bono Immigration Clients Granted Asylum

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Our firm is privileged to provide pro bono representation to brave and deserving immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. Many immigrants come from Honduras and other Central American countries because they face unimaginable dangers in their home countries and come to our shores for safety and a life free of violence. Refugees from these countries are eligible for asylum if they face or fear persecution in their home countries because of their race, religion, political opinions, or if they are targeted because of their gender, family memberships, or memberships in other groups protected under immigration law. 

 

 

In 2015, when a large number of children and families came to the U.S. seeking asylum from Central America and other countries, there was a great need to provide legal representation to these children and their families. Children were taken away from their families and put in protective custody. Parents were put in jail. None of them were criminals. They were all seeking the protections they are entitled to under our laws. Our firm agreed to represent a number of these children and their families pro bono because they needed help.

Since 2015, several of our children and families were granted asylum and they can now safely live here in the U.S.  In our most recent case, in November 2023, the San Francisco Immigration Court granted asylum to a young Honduran woman and her two children.  Our client came to the U.S. in 2015 from Honduras after the government forced the family off their farm, taking their source of food and family income.  Gang members killed several family members, assaulted and sexually abused other family members, and forced our client and the rest of the family to flee the country.  The Honduran authorities were unable then, and continue to be unable now, to stop MS 13 from carrying out its program of terror against our client, her family, and many other Honduran citizens.

Over the last several years, our firm also successfully represented other clients who were granted asylum including:

  • A young teenage boy who was pursued by gang members after he witnessed the murder of his uncle.
  • A mother who was the victim of race discrimination and sexual assault where the government allows such practices to occur with impunity.
  • A young pastor and his wife and baby son who were brutally attacked by gang members for practicing their religion and preaching against gangs.
  • A 12-year-old girl who was brutally abused by her family in a country where the government does not intervene to protect children from abuse in their families.
  • A young woman and her child who fled severe domestic violence, where her partner kept her virtually enslaved, in a country that does not intervene on behalf of women facing spousal abuse.

We look forward to continuing our pro bono immigration work.  We are gratified to know that our clients are now living their lives here, safe from the dangers that forced them to leave their home countries.

We could not bring these cases alone.  We are grateful to our partnering organizations, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS), Centro Legal de La Raza, and Immigrant Legal Defense (ILD) for providing training and assistance to us, and to pro bono immigration lawyers here in the Bay Area and throughout the United States.

Kazan Law Ranked Number 41 on the San Francisco Business Times’ 2023 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists List

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Kazan Law San Francisco Business Times' 2023 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists List

 

Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood announced today that it has been ranked number 41 on the San Francisco Business Times’ 2023 Bay Area Corporate Philanthropists List, which was published in a supplement in the San Francisco Business Times on July 28, 2023. The Corporate Philanthropy Awards’ list and supplement celebrates the Bay Area’s most generous corporate citizens and recognizes those companies that also give their time, talent, and resources. The annual list recognizes 100 top corporate philanthropists ranked by local cash giving. It includes for-profit companies and nonprofit health care organizations that made contributions to Bay Area based charitable organizations in the following counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

For nearly 50 years, Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood has represented almost exclusively mesothelioma patients. Thirty years ago, the Kazan Firm had the foresight and aspiration to create the Kazan McClain Partners Foundation so the Firm could provide funds to support organizations and institutions that fight for the little guy. Over the years, the Kazan McClain Partners Foundation has given more than $25 million in grant money to many diverse organizations and hospitals including, the University of California San Francisco, Stanford University, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), as well as Bay Area Legal Aid, East Bay Community Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law and UC Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies.

For example, Kazan Law has been a major donor to San Francisco Bay Area and Alameda County food banks. It also supports groups that provide legal assistance to underserved communities, and funds scholarships to increase professional diversity in the law. Kazan Law is a significant supporter of WORKSAFE, a California nonprofit that is committed to systemic change to protect the health and safety of workers, including those exposed to the hazards of asbestos. Kazan Law is in the forefront of providing grants to universities for medical research to acquire a better understanding and treatment of all aspects of mesothelioma.

“Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood’s generosity helps to raise the bar on corporate philanthropy and inspires more giving,” said Mary Huss, Publisher of the San Francisco Business Times. “Their participation in this program helps challenge others to do more.”

“I am so pleased to receive this honor on behalf of the Kazan Law firm and the Kazan McClain Partners Foundation which it funds,” said Steven Kazan, Founder, Senior and Managing Partner of Kazan Law.

ABOUT KAZAN, McCLAIN, SATTERLEY & GREENWOOD:

Since 1974, Kazan McClain, Satterley & Greenwood has represented people suffering from mesothelioma and related illnesses. Kazan Law principals are among the most experienced mesothelioma lawyers in the United States and have secured billions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts. Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood is located at 55 Harrison St., Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94607 and can be contacted by calling 888-887-1238 or online at: https://www.kazanlaw.com/

ABOUT THE CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY AWARDS:

For 23 years the San Francisco Business Times has published the Corporate Philanthropists List. The list features 100 top corporate philanthropists in the Bay Area ranked by local cash giving. Each year the list is unveiled at the San Francisco Business Times’ Corporate Philanthropy Awards event. The Corporate Philanthropy Awards program was founded in partnership with Northern California Grantmakers.  A portion of the proceeds goes to NCG to fund the Corporate Philanthropy Institute, with the mission to educate more companies about effective giving and best philanthropy practices.  The aim is to honor those who give the most and in doing so to help raise the bar and inspire more giving. 

Kazan Law Wins a $18.8 Million Mesothelioma Verdict In Johnson & Johnson Talc Baby Powder Lawsuit

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On July 18, 2023, a California Jury returned an award of $18.8 million to Emory Valadez who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after a lifetime of using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. The Kazan Law attorneys proved to another jury that Johnson & Johnson’s talcum baby powder was contaminated with asbestos and that Johnson & Johnson worked to hide this from the public.

Valadez’s Story

This 24-year-old plaintiff is represented by Joe Satterley, Denyse Clancy and Michael Reid of Kazan Law and suffers from pericardial and plueral mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the heart and the lining of the lungs. When Emory was a baby, his mother used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder talc on him every day, during diaper changes and after baths. Emory claimed that Johnson & Johnson knew that asbestos was present in its talc, before and during the years that he used Johnson’s baby powder. Johnson & Johnson failed to warn Emory, his mother and the public about talc and asbestos contained in its products.

 

Outstanding Trial Result

The verdict is an outstanding result under the most challenging circumstances. Johnson & Johnson twice stalled the trial of the case by filing fraudulent bankruptcies. Bankruptcy is meant for companies that cannot afford to pay their debts, but Johnson & Johnson is one of the most financially stable companies in the world and the appellate court determined it was wrong for them to use bankruptcy to stall mesothelioma lawsuits.

Emory’s case has received national coverage including from the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Reuters, NBC and the New York Post.

Emory Valadez was awarded $18.8 million with 100% fault allocated to Johnson & Johnson.

 

Reach Out to Our Experienced Mesothelioma Lawyers Today

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, get in touch with our experienced California mesothelioma lawyers here at Kazan Law. You can schedule a free review of your case by calling 888-887-1238 or filling out our online form so you can learn more about your case and the most appropriate legal options for you. Our mesothelioma lawyers have decades of experience handling mesothelioma cases and have secured billions of dollars in settlements or jury verdicts for our clients since 1974.

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