The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation: a Commitment to Justice
At the Kazan Law Firm, our practice centers around helping our clients get just compensation for the harm that has been done to them and holding negligent corporations accountable. With the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation, we take our commitment to justice even further. We created the foundation 30 years ago to support institutions that fight for the little guy, just like we do. I’m proud to say that, since 1994, the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation has given out a total of more than $30 million in grant money. We’re excited to see the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation grants making a difference in people’s lives. Here are a few of the community, health, and civic organizations that benefit from Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation funding.
Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation Funds Mesothelioma Research
As one of the pioneering law firms in the field of asbestos litigation, we have worked with a great many mesothelioma clients since we opened our practice in 1974. Because of the brutal nature of this cancer, we have also had to say goodbye to our clients with mesothelioma, some sooner, some later. We have sat with grieving families who have lost fathers and mothers, husbands and wives. We have seen firsthand the devastating effect of mesothelioma on the lives of our clients and our loved ones.
Because of these experiences, research into better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for mesothelioma is a top priority of the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation. The Foundation has given approximately one third ($10 million) of its donations to mesothelioma research.
The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation has given grants to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Thoracic Oncology Program. UCSF is one of the top medical schools in the United States. Their Thoracic Oncology Program specializes in treatment of cancers of the lungs, including mesothelioma. In the over 30 years since its founding, the program has done ground breaking research. The program’s Thoracic Oncology Laboratory was awarded a National Institutes of Health R01 grant in 2005 to study mesothelioma. In addition to this important research, the thoracic oncology specialists at UCSF provide top-notch care to mesothelioma patients.
We also support the Thoracic Cancer Program at Stanford Healthcare. Through its connection with the Stanford University School of Medicine, mesothelioma patients get state-of-the-art care from some of the best and brightest medical practitioners in the country. Mesothelioma care options include one of the most exciting new treatments for mesothelioma patients: immunotherapy. By analyzing the genetic code of a tumor, Stanford physicians can prescribe chemotherapy that attacks the mechanisms by which that particular cancer grows, increasing the chance of fighting back the tumor and extending life
We are proud to have had a role in funding these and other promising new breakthroughs in mesothelioma treatment, including innovative surgical procedures. The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation will continue to fund mesothelioma research at outstanding institutions like the ones above and the University of Chicago Pritzger School of Medicine, Creighton University School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Hull in the UK, and Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) in Australia.
Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation Funds Fellowships
At Kazan Law, we know that the legal community that defends the rights of everyday people is only as robust as its next generation. Training young lawyers for careers representing the poorest and neediest among us and holding corporate wrongdoers to account is close to our hearts. That’s why the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation provides grants to pay for fellowships and internships for law students and new lawyers at nonprofit legal organizations.
The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation funds several of the fellowships awarded by the Berkeley Law Foundation, to ethnically diverse students with significant financial need entering their first year at Berkeley Law School and are committed to a career in public service and/or civil rights law. In 2020, with generous funding from the Broussard Scholarship Foundation, BLF renamed the fellowship to the Allen E. Broussard Phoenix Fellowship in memory of the Honorable Justice Allen E. Broussard. Justice Broussard enrolled at Berkeley Law as one of three African Americans in his class and graduated in 1953. In 1981, Justice Broussard was appointed to the California Supreme Court, becoming the second African American to sit on the court, serving until 1991. BLF and the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation are proud to partner in awarding these fellowships to this talented pool of young aspiring attorneys committed to public service work.
The Golden Gate University Innocence Project is an adjunct to the Northern California Innocence Project, based out of Santa Clara Law School. The project is part of a national movement to exonerate prisoners who were wrongly convicted using DNA and other evidence. Law clinic students get practical experience in criminal law through the project, which has brought much needed attention to the hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of people who languish in jail because of shoddy work by the criminal justice and legal systems.
The East Bay Community Law Center gives low-income communities of color free legal advice and education and also represents low income clients for no fee. EBCLC helps with everything from tax compliance to understanding loan documents to creating a nonprofit organization. This nonprofit legal center also provides a program for UC Berkeley Law School students that trains them in community legal activism.
The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation has also supported Hastings Students for Immigrant Rights, which helps law students at Hastings build the foundations for a career representing immigrants. The group was named the Student Organization of the Year in 2016.
Our Foundation has also contributed to the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Public Justice, Impact Fund, and Bay Area Legal Aid, among others.
Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation Funds Youth
It all begins with our children. Healthy, strong, and empowered youth are the foundation of a just and sustainable society. The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation has provided money for scholarships and stipends that create opportunities for youth from diverse backgrounds to explore careers in government in law.
The East Oakland Youth Development Center provides a continuum of free educational programming to provide consistent support to youth in high-risk environments in forming relationships with adults, mastering skills, and contributing to their own well‑being and that of their community. EYODC’s participants range from kindergarten age through post-secondary education, and into careers. The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation has funded multiple scholarships every year since 2014 for EYODC participants matriculating from high school to college, creating a positive impact on their future success.
The Youth Law Academy at Centro Legal de la Raza calls itself “a diversity pipeline.” The Academy is an after-school program that helps high school students in Oakland, California, prepare for college and for legal careers. The students are mentored by lawyers and judges, learn leadership skills, and get help with college applications, SAT prep, and financial aid.
The Center for Youth Development Through Law gives students from disadvantaged communities in the East Bay, San Francisco area, exposure to the law through programs at UC Berkeley Law School. During the intensive summer program, youth get paid internships while they take classes on campus. The program also sponsors a mock trial competition to develop self-confidence for local high school students.
The Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation also supports youth through The Annual Cruz Reynoso Social Justice & Judicial Externship Fellowship Dinner and the Oakland Technical High School Washington DC Program. We are excited to play a part in the education of the next generation of inspiring leaders, in the legal field and beyond.
Medical Articles Arising From Research Funded by the
Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation
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Ezeka, Geraldine, et al. “Sulforaphane inhibits PRMT5 and MEP50 function to suppress the mesothelioma cancer cell phenotype.” Molecular carcinogenesis 60.7 (2021): 429-439.
Klebe, Sonja, et al. “The highlights of the 15th international conference of the international mesothelioma interest group–Do molecular concepts challenge the traditional approach to pathological mesothelioma diagnosis?.” Lung cancer 163 (2022): 1-6.
Shrestha, Suruchi, et al. “ACTL6A suppresses p21Cip1 tumor suppressor expression to maintain an aggressive mesothelioma cancer cell phenotype.” Oncogenesis 10.10 (2021): 70-81.
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Lee, Jen-Chieh, et al. “MK256 is a novel CDK8 inhibitor with potent antitumor activity in AML through downregulation of the STAT pathway.” Oncotarget 13 (2022): 1217- 1236.
Mo, Min-Li, et al. “Measurement of genome-wide DNA methylation predicts survival benefits from chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer.” Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 141.5 (2015): 901-908.
Naselsky, Warren, et al. “Transglutaminase 2 enhances hepatocyte growth factor signaling to drive the mesothelioma cancer cell phenotype.” Molecular carcinogenesis 61.6 (2022): 537-548.
Adhikary, Gautam, et al. “Mesothelioma cancer cells are glutamine addicted and glutamine restriction reduces YAP1 signaling to attenuate tumor formation.” Molecular carcinogenesis 62.4 (2023): 438-449.
The Future of the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation
This is only part of the story of the Kazan McClain Partners’ Foundation. We have supported the San Francisco Chronicle Season of Giving holiday fundraising drive since the Foundation began in 1994. We further have donated to the Alameda County Community Food Bank for over twenty years giving over $500,000. We have funded the National Institute for Workers’ Rights (formerly Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law and Policy) every year since it began nearly twenty years ago. We also donate annually to Alameda County Meals on Wheels and other local organizations aimed at assisting communities in need.
We continue to find new ways to use Foundation funding to support mesothelioma patients, budding lawyers, and the cause of justice for all citizens.