Northern California Super Lawyers Articles

For Joan Fife and Jahan Sagafi, being on opposing sides doesn’t mean yelling across the table

Gordon Greenwood is known for his civility, but he’ll go to the mat in the hunt for justice

San Francisco firms Nichols Law and Ratner Molineaux are representing 5 women deputy DAs

In his free time, you’ll likely find this Sacramento attorney on his sheep ranch in the Valley

Mark Burton was on the team that won the first jury verdict—$285 million—in the Roundup cases against Monsanto, and he’s not done yet

Steven Williams’ pro bono cases hold a special place in his heart 

Ed Hugo raises red flags about what’s getting lost in the new normal

Litigator, author and restaurateur John Briscoe tells local history through the lens of food and drink

Airbus’ flying car is just one of the cutting-edge projects Sasha Rao gets to work on 

Sonakshi Kapoor was told a girl couldn’t join the family business—so she became a lawyer instead

Husband-and-wife duo Michael Haddad and Julia Sherwin play to their individual strengths 

Five attorneys talk about the massive class action against PG&E

How Heidi Keefe used a tin recipe box and a pink stuffed animal to explain tech to juries

Northern California lawyers talk about adjusting to the new normal

San Francisco lawyers Mary Alexander and Elizabeth Cabraser seek class action

Despite lockdowns, courtroom health scares and two delays in a trial with a pandemic as the backdrop, an Oakland attorney returns home from Kentucky with a win

Michael Bracamontes fights for families in danger of being evicted

Sacramento attorney Carley Roberts finds respite on her horse ranch

Chris Skinnell is a one-stop shop for ballot initiatives and most everything else voting-related

For litigator Edward Hugo, the jury is not out on trials by Zoom: He wants them stopped

Discovery with Derek Cole

The San Francisco attorney puts her psychology creds to work in her family law practice

Barbara, Therese and Maria Lawless followed in their father’s footsteps—and stuck together 

Dan Baradat has won millions of dollars in jury verdicts for blue-collar workers like the ones he grew up with

Two SF attorneys champion a freelance journalist whose home was raided after he refused to name a confidential source

How a group of local attorneys launched an organization to help the homeless 

How Ryan Abernethy found more creativity in the law than in animation

After her first case involving vulnerable pets, Jill Telfer couldn’t say no

Four trial lawyers find that a little luck never hurt

Five weekends a year, look for Ed Hugo on the racetrack

Discovery with Arturo J. González

Local Counsel with Andrew W. Stroud

How Dale Minami took on the U.S. government and rewrote an internment survivor’s story

Jennifer Hartman King brings harmony when developers and state regulators start butting heads

Michael Nunez fights for the right of people of all abilities to enjoy the good things in life

Bob Moore once caught passes from Kenny Stabler; now his wins take place in the courtroom

Russell Reiner and Todd Slaughter on stepping up to protect the community

Michelle Roberts sees her hardworking dad in clients struggling for benefits they’ve been denied

Christopher Banys’ pro bono work helps immigrants and YouTubers

Now that recreational pot is legal, public law attorneys like Ruthann Ziegler are helping cities cut through the haze

How #MeToo is impacting gender-discrimination cases

The $1.4 billion comes from a $14.7 billion payout negotiated in 2016 by San Francisco’s Elizabeth Cabraser

Karine Bohbot’s trial prep: organization (then more organization), coffee, tunes and her Wonder Woman lunchbox

Elizabeth Cabraser tackles Volkswagen, Takata and Exxon—and seldom misses a drumming gig

The Sacramento attorney says it’s all about the people you meet along the way

How real estate lawyer James Abrams has helped shape his adopted town

How a timely technology purchase eased Peter Brewer’s mind after a serious accident

Brandi Brown thrives on fielding whatever life throws her way

Pat Gillette wants firms to put more women and minorities in the board room

Anthony Perez, author of Second Wind, finds his second wind

An international network headed up by Charles Kagay arms boutique firms with more firepower

That’s how Sacramento attorney Shaye Diveley helped deliver an arena for the Kings—and just before the buzzer

… Even though the Elk Grove family law attorney is very much alive and well

San Francisco insurance-coverage lawyer Ivo Labar is spearheading a class action against The Hartford

San Francisco attorney Cody Harris turned to GoFundMe to counteract a planned extremist rally  

If Rebecca Kagin weren’t a lawyer, she might be hard to track down

Oakland’s Vincent Tong tells us what’s good in the neighborhood

An oral history of local lawyers who clerked in the rarefied chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, for justices ranging from William O. Douglas to Stephen Breyer

How Daralyn Durie and high-tech clients like Google are shaping the future of copyright law

Rick Watters keeps his focus on the client—and his ego in check

For local lawyers in love with the grape, options range from helping vintners finance land deals to producing wine of their own

Handy legal apps

Bill Smith is determined to bring back good manners

Yosef Peretz has taken on heavyweights like Tesla, but he always finds time to help those down on their luck hang onto their homes

The Sacramento attorney, who has been lead counsel on a score of statewide initiative and referendum measures, reveals his inner Elvis

The San Francisco attorney tells us what’s good in the neighborhood

An oral history of attorneys who remember wearing fedoras and watch fobs, hopping the “C” train to the office, and triumphantly negotiating a salary of $9,000. A year.

How Kathryn Doi’s penchant for wading through regulations helped save dental coverage for millions of Californians

Karen Goodman defends attorneys facing malpractice claims; Bill Gwire puts them in the hot seat

How she got a judge to reject broadcasters’ demands for an injunction against DISH Network

Why Russell Austin can’t say no to community service

The daughter of immigrant workers returns to Central Valley, law degree in hand

When Luke Ellis gets a case, the first thing he does is tear it apart

Jean K. Hyams is all about making sure her clients get a fair shake in the workplace

Antitrust attorney Bruce Simon has gotten ‘in the heads’ of Archer Daniels Midland, Anheuser-Busch and international cartels—but he says there’s no need to be nasty

Divorce lawyer Esther Lerner makes it her business to see that kids don’t get caught in the crossfire

Gary L. Bradus brokers 9-figure deals, but at heart he’s a ‘small-town’ kind of guy

For Morrison & Foerster, pro bono work is more than just a priority

Victor Schachter on launching mediation centers in emerging democracies around the world

Immigration attorney Minette A. Kwok helps possibilities become realities

How Kurt Melchior, who escaped Nazi Germany at 13, metamorphosed into a business litigator

That’s what Charles Schwab calls his general counsel Carrie Dwyer

An unlucky draft number proved transformational for the San Jose environmental lawyer

Geoff Howard orchestrates Oracle’s landmark case against fellow tech giant SAP

Julie Pearl leads Pearl Law Group’s pro bono charge on immigration cases

The formidable personal injury attorney both goes for the jugular and encourages civility (through scotch and baseball)

Bankruptcy boutique Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby & Pascuzzi plays well—and fights well—with others

How Susan T. Kumagai rose from a disadvantaged childhood to co-found a thriving employment law firm

Facebook’s first general counsel participates in hackathons, runs races, and brings the legal and engineering teams together

Josh Floum helped Visa unify its business and continues to guide the company as currency evolves

Mindy Ross says the human issues are the same, even if the client is named Sean Penn

Protecting children from sexual abuse—it's a calling for Robert Allard

Terry McMahon’s working-class roots helped make him an uncommonly good IP attorney

How Eric Havian became a ‘giant-killer’

Once a child soldier in Lebanon, Haitham E. Ballout rebuilt his life in the U.S. Now he helps others do the same

To Susan Popik, insurance law is riveting stuff

Kevin M. Fong brings old-fashioned elegance to the appellate court

Therese and Barbara Lawless

Heidi Timken and Marvin Starr

How Jeremy Goldman helped battle the anti-gay marriage measure

How this employment defense attorney with Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard helped save California $2 billion

Life as Google’s top lawyer is a crucible filled with extraordinary demands. He couldn’t be happier

Laurence Wilson guides Yelp through its early twists and turns

In Roger Dreyer’s eyes, he’s never lost a case

Robert Rubin has made protecting civil liberties his life’s work

Growing up, Gary Hernandez was anxious to leave, but he keeps coming back

So believes William Gagen, even though his clients sometimes do terrible things

No one digs up and chews details like trial lawyer Gerald Schwartzbach—just ask Robert Blake

Timothy Tosta was given two years to live … 19 years ago

Pamela Duffy loves San Francisco, which makes sense—she’s behind some of its most successful developments

Don Specter

Daniel Olmos

Gordon Greenwood

Robert Arns

Andy Gillin

District Attorney Kamala Harris on working for Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, and where to get really good Indian food in the city

How Robert Gordon went from a farm commune to Safeway Inc.

Meet Michelle Banks, counsel to Gap Inc. 

Mike Kelly is a very funny man. But facing him in court is no laughing matter

Bill Veen has traveled a long way since his days in Satan's Chauffeurs

Chris Dolan's cases are a real-life Streets of San Francisco

Diana Richmond works to connect new ideas of family with old ideas of family law

Matthew Powers is the Willie Mays of Patent litigation

Why Mike Godwin disowns his own content

For Clifford Yin, success came early

It took all of three months before Hiep Truong was made the head of his firm's workers' comp practice

Racing cars has helped Ed Hugo's focus in the courtroom

Sports, says O'Reilly, have taught him to never give up

Alice O'Sullivan transformed from piano prodigy to legal savant

Michael Callahan on negotiating with Microsoft, Google and Icahn

Allen Ruby's early training in the ring (and we're not talking Wagner here) prepared him for the fight  

Anyone who can replace stacks of files with piles of toys can't be all bad        

Thorny business problems are Gordy Davidson's playground  

A gentle man is sought by emerging life sciences companies        

It's so much fun winning appeals for clients  

Who believes that stuff? Amos ... and Arthur Bryant        

Become the King of Janitors? No, thanks

Nanci Clarence wants you to see the good she sees in people        

Some people are guided by a moral compass; San Francisco employment attorney Cliff Palefsky has a moral GPS   

A former investigative reporter advises newspapers on where to draw the line        

Jack Londen may be his family's (political) black sheep, but he's a liberal hero        

Ronald Rossi goes back to college in his 50s        

Robert Van Nest proves that “world-class litigator” and “decent guy” aren’t mutually exclusive concepts

A '60s Norman Vincent Peale survives. No-thrives

Christopher Ho is a firewall for mistreated immigrants

Liberal Cristina Arguedas fights for those downtrodden, underdog corporate honchos

At first glance, Barry Melton appears to be a “Fish” out of water

Ronald Malone demands that people keep their word

John Poswall wonders if ’60s idealism died with seven-figure salaries 

Dennis Riordan, who likes underdogs, takes on a mad-dog case

What kind of weirdo likes justice more than money? Meet Brad Seligman

Richard Greene built a law firm and a cultural institution in one

The pseudonymous Will Nathan wrote a book about lawyers with no moral limits

Robert Bunzel fights for his clients … and for poetry

Cynthia Plevin works on behalf of Burundi’s women and children

Elizabeth Cabraser is a 5-foot giant among Bay Area lawyers

Eva Jefferson Paterson is the underdog’s best friend

Paul DeStefano has represented more than 100 biotech companies

Marc Van Der Hout opens doors for immigrants

Nancy Hersh fights for women’s health

He’s the lawyer lawyers want to hire

The woman who never does anything surprising decides to change her ways

Annette Hurst wasn’t toying around when she took on Mattel, but she still finds law a lot of fun

Between his baseball games, watching over his restaurant, and a few years of ducking angry protestors, Duncan Barr has been working the same case for over two decades

Why does Joe Cotchett win so often? Street smarts

Don Tamaki helped the defendant in the landmark internment case win exoneration

Dan Higgins, who almost lost his legs in Vietnam, knows health care from the inside out

Sara Thorpe climbs against cancer

Richard Mendelson represents vineyards and grows them too

An unexpected phone call puts Tom Weathers on a new path in life

Jeff Selbin with partner Laurel Fletcher and their daughter Aiden

In addition to coming out on top in court, Siegel tops the best-seller lists

Arturo González is a Latino hero with one eye on the law, one on injustice and both on a possible political career

Assistant San Francisco D.A. Paul Henderson charms his juries into submission

He’s always seemed to lead several lives. These days, one of those is as an author of popular thrillers