Meet the partners of our mesothelioma law firm. Some have been pioneers in asbestos litigation.

Steven Kazan
David McClain
Joseph Satterley
Gordon Greenwood
Justin Bosl
Denise Abrams

Steven Kazan – Founding, Senior and Managing Principal

Founding, Senior and Managing Principal Steven Kazan has played a significant role in asbestos litigation for nearly four decades. Mr. Kazan filed his first case on behalf of an asbestos victim in 1974 and since then has represented thousands of injured workers and their family members in court cases. He has dedicated the majority of his practice to representing workers suffering from mesothelioma in third party asbestos lawsuits (against manufacturers, contractors, distributors, and premises owners). In addition, he also represents victims of asbestos lung cancer as well as seriously disabling asbestosis.

Mr. Kazan has also been nominated by the U.S. Trustee and appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to serve as a member or as counsel to victim members on almost all asbestos bankruptcy reorganizations, including Amatex, Carey Canada, Celotex, H.K. Porter, Babcock & Wilcox, Armstrong World Industries (AWI), W.R. Grace, NARCO, Federal-Mogul, Kaiser Aluminum, Global Technologies (GIT), ACandS, ARTRA, Owens Corning, Fibreboard, Plibrico, T&N, U.S. Gypsum, Combustion Engineering, the Muralo Company, Congoleum, Flintkote Company, Special Electric, ABB Lummus Global, T H Agriculture & Nutrition, Leslie Controls, Garlock, General Motors, the Budd Company, and EECI. In almost all cases where the bankruptcy reorganization is approved, He has been approved by the Federal Court to serve as a member of The Trustees’ Advisory Committee to work with The Trust on behalf of asbestos victims.

For over forty years Mr. Kazan has been a lecturer, speaker, moderator, program chairman and participant at various legal, medical, and insurance seminars and conferences throughout the world focusing on asbestos, toxic torts, and mass torts. He has lobbied and testified in Congress on behalf of asbestos victims and before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on asbestos litigation and legislation.

Prior to starting the firm in Oakland in 1974, Mr. Kazan was an Assistant to the General Counsel of the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C. (1967-1969); an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California (1969-1971); and an associate at Werchick & Werchick, a plaintiffs’ medical malpractice specialty law office in San Francisco (1971-1974.)

Education

• Harvard University (LL.B., 1966)
• Brandeis University (A.B., 1963)

Bar and Court Admissions

• New York (1967)
• California (1970)
• U.S. Courts of Appeals, Third, Fifth and Ninth Circuits
• California and U.S. District Courts, Northern and Eastern Districts of California
• U.S. Supreme Court

Organizations

• California Consumers Attorneys of California (Board of Governors 1980-1995, Vice-President 1990, Parliamentarian 1989)
• Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association (President 1980)
• Alameda County Bar Association
• Federal Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• California State Bar Association
• Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
• AFL-CIO Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee
• New York State Trial Lawyers Association
• American Association of Justice
• Great Britain’s Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)
• Allen E. Broussard Law School Scholarship Foundation (Chairman of the Board of Directors)

Reported Cases

David McClain – Principal

Principal David McClain, an attorney at Kazan Law since 1983, graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1969 and University of California Hastings School of Law in 1972.

Mr. McClain has tried mesothelioma cases in each of the last four decades. He has never lost a trial—criminal or civil.

Mr. McClain set a California record for the largest asbestos verdict in 1989, which has subsequently been broken. His last two individual verdicts were 8 figure verdicts including one in early 2014. Mr. McClain has personally negotiated asbestos settlements (including present and future victims of local asbestos distributors) totaling over 5 billion dollars.

He is past president of Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. McClain was finalist for Consumer Attorneys of California’s Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2004.

He is president of the Kazanlaw Foundation which has made donations of over $20 million to organizations committed to improving the lives of the less fortunate, including over $6 million towards mesothelioma research.

Education

• Hastings College of the Law, University of California (J.D., 1972), member of the Thurston Society (top 5%)
• University of California at Los Angeles (B.A., 1969)

Bar and Court Admissions

• California (1972)

Organization

• Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association (President 1996 and member of the Board of Governors since 1987)
• American Association for Justice
• Asbestos Litigation Group
• National Lawyers Guild
• Consumer Attorneys of California
• Alameda County Bar Association
• California State Bar Association

Joseph Satterley – Principal

Joseph D. Satterley has always been attracted to the practice of law. He firmly believes that everyone deserves to have quality legal representation and fights to the bitter end when his clients are facing tough opposition. He has provided compassionate yet aggressive assistance to clients for 15 years.

Mr. Satterley is one of the most highly accomplished asbestos attorneys in the United States. His drive to succeed in this area of law is based on a personal experience: Mr. Satterley’s own grandfather suffered from asbestosis, a potentially deadly disease caused by asbestos exposure. Mr. Satterley is a keynote speaker for asbestos cases across the country and has produced many successful results for his clients.

Education

• Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (J.D., 1997)
• University of Baltimore, Graduate Studies in Public Administration (1990-1991)
• Eastern Kentucky University, Political Science and Military Science (B.A., 1989)

Bar and Court Admissions

• Kentucky Bar
• Pennsylvania Bar
• California Bar
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit

Professional Memberships

• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisville Bar Association
• Kentucky Justice Association, Executive Committee, President Elect, 2008-present
• American Association of Justice Leaders Forum

Gordon Greenwood – Principal

Principal Gordon Greenwood has made a career of representing real people. He began working as an Associate at Kazan Law in 1998. For more than a decade, he has represented hundreds of persons who either worked with or around asbestos containing products, or whose families worked with these toxins. Mr. Greenwood has also prosecuted claims on behalf of victims of construction accidents and victims of medical malpractice. He has represented clients located throughout the United States, and who worked in various industries, including commercial construction, residential construction, auto maintenance and repair, military service, oil refineries and power plants.

Prior to joining Kazan Law, Mr. Greenwood spent eight (8) years as a Trial Attorney in the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, defending the rights of those accused of criminal offenses. During his tenure, he conducted more than fifty (50) jury trials, in addition to countless hearings and other administrative proceedings, representing criminal defendants. Mr. Greenwood counts his experience as a Public Defender as career-defining and life-changing—the experience that developed his compassion for representing the under-served and the under-represented.

In addition to maintaining an active practice representing victims of asbestos disease, Mr. Greenwood lectures throughout the United States on subjects related to his practice and also maintains a caseload of pro bono cases. These cases are primarily focused on defending and prosecuting claims related to elder financial abuse. He is also active in fundraising for numerous Democratic political candidates and participates extensively in the community. Mr. Greenwood currently serves on the Board of Directors of the following organizations:

West Bay Local Development Corporation (Chair)
• Oakland Babe Ruth Baseball Association
• Northcoast Express AAU Basketball Association
• Destined 2 Dance Performing Arts Company
• Mentor, Chabot Community College Daraja Project
• Lecturer, Fremont High School Street Law Program
• Lecturer, Willie Brown Academy Career Symposium

Education

• George Washington University School of Law (J.D., 1988)
• Morehouse College (B.A., 1985)

Bar and Court Admissions

• California (1988)

Organizations

• Charles Houston Bar Association (Life Member)
• National Bar Association (Life Member)
• American Bar Association
• Alameda County Bar Association
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• Alameda/Contra Costa County Trial Lawyers Association
• Consumer Attorneys of California
• National Lawyers Guild
• National Association For The Advancement of Colored People (Life Member)

Philip A. Harley – 1947-2009

In Memoriam

Our beloved friend and partner, Philip A. “Phil” Harley, passed away peacefully on Thursday July 2, 2009. Phil spent his last moments at home, in the company of his loved ones, his husband Mark Kalend, their daughters, Sara and True, and Phil’s mother and brothers.

Philip A. Harley was a nationally recognized and certified civil trial specialist focusing in the areas of asbestos, toxic-related cancers and catastrophic injury. In 1990, Mr. Harley’s trial practice began to focus on toxic diseases and other catastrophic injuries. He believed his knowledge and skills were best used to assist those who have been the most severely impacted by corporate misconduct. Mr. Harley was widely recognized by both the Bar and the Bench for his outstanding trial advocacy. Since 1990, his clients have over 100 jury verdicts with many in excess of $10,000,000.

Mr. Harley also supported consumer advocacy programs, including 1) financial support for the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America; 2) an endowment for Washburn University Law School to support trial-related education programs; and 3) political donations for legislators who work to protect consumers, the environment and victims of corporate abuses.

Born in 1947, Phil Harley was raised in Germany and the U.S. due to his father’s military career. Phil completed his undergraduate training and obtained his law degree at the Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where he was a national finalist in both the National and International Moot Court Competitions. During his tenure at law school, Phil was selected Student of the Year in his senior year and was a member of the Order of Barristers. Mr. Harley was first admitted to practice in Kansas in 1974.

Education

• Washburn University School of Law (J.D., 1974)
• Washburn University (B.A., 1969)

Bar and Court Admissions

• Kansas, 1974
• California, 1990

Justin Bosl – Partner

Justin Bosl joined Kazan Law as a law clerk in June 2004 and accepted an associate position in February 2006. In January 2013 he became a partner. Mr. Bosl has been responsible for numerous cases, every phase of litigation, from initial client interview through trial. In addition to his practice in the Bay Area, he has also practiced in Los Angeles County. He looks forward to his continued advocacy for his clients, whose lives have been ravaged by others’ greed and malfeasance.

Mr. Bosl was nominated by his peers as a Northern California Rising Star in San Francisco Magazine in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was named to the Top 40 Under 40 list by The National Trial Lawyers in 2012 and 2013. He was invited to speak at a national conference about his work in 2010, 2012 and 2013. In November 2012, he presented on asbestos litigation at the Annual Convention of the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Outside of the legal world, Mr. Bosl considers his beautiful wife, his children, and his church the focus of his life.

Education

• University of San Francisco School of Law, University of San Francisco (J.D., 2005)
• Franciscan University of Steubenville (B.A., cum laude, Philosophy, 2002)

Bar and Court Admissions

• California (2005)
• All Federal District Courts in California
• Supreme Court of the United States (2013)

Organizations

• Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association
• Alameda County Bar Association
• Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles
• Earl Warren American Inn of Court

Denise Abrams – Partner

Denise Abrams spent 18 years as a principal at Kazan Law until deciding to devote a majority of her time to pro bono practice from 2009-2012. Ms. Abrams remained involved in asbestos litigation on the firm’s behalf, and in January 2013, fully resumed her asbestos practice. She has been a mentor to Kazan Law attorneys throughout the years.

Prior to going to law school Ms. Abrams taught sociology and women’s studies at the University of Maryland and Antioch College in Ohio. She was led to practice law following a desire for her work to benefit people more directly than she felt was possible as an academic. Ms. Abrams joined Kazan Law as a law clerk in 1984 and subsequently became an associate and then principal.

Education

• Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California (J.D., 1986)
• University of Rhode Island (B.A., 1972)
• University of Maryland (M.A., 1975, Ph.D., 1983.)

Bar Admissions

• California (1986)

Organizations

• Worksafe Officer and Board Member
• East Bay Community Law Center Board Vice-Chair
• Gender and Refugee Studies Board Member
• Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
• National Lawyers Guild
• American Association for Justice
• Consumers Attorneys of California
• California State Bar Association
• American Bar Association