Press Releases

March 29, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – In an announcement released Tuesday, March 23; Governor Newsom reappointed Hanson Bridgett Partner, Kathryn Doi, to serve on the California New Motor Vehicle Board. Doi, a partner in the firm's Health & Senior Care Practice, has served on the Board since 2013 when former Governor Jerry Brown initially appointed her ...

March 26, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – The recent hate crimes and incidents of violence against members of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are appalling and abhorrent, including most tragically the Asian women murdered in the Atlanta spa shootings: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng ...

March 23, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a preeminent California law firm providing quality legal services throughout the state and nationwide, secured a virtual victory for one of their technology clients. After a week-long arbitration that took place over Zoom, lead counsel Brian Schnarr obtained a complete victory for his clients, the former shareholders of a SaaS technology company called Lightning Bolt Solutions, Inc ...

March 18, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – After nearly seven years of litigation, Hanson Bridgett LLP recently achieved a significant trial victory in a complex class action for the firm's long-time clients, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District (District) and the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) ...

March 8, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a preeminent California law firm that provides quality legal services throughout the state and nationwide, is pleased to announce it has received the Dorothy M. Wolfe Award for providing top-tier pro bono services to those in need through the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. This award is given in memory of one of the first women attorneys in San Mateo County, noted for her deep belief in equal access to justice ...

March 4, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a preeminent California law firm that provides quality legal services throughout the state and nationwide, is pleased to announce that Neema Ghiasi, an Associate in the firm's Construction Practice, has been named a 2021 Pathfinder by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Pathfinders are selected by leaders at LCLD member corporations and law firms ...

January 27, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a leading California law firm advising clients nationwide, is pleased to announce it has received the 2020 Platinum Diversity Award from the Contra Costa County Bar Association (CCCBA). The award honors law firms that embrace diversity awareness and implement comprehensive, targeted actions. It is the second year in a row the firm has earned the highest of four levels of recognition ...

January 11, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a leading California law firm advising clients nationwide, is pleased to announce that partner Jennifer M. Martinez has been named Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO), effective January 1 ...

Jan. 7, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett is pleased to announce that Jessica Karner has joined the firm as a partner in the San Rafael office. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in all phases of mergers and acquisition matters, including sales and acquisitions of investment advisory firms, professional and consumer services firms, and companies in a wide variety of other industries ...

Jan. 5, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a leading California law firm advising clients nationwide, is pleased to announce it has begun 2021 with its most diverse leadership and management team in its 63-year history. Kristina Lawson has taken the reins as Hanson Bridgett’s new Managing Partner and four new partners have been appointed to the firm’s Management Committee ...

Jan. 5, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett LLP, a leading California law firm advising clients nationwide, today announced that eight attorneys have been named to new roles within the firm, effective Jan. 1. They include four partners who have joined the firm’s Management Committee, a senior counsel promoted to partner, and three associates elevated to senior counsel ...

Dec. 4, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett is pleased to announce that Los Angeles-based client Project Cannabis has been acquired by Columbia Care, one of the world’s largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers, and providers of medical and adult-use cannabis products, and related services. Hanson Bridgett partner Jonathan Storper, who heads the firm's Cannabis Practice, led the team representing Project Cannabis in the $69 million deal ...

Hanson Bridgett is pleased to announce that Los Angeles-based client Project Cannabis has been acquired by Columbia Care, one of the world’s largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers, and providers of medical and adult-use cannabis products, and related services. Hanson Bridgett partner Jonathan Storper, who heads the firm's Cannabis Practice, led the team representing Project Cannabis in the $69 million deal ...

Nov. 18, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) –  Kristina Lawson, Hanson Bridgett's managing partner-elect, has been selected as the next President of the Medical Board of California . This state board oversees the licensing and regulation of physicians, surgeons, and certain allied healthcare professionals in California, and promotes access to quality medical care. Lawson was initially appointed to the board in 2015 by Governor Jerry Brown ...

Oct. 5, 2020 (Walnut Creek, CA) Hanson Bridgett is expanding its Real Estate + Environment Section with the addition of a new partner, Jim Eastman. Eastman brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the real estate sector which includes acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, equity transactions, mortgage originations, secured and unsecured credit, high-yield and bond financing, mezzanine, loan workouts and restructures, and agricultural finance and development ...

Sept. 10, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) —For the 11th consecutive year, Hanson Bridgett has been named one of the 2020 Best Law Firms for Women by Working Mother Media. Currently, 46 of the firm's attorneys and 40 percent of the firm's partners are women ...

August 21, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – The American Lawyer's 2020 annual A-List ranking of the country's most well-balanced law firms has ranked Hanson Bridgett second for the highest female equity partner percentage. The firm's percentage of female equity partners is 38.8 percent. Rankings are calculated by dividing a firm's female equity partners by total equity partners ...

August 10, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – The UC Hastings Appellate Project, led by Hanson Bridgett partner Gary Watt, achieved success before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week. Hilda Kajbaf and Shandyn Pierce, third-year law students at UC Hastings College of the Law, represented Sonos Maudilla Diaz-Reynoso, an undocumented immigrant who sought asylum in the U.S. to avoid domestic violence in her native Guatemala ...

July 7, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett has been ranked #3 on The National Law Journal's annual Women in Law Scoreboard, which ranks the largest U.S. law firms by representation of women attorneys. The rankings are calculated by adding each firm's percentage of total women lawyers with the percentage of women partners. This is a jump from our previous ranking of #9 ...

June 9, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Over the past week, while we grappled with our response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, we have taken stock of our own failures to speak publicly about the injustices in our society and the civil unrest experienced in our communities. As lawyers, we cannot and will not remain silent as our employees, clients, and fellow Black Americans are denied their most basic human rights ...

May 1, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Chambers and Partners USA has once again named Hanson Bridgett's Construction Practice Group and Health Care Practice Group as top tiers in California. Chambers and Partners is the world's leading provider of legal research and analysis. The organization relies on independent research carried out by their experienced researchers, including interviews with clients and other law firms, to rank attorneys and law firms around the world ...

May 1, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – World Trademark Review has recognized Hanson Bridgett's Intellectual Property Practice Group as one of the best in the nation, stating, "Bay Area stalwart Hanson Bridgett can support brand owners in many meaningful ways thanks to a well-cultivated and well-rounded trademarks service ...

May 1, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area for 2020, an award presented by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The firm ranked 24 in the large companies category. It is the sixth year the firm has been recognized in the prestigious annual awards. Award applicants were evaluated and ranked across five categories according to the number of Bay Area employees ...

March 2, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Hanson Bridgett has chosen Raffi Zerounian to be a member of the 2020 class of Fellows, participating in a landmark program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. According to LCLD President, Robert J. Grey, Jr ...

February 14, 2020 (Walnut Creek, CA) – Today, Hanson Bridgett LLP announced that it has expanded its Land Use practice with the addition of Sean Marciniak from Miller Starr Regalia. Sean joins Hanson Bridgett in Walnut Creek. Sean's practice focuses on complex entitlement, land use and environmental matters, with a focus on counseling under the California Environmental Quality Act, Planning and Zoning Law, and Subdivision Map Act ...