Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP partners Brian Panish and Rahul Ravipudi, and Deborah Chang Of Counsel, have been named by Daily Journal as Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California for 2020. The legal publication recognized only 32 lawyers across the state who used their legal skills to forge real and lasting change.
BRIAN PANISH
The article featuring Mr. Panish highlights his leadership roles in various cases including the Individual Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel in the Woolsey Fire and Thomas Fire litigations and Plaintiffs Co-Lead Trial Counsel in the Porter Ranch Gas Leak Litigation. The coronavirus has, for the time being, closed courtrooms and pushed trial dates that were scheduled for this year. “Our June trial date for the Thomas Fire is not happening,” Mr. Panish said. “…this could be the first year in my 35-year career that I didn’t try a case.” Work does proceed, however, with the Porter Ranch litigation where SoCalGas was ordered to pay nearly $575,000 in sanctions earlier this year for discovery abuses. “The judge gave them chance after chance, but they acted in bad faith throughout, and there are going to be more sanctions to come,” said Mr. Panish.
RAHUL RAVIPUDI
Recently named Plaintiffs Co-Lead Counsel representing public entities including schools in litigation against JUUL Labs Inc. for allegedly creating a vaping epidemic, the Daily Journal article features Mr. Ravipudi who says he will have no problem showing massive damages. “It will be easy to document the financial harm,” he says, telling the publication that the vaping epidemic “makes by blood boil,” and he views that as a positive. “When we pursue our passions, we get the best results.”
DEBORAH CHANG
In the article featuring Ms. Chang, the discussion turns to the outcome of Rosen v. The Regents of the University of California where Ms. Chang and PSBR colleagues established for the first time that public colleges have a duty to protect students from foreseeable violence in classrooms and elsewhere. After a decade of litigation, the case settled for a confidential amount earlier this year. “It was an amicable agreement,” Ms. Chang told the publication. “And Rosen is now an MD completing her residency out of state.” Rosen wishes to maintain as low a profile as possible.