- Kenneth S. Katzoff, Partner
- Robert R. Riggs, Partner
- Sung E. Shim, Partner
- Stephen G. Preonas, Associate Attorney
- Aaron J. Ehrlich, Associate Attorney
- Jennifer S. Cohen, Associate Attorney
Mr. Katzoff is both a transactional and litigation attorney with an emphasis on representing real estate owners and developers, contractors, architects and other design professionals. Mr. Katzoff represents significant owners and developers throughout Northern California and specializes in handling complex real estate transactions. Mr. Katzoff has 19 years experience in litigation of real estate, business, construction defect and designer liability claims. He has served as lead attorney in numerous complex construction litigation matters both as plaintiffs' and defendants' counsel.
Mr. Katzoff is a graduate of Tulane University and the University of San Francisco Law School, where he received his J.D. degree in 1981. He has served as a law clerk for the United States Department of Justice, in the United States Attorney's office in San Francisco, with an emphasis on litigation of tax cases. From 1981 until 1983 he practiced with the firm of Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft, in San Francisco, specializing in the field of business and tort defense.
In 1983, Mr. Katzoff left the Hancock firm to establish his independent law practice in Berkeley, California. In this practice he has successfully handled commercial, real estate, and civil litigation. Currently his trial practice focuses on litigation of issues arising from real estate transactions, construction defects, engineering and architectural errors and omissions, and other issues generally relating to the construction and real estate industry.
Mr. Katzoff, representing a homeowner in 1999 with partner Robert Riggs, tried a major construction defect and real estate case involving damage from the "Northridge" earthquake to a jury in Los Angeles County Superior Court. After a three week trial the jury returned a total verdict in favor of the firm's client. The client also received punitive damages and an additional award of her attorney's fees and expenses in excess of $300,000.
Mr. Katzoff is a member of the Alameda County Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the American Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California. Mr. Katzoff has served as a mediator on numerous matters for the San Francisco Superior Court and as a Judge pro tempore for the Alameda County Courts. Mr. Katzoff also serves on the City/Port Liaison, Commercial Real Estate, and Maritime committees of the Port of Oakland.
Mr. Katzoff is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California and the United States District Court for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California.
Mr. Riggs directs the firm's appellate work and is involved in supervising all aspects of the firm's real estate, leasing and construction law practice. Mr. Riggs also has substantial experience in the fields of probate litigation, employment law and technology licensing.
Mr. Riggs represents architects, developers, project owners and construction contractors, intellectual property developers and publishers, both in the San Francisco Bay Area and nationwide. During his seventeen year career, lawyers and judges have frequently turned to him for assistance with appeals and complex civil litigation. His published cases include: In re Marriage of Walrath, 17 Cal.4th 907 (1998), United States v. Aviles, 170 F.3d 863 (9th Cir. 1998), Saad v. City of Berkeley, 24 Cal.App.4th 1206 (1994), Thompson v. Enomoto, 915 F.2d 1383 (9th Cir. 1990), and Toussaint v. McCarthy, 597 F.Supp. 1388 (N.D. Cal. 1984). He is also a specialist in constitutional law and has published an article, Punishing the Politically Incorrect Offender through "Bias Motive" Enhancements: Compelling Necessity or First Amendment Folly?, Ohio Northern University Law Review, Vol. XXI, Issue 3 (1995).
Mr. Riggs is an experienced trial attorney with a lengthy record of success in contested litigation matters. In 1998, Mr. Riggs was lead attorney in the firm's successful defense of a trust contest involving a million dollar estate. (In re the Madeline M. Betts Trust, Contra Costa Superior Ct. Case No. P96-01476). In 1999, with partner Kenneth Katzoff, Mr. Riggs tried a real estate construction defect and nondisclosure case to a successful plaintiff's jury verdict in Los Angeles County Superior Court (Jackino v. Sussman, L.A. Co. Superior Ct. Case No. BC 184787). Also in 1999, with attorney Peter Windrem he tried a real estate lease option dispute to a successful defense jury verdict in Lake County Superior Court (Wilson v. Hirscher, Lake Co. Superior Ct. Case No. 36361).
The son of a construction contractor and superintendent, Mr. Riggs earned his undergraduate degree with Honors in the field of International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied law at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, California where he won awards for First Year Honor (highest grades in class), Order of the COIF, and Best Team and Best Brief, Marion Rice Kirkwood Moot Court competition. After graduating from Stanford in 1982, he was employed as a judicial law clerk by two federal court judges, the Hon. Betty B. Fletcher of the U. S. Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington, and the Hon. Stanley A. Weigel of the U. S. District Court in San Francisco, California. Afterwards, Mr. Riggs continued to serve the District Court, working as a Special Master in a series of complex cases involving prison conditions and renovation projects. Currently, Mr. Riggs continues to serve the District Court as a member of the court's committee for administration of the Criminal Justice Act, chaired by the Hon. Lowell Jensen.
Mr. Riggs is a member of the State Bar of California, the District of Columbia Bar (currently inactive), the Alameda County Bar Association and the Lake County Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and numerous federal district courts. He has won the commendation of the State Bar Board of Governors for outstanding contribution to pro bono legal services in the state of California.
Mr. Riggs is an experienced speaker and writer in French and available to assist French-speaking clients.
Mr. Shim has practiced with Katzoff & Riggs since 1997. Mr. Shim is a graduate of Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California. Mr. Shim has extensive experience with litigation of construction defect cases. Among his recent cases are successfully concluded litigation involving the Gaia Building, in Berkeley, California, 601 Fourth Street Lofts, in San Francisco, California, and the Rago-Navato projects, in Navato, California. Mr. Shim was also co-counsel with Mr. Katzoff in the reported case of Rogers v. Peinado, (2000) 85 Cal. App. 4th 1.
Mr. Shim is a 1996 graduate of Hastings College of the Law, where he was elected to the Thurston Society based on receiving grades placing him in the top 10% of his class in his first year of law school. He also served as a judicial extern to the late Hon. Richard P. Figone of the San Francisco Superior Court during 1995. Before joining Katzoff & Riggs, Mr. Shim served as a law clerk and contract attorney with the Law Offices of Michael S. Sorgen in San Francisco.Mr. Shim earned his undergraduate degree in the fields of Sociology and Economics from the University of California at Berkeley with honors in Sociology.
Mr. Shim is fluent in Korean and is available to assist Korean speaking clients.
Stephen G. Preonas, Associate Attorney
Mr. Preonas joined Katzoff & Riggs in 2006. His practice focuses on construction litigation and real estate litigation and transactions. He graduated from the University of San Francisco, School of Law in 2006 where he was an Editor of the Intellectual Property Law Bulletin. His article on copyright law appeared in the Bulletin in the fall of 2006.
Mr. Preonas received his undergraduate degree in History from Stanford University. He has extensive experience working for local start-up technology companies in the areas of online content sales and licensing, information security systems, internet advertising, web traffic acquisition and search engine/website partnership agreements.
Mr. Preonas is available to assist Spanish-speaking clients.
Aaron J. Ehrlich, Associate Attorney
Mr. Ehrlich joined Katzoff & Riggs in 2008. His practice focuses on real estate litigation and transactions and construction litigation. He graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2007, where he was the Managing Editor of the Hastings West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. His article entitled: “In Hidden Places: Congressional Legislation That Limits the Scope of the National Environmental Policy Act,” was published in the same journal in the summer of 2007. The Hastings faculty chose his article as the recipient of the Albert G. Evans Award in Private Enterprise, one of only two writing distinctions Hastings annually awards.
Mr. Ehrlich has extensive real estate, land use, construction and environmental litigation, transactional and regulatory experience, the result of working at three of San Francisco’s most respected real estate law firms. Mr. Ehrlich received his undergraduate degree in Government, with honors, from Claremont McKenna College in 2003.
Jennifer S. Cohen, Associate Attorney
Ms. Cohen joined Katzoff & Riggs in 2008. Her practice focuses on construction litigation and real estate litigation and transactions as well as marriage dissolutions. She graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 2007. While at Hastings, she served as Vice-President of the Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation and as a student representative. Ms. Cohen was also involved in the Hastings Civil Justice Clinic.
Ms. Cohen received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and a minor in Literature from University of California at San Diego in 2003. She has extensive experience working with various community based legal organizations.