Page 12 - Los Angeles Vol 4 No 5

KABATECK LLP
633 W. Fifth Street, Suite 3200 Los Angeles, CA 90071
(866) 266-1800 www.kbklawyers.com
SELECT PRACTICE AREAS
Wrongful Death
Medical Malpractice
Sexual Abuse Mass
Tort Disaster
Consumer Class Action,
Business Litigation
Construction Defect
Education
Juris Doctor, Loyola Law School, 1989
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, University of Southern
California, 1985
HONORS:
Top 100 Lawyer in California, Daily Journal, 2009-2017
Top 30 Plaintiff Lawyer in California, Daily Journal, 2016-2018 Top 25 Plaintiff Lawyer in California, Daily Journal, 2015 Marvin E. Lewis Award, Consumer Attorneys of California, 2014 50 Inspirational Alumni, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, 2014 Top 100 in California, National Trial Lawyers, 2010-Present Champions of Justice in Civil Rights, NAACP, 2010
California Attorney of the Year, Litigation, California Lawyer
Magazine, 2006
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
Los Angeles County Bar Association, President, 2018 Consumer Attorneys of California, President, 2012-2013
Loyola Law School, Board of Directors, Chairman, 2015-Present Century City Bar Association, President, 2005-2006
Inner City Law Center, Board of Directors, 2009-Present National Trial Lawyers Association, Executive Committee,
201-Present
Neighborhood Legal Services, Board of Directors, 2000-Present American Association for Justice
American Bar Association, Torts Insurance Practices Section,
Vice Chair, 2007-2012
American Association for Justice, 2013
United Cerebral Palsy of Los Angeles, Board Member
AT A GLANCE
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 4 NO. 4 12
“What I’ve really done is work on a program where the law school feels like it’s part of the community,” he says, adding that his love for the school is personal, too. “If it weren’t for Loyola, I wouldn’t be a lawyer, and more peo- ple should feel that way.”
But Kabateck didn’t always want to be a lawyer; as a kid, he wanted to be an actor. But a pivotal, if not puzzling, moment—along with the advice from a family friend who was an actor, to have a backup plan—set him on a di erent course.
at moment came in an acting class at USC, where his fellow thespians recognized his talent, but his professor shot him down with a grade he still scratches his head over.
“He said, ‘I’m not giving you an A. I’m giv- ing you an A- because you think you’re Robin Williams and you’re not Robin Williams,’” Ka- bateck laughs.
Still, he likes to think the acting training helped his law career.
“I have no fear about talking in front of peo- ple and I’m comfortable on my feet,” he says.
SECRET TO SUCCESS
Charisma aside, what did it take for Ka- bateck to reach this level of achievement?
“Hard work,” he says. “ e rst mistake people make is they look at someone suc- cessful and think they can take the elevator to the penthouse. ere is no substitute for hard work, and you have to work as hard as every- one in your group. Every successful lawyer I’ve ever seen has done exactly that.”
And that success, with a thriving and grow- ing rm that includes 11 attorneys on sta , is not on track to waver.
“I tell my young associates that I thought a er 15 years I could work less,” he says. “Now 30 years in, I’m working just as much.”