Ruth Kahn

Partner

• rkahn@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Los Angeles Office

Ruth Kahn is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.  Her practice focuses on the defense of toxic tort and products liability cases, and environmental litigation. In 2006 and 2007, Ms. Kahn was identified as one of the Top 75 Women Litigators in the State of California.

Ms. Kahn works closely with a number of nationally renowned experts, including epidemiologists, toxicologists, and industrial hygienists to provide a highly skilled, comprehensive defense. She is particularly interested in cases in which law and science intersect.

Toxic Tort Practice
Ms. Kahn actively represents manufacturers and distributors of chemical and petroleum-based products in personal injury and wrongful death litigation and trials. Her focus is managing and defending complex, multi-party cases involving cancer, lung disease, and birth defects, where the plaintiff(s) allege they have been injuriously exposed to a chemical. Very often, Ms. Kahn, together with others at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, represent all or a substantial number of defendants sued in an action.

Additionally, Ms. Kahn was one of the trial attorneys for several defendants in the Lockheed Litigation Coordinated Judicial Proceedings in Los Angeles, which arose from the Skunkworks facility in Burbank, California, and involved a total of 600+ injury/death claims.

Products Liability Litigation
Ms. Kahn has successfully defended the interests of numerous corporations in products liability and mass tort litigation across the country. She has been admitted pro hac vice in numerous jurisdictions and has extensive litigation and trial experience involving both industrial and consumer products.

Ms. Kahn has assisted in the successful defense of major pesticide/herbicide manufacturers in products liability cases in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties, arising from alleged exposures to agricultural, professional landscaping, and lawn and garden products.

Representative Matters

• Defense verdict on behalf of Chevron USA Inc. in Hooper v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a benzene/cancer case, co-tried with partner Larry Riff in Alameda County. The Daily Journal described this as one of the “top defense verdicts” of 2005.
  
• Representation of Texaco Refining and Marketing Inc. in a personal injury action involving 350+ residents of a public housing project. Result: dismissals from, or judgments against, all plaintiffs.
  
• Representation of multiple chemical suppliers in a collection of personal injury and wrongful death cases involving 50+ employees or former employees of IBM’s facility in Silicon Valley. The litigation, which spanned more than five years, involved a total of 135 different chemicals and 21 different injuries (including diseases of the hematopoeitic system, reproductive cancers, solid tumors and other adverse health conditions).
  
• Representation of two major oil refiners in a joint defense in an action filed by an employee of an independent contractor who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following his alleged exposure to petroleum–based products at their refineries.
  
• Representation of multiple crude oil producers/suppliers in a joint defense in a case filed in Contra Costa County, California, by a refinery operator who developed lymphoma.

Noteworthy

• California Top 75 Women Litigators, Daily Journal Corporation (2006, 2007)
• Listed in Southern California Super Lawyers for Civil Litigation Defense (2006, 2007, 2008)
• Top Defense Verdict, Daily Journal Corporation (2005)
• Steptoe Secures "Top Defense Verdict" in California (2005)

Select News & Events

• Ruth Kahn Again Named Among California's Top Women Litigators, Daily Journal Corporation, 2007
• Ruth Kahn Named Among Top Women Litigators in California, Daily Journal Corporation, 2006
• Establishing and Maintaining Relationships with In-House Counsel, July 31, 2008
• Ruth Kahn Presents at NAWL Mid-Year Meeting, February 7, 2008, Ethics and the Expert Witness: Conflicts of Interest and Other Ethical Issues in Expert Witness Retention, Los Angeles
• Ruth Kahn to Co-Chair LexisNexis Women in the Legal Profession Summit, January 15, 2008, Rainmaking, Negotiating and Collaborative Development, San Francisco
• Ruth Kahn Speaks at Mealey's Benzene Litigation Conference, November 6, 2007, Phoenix
• Ruth Kahn Speaks at WLALA's 12th Annual Litigators Forum, January 26, 2007, Los Angeles

Publications

• Lawyers Debate Value Of 'Lone Pine' Orders
  August 7, 2008, Law 360
• Relationships with Co-Counsel: The Joint Defense Privilege
  Products, General Liability, and Consumer Law
  Spring 2007, ABA Tort Trial Insurance Committee News
• The American Inns of Court: Legal Professionals Focus on Civility, Excellence, and Camaraderie
  November 1996, Barristers Bulletin: Los Angeles Lawyer
• Protecting the Rights of Children: The Children's Rights Committee Comes to the Aid of Youngsters in Need
  May 1996, Barristers Bulletin: Los Angeles Lawyer
• Investing in the Future: Children's Rights Organizations Aid Youths in Need
  September 1994, Barristers Bulletin: Los Angeles Lawyer

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Products Liability and Litigation Sections
• California and Los Angeles County Bar Associations, Litigation Sections
• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Inn of Court (1990s); Member, Board of Directors of Los Angeles County Bar Association Foundation (1996-2003)
• Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Board of Governors (2006 - present)