# Michael Kahn (lawyer)

Michael Alexander Kahn (born February 4, 1949) is an American trial lawyer, a governmental official, a legal and political cartoon scholar, and a business leader.
In 2015, Michael Kahn was inducted into the California Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He was honored for his forty-year career which included serving as the lead counsel in numerous landmark litigations. In addition to his legal career, Kahn was selected to serve in critical roles by three California Governors—Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Gavin Newsom—to address two of the greatest crises to face California in the early 21st century: the electricity crisis of 2000-2005 and the wildfire crisis of 2017-2022. During his career, Kahn was appointed to 16 government positions by state and federal officials.
During the course of his career, Kahn has authored three books and written 22 articles on legal and other subjects. Over a forty-year span, he amassed one of the nation’s largest collections of political cartoon art including over one million political cartoons from 59 countries, which was subsequently donated to UCLA with a landmark gift.

## Early life and education

Kahn’s father, Otto Albert Kahn was a German Jewish refugee who immigrated to the United States prior to World War II and served in the Army Air Force during the war, after which he married Eleanor Ruth Pick in 1947. Kahn was born in Buffalo, New York and attended public schools in California. He attended UCLA from 1966-1970 where he was active in student government and graduated magna cum laude and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Kahn attended Stanford Law School, where he was the Irving Hellman Jr. Scholar, and an editor of the Stanford Law Review. While at Stanford, Kahn was enrolled simultaneously in a PhD political science course of study and during his three years at Stanford, Kahn completed all the requisites for a PhD, except for writing the dissertation. On graduation, Kahn received an JD and an MA in political science.

## Legal career

After law school, he clerked for Judge Ben C Duniway on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and thereafter practiced law with four law firms, two of which bore his name. He tried dozens of cases to verdict in a multiplicity of forums including state and federal courts, American and International arbitral panels, regulatory agencies such as the NLRB and he appeared in numerous appeals in state and federal courts including the Supreme Courts of California and Massachusetts and the Ninth and Sixth circuits. Kahn also represented pro bono clients in landmark search and seizure and capital punishment cases before the California Supreme Court. He appeared in numerous high-profile lawsuits representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of disciplines. In October of 2001, California Law Business picked him as one of the top 100 most influential lawyers in California.

## Notable cases

* Williams v. Owens Illinois: At age 29, Kahn served as second chair representing the defendant Owen-Illinois in one the largest race and sex discrimination cases to be tried to a jury at that time which had implications for every glass manufacturing plant in the country. After Kahn delivered closing arguments, the jury and judge rendered verdicts overwhelmingly in favor of the defendant.
* United States v. Stringfellow: Kahn served as lead trial counsel for the three hundred plus generator defendants in one of the largest environmental cases in United States history brought by the United States and the State of California. Kahn’s clients were one hundred percent successful after two three-month trials and were found to have no liability for the notorious hazardous waste site, the Stringfellow Acid Pits. Kahn’s opening statement in the jury trial was praised in Brian Craig’s book, Stringfellow Acid Pits: The Toxic and Legal Legacy. Kahn’s compelling opening statement was later published in the American Bar Association’s Litigation Journal and Opening Statements for other trial lawyers to follow as a model for practice. In 1992, Kahn, though not an environmental lawyer, was selected to The San Francisco Recorder’s dream team of environmental lawyers for his work on this case.
* NLRB v. Hyatt: Kahn tried this high-profile unfair labor practice case which arose out of the 1980 San Francisco City-wide hotel strike. Kahn was successful in the trial in sustaining the termination of the union leader.
* U.S Windpower v. PG&E: Kahn represented an alternative energy provider involving a novel and critical issue in the energy field. Kahn achieved a $17.6 million verdict in favor of the alternative energy provider and established principles limiting the right the utility to curtail power. In November of 1993 The San Francisco Recorder recognized Kahn and his victory for his client and in December of 1993 The Los Angeles Daily Journal profiled Kahn regarding this case.
* City of Atascadero v. Merrill: Kahn represented 14 municipalities in this case arising out of the Orange County Bankruptcy. He successfully obtained an appellate court victory vindicating the plaintiff’s theories in the case and overturning an unfavorable trial court ruling. Thereafter, each of the municipalities settled the case for sums greatly in excess of the recoveries offered to them in the bankruptcy settlement.
* Cisco v. Apple: Kahn represented Cisco against Apple in the famous iPhone copyright case. In a highly publicized, but mostly confidential manner, the case was ultimately settled to the satisfaction of Cisco and with the achievement of its litigation goals. Cisco’s spokesperson said of Kahn at the time, “He and his firm have an outstanding litigation reputation, and that’s why we went with them.”
* Peoplesoft v. Oracle: Kahn represented Peoplesoft in a hotly contested case arising out of Oracle’s attempted hostile takeover of its then competitor Peoplesoft which included Kahn’s taking the deposition of Larry Ellison. On the eve of trial, the case settled in connection with Peoplesoft's agreement to sell the company to Oracle. In addition to these cases, Kahn represented many major corporations and public entities in significant lawsuits and disputes. These included representing General Motors in connection with its dispute with Fiat involving the dissolution of their worldwide partnership (General Motors v Fiat), Enterprise Rent a Car in connection with its dispute with Eurpocar involving the dissolution of its worldwide licensing dispute over the National and Alamo Brands, and the University of California in connection with the dispute with the University of Southern California which resulted in the payment of $50 million to Kahn’s client and a public apology issued by USC.

## The strategic lawyer

During the course of his career, Kahn developed the reputation for being a strategic lawyer who was called upon by corporations and individuals to provide strategic advice regardless of the specific area of the law when the stakes were particularly high. The July 13, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Bar Association recognized this particular skill:
   “San Francisco lawyer Michael A. Kahn is either the last of a dying breed or the model of what every business lawyer in the 21st century should aspire to be” and “Call him one part consigliere, one part Sun-Tzu warrior and one part Yoda, but Kahn is that increasingly rare breed of lawyer who focuses on the big picture and how the law can be used to bring it into better focus.”
During Kahn’s career, he was called upon to utilize this skill set in a wide variety of contexts representing General Motors when the FTC ruled that GM’s planned merger of its subsidiary Direct TV was impermissible and GM had to navigate the breakup of that deal and the subsequent sale of Direct TV to Rupert Murdoch; University of California retained Kahn to navigate the termination of David Kessler as the Dean of its UCSF medical school;and Kahn navigated the exit of his client from a role managing the large investment portfolio of two of Cisco’s original founders and then tried their case against his client which was sustained all the way to the US Supreme Court (Bosack v. Soward).
Kahn’s philosophy of strategic lawyering is embodied in widely adopted alternative dispute procedure which he co-invented. Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) originated in Kahn’s appointment by the Chief Justice of the Northern District of California, Robert Peckham’s appointment of him to the Civil Justice Reform Act Committee.

## Government service and appointments

* California Energy Crisis: California experienced an extreme energy shortage resulting in blackouts, and a state financial crisis which brought the state to the verge of bankruptcy. Kahn was selected to head California Independent System Operator by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger and was also appointed to head other agencies and boards to address this crisis including heading the California Clean Energy Green Team set up by the California Legislature. Kahn was quoted in California Energy Markets in 2000 referring to the Green Team, “We have a lot of expertise and a fair amount of clout to get things moving,” and “California recognizes that it needs to build more energy capacity to meet the needs of its vibrant economy.” During the crisis in the summer of 2001, Kahn headed the California delegation to the FERC proceedings. Kahn was integral in negotiating $8.9 billion in refunds to California and was quoted during the settlement process in a July 2001 press release from California ISO, “Since last November, when FERC declared the market to be dysfunctional, FERC had the duty to ensure just and reasonable rates and order refunds. Governor Davis, along with many other Californians, has been calling for refunds since that time. Today’s comments by Judge Wagner affirm California’s call and sets in motion a process to return the billions owed to California," concluded Kahn.”
* During the California insurance crisis of the early 1990’s, Kahn worked closely with Commissioner John Garamendi and was appointed to task forces assisting the department.
* Kahn was also appointed by Senator Barbara Boxer and Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger to committees which reviewed judicial appointments.
* California Wild Fires: In February of 2019, Kahn was one of five persons appointed to the Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery by Governor Gavin Newsom. Kahn was one of the principal authors of the comprehensive report the commission which set forth a template for the State’s response to this continuing problem.
* Civil Justice Reform Act Committee appointed by Chief Judge of the Northern District of California Robert Peckham and helped create the early neutral evaluation alternative dispute mechanism which was adopted by courts throughout the country and in England.
* California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO): Chair appointed by Governor Davis.
* California Wildfire Commission
* Senate Commission on Property Tax Equity and Revenue. The commission existed through January 31st, 1991, after which a Report of the Senate Commission on Property Tax Equity and Revenue to the California State Senate was published in June 1991.
* Commissioner’s Task Force on Unfair Practices and Environmental Liability.
* The California Electricity Oversight Board.

## Political cartoon art collector and scholar

Over a forty-year period, Kahn amassed one of the largest private collections of political cartoon art in the world, including over one million political cartoons published in thousands of journals, magazines, newspapers and prints in fifty-nine countries over a time period of three hundred years.
On September 19, 2023, the University of California announced that Kahn had donated a substantial portion of his library to the UCLA library in a gift valued at almost five million dollars, which included funding a ten-year interdisciplinary education initiative for the rigorous study of graphic arts as political speech. Previously Kahn funded the Opper Program at Ohio State University which established a comprehensive system for incorporating political cartoons into high school curriculums. Kahn also sponsored a lecture series at the University of California Davis utilizing political cartoons as a teaching vehicle in secondary education.

## Author

Kahn wrote three books regarding political cartoon subjects, delivered dozens of lectures on the subject and participated in exhibits of his works throughout the country including at the New York Historical Society, the Grolier Club in New York, Ohio State University, and the Public Policy Institute of California.
•. May It Amuse the Court: Editorial Cartoons of the Supreme Court and Constitution.
•. What Fools These Mortals Be!: The Story of Puck; America's First And Most Influential Magazine of Color Political Cartoon.
In a full-page review in the The Wall Street Journal Book Review, R. Jay Magill, Jr. notes of the book:
   “In 282 large and lavish color plates and 10 brief, informative chapters, readers are introduced to some of the greatest cartoonists of the American fin de siècle and first two decades of the 20th century . . .”
•. Political Cartoons and Caricatures from the Collection of Michael Alexander Kahn.

## Other roles

Kahn served on the board of directors of numerous non-profit organizations for over forty years. Principal among these activities include his service as President of the Coro Foundation of Northern California, President of President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington DC, Chair of the Stanford Law Fund, Trustee of the Governor Gray Davis papers as well as serving on the board or committees of the American Law Institute, The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, The Stanford Law School, UCSF Foundation, The Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, and The Lincoln Presidential Foundation. Kahn founded the Judge Ben C. Duniway Memorial Scholarship Fund at Stanford University which provides two scholarships a year to two worthy students at Stanford Law School.

## Business and non-profit leader

During the mad cow disease crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, Kahn partnered with Nobel Prize winner Stanley Pruisiner to form a biotech company to combat mad cow disease. Prusiner documented the crisis in his book, Madness and Memory: The Discovery of Prions--A New Biological Principle of Disease, in which he thanked Kahn. Pruisiner won the Nobel Prize for the identification of prions which were the cause of mad cow disease. Pruisiner and Kahn formed InPro Biotech to address this issue. For over five years, Kahn worked with Prusiner and the mad cow problem. In addition to this business activity, Kahn served on board of directors of companies involved in the grape growing business, the liquid environmental waste business, the litigation finance business, and he served as a principal outside advisor for a tier-one auto supplier. He is currently one of four board members in charge of liquidating the assets of Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group as a result of its emergence from one of the most important financial collapses of the 21st century.