Steven Kahn

Steven Kahn is a seasoned real estate lawyer who balances litigation skill with strategy to achieve his clients’ goals and protect their interests.

Steven focuses on cases involving ownership, use, and control of real estate (land, leases, title, boundaries, easements, contracts). He also regularly handles business litigation matters.

In addition to litigation and disputes, Steven drafts and negotiates commercial and residential leases, counsels clients in real estate transactions, and advises on title insurance coverage and escrows.

Steven is fundamentally a “dirt lawyer,” addressing wide-ranging issues involving real estate, and is committed to solving problems and finding solutions for clients in real estate disputes and transactions.

Benefits of working with Steven:

• Steven typically advocates for his clients in litigation and truly loves going to court. But he takes great pride in helping his clients avoid a dispute in the first place or reaching an efficient, early, and fair resolution.
• With 20 years of experience in-house, at large and boutique law firms across the Bay Area, and through all phases of litigation, trials, arbitrations, appeals, and alternative dispute resolution, Steven counsels his clients on important decisions in their business and personal lives.
• During law school, Steven worked as a California State Bar certified law student at the Katherine & George Alexander Community Law Center’s Consumer Protection Clinic, where he represented low-income individuals in litigation and disputes involving debt collection, credit reporting, and automobile sales.

Prior Experience:

Before going into private law firm practice, Steven started his career as associate claims counsel with First American Title Insurance Company, where he handled coverage determinations under title insurance policies, managed claims litigation, and provided legal counsel on title insurance, escrows, and a variety of complex real estate issues.

Education:

• Santa Clara University School of Law – (J.D. 2004)
• Claremont McKenna College – (B.A. 2001)
• Marin Academy High School, San Rafael, California (1997)

Professional & Bar Association Memberships:

• United States District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California
• Contra Costa County Bar Association Real Estate Section, Executive Board
• Santa Clara County Bar Association Real Property & Business Law Section, Co-Chair
• California Land Title Association
• ProVisors: Pleasanton 1 Group Leader, Bay Area Real Estate Affinity Group Executive Committee, Walnut Creek 3 Member

Practice Areas:

• Easements
• Boundary disputes
• Encroachments
• Land ownership disputes
• Title disputes
• Title cleanup and quiet title lawsuits
• Partition lawsuits
• Title insurance coverage
• Escrow disputes
• Mechanic’s liens
• Lien priority disputes
• Commercial real estate transactions and disputes
• Residential real estate transactions and disputes
• “Home sale gone bad” disputes involving nondisclosures and contract enforcement
• Commercial landlord-tenant disputes
• Drafting, review, and negotiation of commercial leases and residential leases

Honors:

• 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers List
• 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers List
• 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers List
• 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers List
• 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers List
• 2019 Northern California Rising Star
• 2018 Northern California Rising Star
• 2017 Northern California Rising Star
• 2014 Northern California Rising Star
• 2013 Northern California Rising Star

Publications & Presentations:

• Joint Ownership & Property Division –Issues in Superior Court, & Probate Court, Real Property & Business Law Section, Santa Clara County Bar Association, April 28, 2022
• Residential Landlord Tenant Actions, Santa Clara County Bar Association, February 23, 2021
• Consumer Protection During COVID-19, Katherine & George Alexander Community Law Center, May 20, 2020
• I can’t pay. Now what? An overview of force majeure, impossibility, and frustration of purpose in COVID-19 times, 2020
• So, You Need A Lawyer: Contractor Edition, UA Locals Union 393, 2019 & 2020
• Home Sale Gone Bad –Real Estate Claims and Disputes, VNARP, March 19, 2019
• Using Capital Gain Strategies to Market Yourself to Real Estate Investors, Bay East Platinum Affiliates, February 19, 2019
• 1031 Exchange Creative Solutions, 37th Annual Real Property Retreat, California Lawyers Association, April 20,2018
• Real Estate Litigation 101, Contra Costa County Bar Association, 2016, 2017 & 2018
• Home Sales Gone Bad: Real Estate Claims & Litigation, Various Residential Realty Companies, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
• California Association of Realtors Residential Purchase Agreement and Contract Forms Update, Various Residential Realty Companies, 2016, 2017, & 2018
• Title and Escrow Industry Issues, Litigation, and Legislation, Contra Costa County Bar Association, 2016 & 2017
• Real Estate Transactions from A to Z, National Business Institute, 2017
• 1031 Exchange Creative Solutions, California Lawyers Association Real Property Law Section, 2018
• Equitable Subrogation Litigation, Contra Costa County Bar Association, 2014 & 2016
• Author, Ethics: All By Myself: Ethical Duties Prosecuting Quiet Title Actions When The Other Side Is Absent and/or Unknown, March 2017

Outside of the office, Steven and his wife enjoy CrossFit, yoga, and all the natural excellence the Bay Area has to offer.