Our Firm

Ken Kasdan is considered one of the nation’s leading construction defect authorities who has achieved more than a billion dollars in settlements for his clients in the Western United States. He has practiced law for forty years and is the senior partner with Kasdan LippSmith, a law LLLC in affiliation with Kasdan LippSmith Weber Turner LLP, established in 1992 where Kasdan is the founding and managing partner.

Kasdan has been at the forefront of construction defect litigation with complex issues involving corrosion of building components, sulfate attack damage to concrete, soil subsidences, water intrusion, and wind-related damage. As a result of extensive litigation and multiple million-dollar verdicts and settlements, the construction industry has modified many of its procedures resulting in better, stronger and more durable concrete used through the Western United States. An important outcome for all.

Well known in the national legal profession and a sought-after speaker on construction defect litigation, Kasdan is a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bars of Hawaii, California, Arizona and New Mexico as well as the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and construction-related associations such as the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the International Code Council (ICC). Among his many professional activities, Kasdan is a member in multiple states of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO).

Kasdan earned his J.D. law degree from the State University of New York, at Buffalo, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Bernard M. Baruch College of the City University of New York. Kasdan has been licensed to practice in California since 1976. Kasdan is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating achievable for both judicial skill and ethics. Since 2009 to the present, he has been selected for inclusion as a Southern California Super Lawyer.

With career settlements and verdicts valued at more than $1 billion, Graham B. LippSmith has had great success at a young age and in a wide variety of cases.

Graham focuses his practice primarily on class action, mass tort, construction defect, serious personal injury, and business cases. Graham has gone toe-to-toe with the world’s most powerful companies to win seven-, eight-, and nine-figure settlements. When he was only 31 years-old, California’s Daily Journal honored Graham as a “Top Twenty Under 40” lawyer, and he has since become a Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyer.

Since becoming a member of the Hawaii Bar in 2011, Graham has negotiated a $35.7 million settlement for homeowners that resulted in repairs of the hurricane straps wind protection systems in thousands of Ewa Beach homes. In California, Graham spearheaded one of the largest class action settlements in California history, a $550 million settlement for a nationwide class of 12.5 million Farmers Insurance Exchange subscribers. In major national litigation, Graham managed an inventory of more than 600 NFL retirees and their spouses and served on the exclusive Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the NFL Concussion Litigation that was settled for an uncapped amount. These are but a few of the numerous successes that Graham has achieved to date in Hawaii, California, and elsewhere.

Graham was admitted to California in 2002 and then later expanded his practice to Hawaii. Graham has prevailed in dozens of class action and individual cases and received many honors and awards, including the #1 Settlement in Verdict Search’s Top 10 Settlements for 2011, California Lawyer’s CLAY Award for Attorney of the Year in Litigation, and two consecutive nominations for Consumer Attorneys of California’s Consumer Lawyer of the Year. Graham is a regular speaker at legal conferences and mentors students at his law school, Loyola Law School of Los Angeles.

Stephen L. Weber is a seasoned trial attorney who litigates construction defect claims, educates and supports the legal community through publications and speaking engagements, and upholds the highest standards of legal and civil engineering practice.  Martindale-Hubble has awarded him with an AV-Preeminent rating; the highest rating available to an attorney for both legal skill and ethical conduct.

Weber joined the Affiliated firm Kasdan LippSmith Weber Turner LLP in 2001 and is the Managing Director of the Arizona and New Mexico offices. Weber works on cases in Hawaii, Arizona, California and New Mexico.  His trial experience has taken to verdict claims including a five- month trial involving 279 homes and over 300 witnesses. In complex litigation and arbitration, he has represented both plaintiffs and defendants resulting in plaintiff awards ranging from $420,167.00 for a single-family home to over $14,000,000.00 in a multi-home case.

Weber is admitted to practice in the all the courts of Hawaii, Arizona, California and New Mexico. He is a registered civil engineer in California and began his career in construction as a licensed general contractor. He has been the engineer of record and/or general contractor on over 500 projects ranging from highly custom single- family homes, to commercial/industrial buildings, to business office complexes, to the restoration and conversion of a 1920’s historical three-story bank building.

Well known in the national legal profession and a sought-after speaker on construction defect litigation, Weber is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) and the International Code Council (ICC). A phrase that Weber says sums up his career: “Legal Engineer,” combining the technical knowledge and experience of a contractor and engineer with the legal ability of a seasoned trial attorney.

Weber earned his J.D. law degree from Western States University, College of Law, Magna Cum Laude, and his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California, Cum Laude. ­­­­­­­­­­ Weber has been licensed to practice in California since 1996.

Celene Chan Andrews has achieved more than $70 million in settlements for her clients nationwide. Practicing in both California and Hawaii, Celene oversees all aspects of federal and state litigation in trial and appellate courts. She also has been appointed Class Counsel in state and federal court in Hawaii.

Celene’s practice includes class actions, mass torts, construction defect, intellectual property, entertainment, personal injury, and general business litigation.

Celene graduated cum laude from UCLA in 2005 and received her Juris Doctor from UC Hastings in 2008. In addition to the outstanding results achieved for her clients, Celene has received many accolades and honors from her colleagues.

Scott Booth joined the primary firm of Kasdan LippSmith Weber Turner, LLP, in 2005 and practices in Hawaii and Arizona. Scott’s practice focuses on representing homeowners and homeowner’s associations in construction defect cases.

Scott has extensive experience in all facets of litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Scott has successfully arbitrated and tried cases, the most notable of which was a five-month jury trial resulting in a total Judgment in excess of $10.4 million.

Education

• Bachelor of Science: Arizona State University
• Law Degree: California Western School of Law, Cum Laude

Admitted to Practice

• State of Arizona
• State of New Mexico
• State of Hawaii
• Federal District Court of Arizona
• Federal District Court of Hawaii

Professional Association Memberships

• Community Associations Institute (CAI)

Scott graduated cum laude from California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA. Scott is admitted to practice in the State Courts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Hawaii. Scott is also licensed in the Federal District Courts of Arizona and Hawaii. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Scott obtained a B.S. degree in Construction from Arizona State University and worked within the construction industry.

Scott is a member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and a former board member of the Construction Law Section for the Maricopa County Bar Association.

Scott J. Thomson joined the primary firm of Kasdan LippSmith Weber Turner, LLP, in 2005. He practices in Hawaii and California.

Over the past eight years Thomson’s law practice has focused on construction defect, land subsidence issues and class action law suits related to flooding.

Scott is a graduate of Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California and earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University at Northridge.

Scott has experience in instructing contractors in obtaining their California license. Scott was admitted to the California State Bar in 2005.

Education

•  Law Degree: Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California
• Bachelor of Arts Degree: California State University at Northridge

Admitted to Practice

• State of California
• State of Hawaii
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court, Central District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Professional Association Memberships

• State Bar Association of California
• Community Associations Institute (CAI)
• Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO)

Professional Recognition

• 2014 Super Lawyer Northern California Rising Star
• 2013 Super Lawyer Southern California Rising Star
• 2011 Super Lawyer Southern California Rising Star
• 2009 Super Lawyer Southern California Rising Star

Sharla Manley is an associate in Kasdan LippSmith’s Honolulu office where her practice focuses on class action and construction defect litigation. Prior to joining Kasdan LippSmith, Sharla was the litigation director of a local non-profit law firm where she litigated cutting-edge class action lawsuits.  She also litigated various commercial litigation matters and pro bono cases involving voting rights and asylum while working in law firms based in Los Angeles from 2005 until 2010.

Sharla earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Stanford University in 1996.  She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 2005.

She is licensed to practice in the State of California and the State of Hawaii.

Admissions

• California
• Hawaii

Externships

• Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal (2004)

Education

• University of Southern California (J.D. 2005)
• Stanford University (B.A., History, Highest Honors, 1996)