Employment law firm Outten & Golden LLP plans to open a new San Francisco office in October that will be headed by Jahan C. Sagafi, a partner at plaintiffs firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, attorneys said Wednesday.
Sagafi joined Lieff Cabraser as an associate in 2001 and has been involved in some of the firm’s most high-profile class action lawsuits, including wage-and-hour cases against IBM Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and AT&T Inc., and others that have resulted in more than $100 million in settlements. He is also representing technical support workers for Hewlett-Packard Co. who claim they have been stiffed overtime pay.
Outten & Golden founding partner Wayne N. Outten said the New York-based firm has been looking to expand its presence out West “” since its founding in 1998 the firm has added between two and three new lawyers a year. Besides New York, Outten & Golden also has a presence in Chicago.
Like New York, Outten said, San Francisco has an international business climate that made expanding in California appealing. The firm is also currently working on cases originating out of the West Coast and is looking to build its practice representing business executives, he said.
Outten said Sagafi, who has worked with the Outten & Golden attorneys on several cases, is well respected in the field and will fit in well with the firm’s culture.
“Everybody thinks very highly of Jahan both personally and professionally,” Outten said. “He’s a terrific lawyer; he knows the law very well.”
Sagafi said he was interested in the opportunity of managing an office and expanding his employment practice. He said he will continue to have a cordial relationship with Lieff Cabraser when he starts his new position and plans to continue collaborating with the firm going forward.
His wife, Lieff Cabraser partner Kristen Law Sagafi, will remain at the firm. The two met as summer associates at the firm in 2001, he said.
Jahan Sagafi is a member of the ACLU of Northern California and is admitted to practice in the Second Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and the Central and Northern California federal district courts.
He received his law degree from Harvard Law School.
“I appreciate all of the wonderful experiences I’ve had working with and learning from the incredible lawyers at Lieff Cabraser,” Sagafi said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to take on this new challenge.”