Steven L Hogan

Steve Hogan is an accomplished litigator focused on resolving major Trusts, Estates & Probate Litigation and Business Litigation. Whether representing an individual, business owner or global corporation, Mr. Hogan strives to be accessible and responsive. He attributes his success on behalf of his clients to careful strategic planning with consideration to the parties involved, the potential costs of alternative approaches, the unique facts of the case, and case law precedent. Mr. Hogan’s reputation, earned over 35 years, frequently results in the compliment of being hired by clients after other law firms failed to resolve their matters satisfactorily.

Mr. Hogan applies his deep experience as a litigator to successfully resolve heated, complex Trust, Estate & Probate Litigation. He prosecutes and defends claims for wealthy individuals, including celebrities and other lawyers, as well as professional and individual fiduciaries. Among his recent cases, Mr. Hogan tried and won a probate matter involving two competing wills in a $50 million estate; settled a trust administration dispute in San Diego Superior Court for a young lady whose trustees and guardians had stolen nearly $7 million from her trust after her parents both died of cancer; won a hotly-contested, 37-day elder abuse trial in probate court for a trustee against her two brothers who alleged she had stolen millions of dollars from their parents’ trusts while parents were living, but purportedly incapacitated; and, after a three-day mediation in Washington, D.C. on behalf of a co-trustee/beneficiary, favorably resolved a complicated trust dispute involving three lawsuits in varying jurisdictions regarding management of real estate assets in Virginia.

Mr. Hogan has counseled and successfully defended major corporations in several mass tort, multi-jurisdictional cases. Of particular note, he was lead defense counsel for McDonnell Douglas Corporation in hundreds of lawsuits filed in multiple jurisdictions nationwide arising from the 1989 United Airlines DC-10 crash in Sioux City, Iowa in which 112 people died. In recent matters, he settled a shareholder dispute after two days in arbitration on terms favorable to his client against venture capitalists who had invested in client’s business; and, after lengthy litigation, prevailed in trial to achieve a partition of real estate involving 110 tenants-in-common and the appointment of a receiver to sell the property.

Prior to joining the firm in 1995, Mr. Hogan spent 15 years at Bryan Cave LLP where he was co- administrative partner of its litigation department’s California offices. He often makes presentations to other lawyers and professionals on legal topics relating to trusts and estates, business disputes and real estate matters, and has served as an expert witness in trust and estate litigation matters.