Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee Attorneys - Oakland, CA

Over 50 Years of Landmark Civil Rights and Workers' Advocacy

Since its founding in 1972, Dardarian Ho Kan and Lee (formerly Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian and Ho) has stood at the cutting edge of plaintiffs' class action and public interest litigation. Headquartered in the Lake Merritt Tower in Oakland, California, the firm represents workers, consumers, individuals with disabilities, and tenants facing corporate exploitation and unlawful discrimination. With a historic track record of trial victories and precedent-setting settlements, DHKL holds giant corporations and public entities accountable.

Led by nationally acclaimed litigators including Linda M. Dardarian, Laura L. Ho, James Kan, and Andrew P. Lee, the firm has secured landmark recoveries against corporate giants such as Disney, IBM, Oracle, Apple, and Countrywide. Recognized among the Top Boutique Law Firms in California and honored with multiple California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) awards by the Daily Journal, DHKL provides the fierce legal tenacity required to challenge high-profile defense firms. When you need to find a lawyer or hire an attorney for complex class action litigation, DHKL provides unyielding courtroom leadership.

Major Practice Areas and Impact Litigation

Dardarian Ho Kan and Lee focuses exclusively on impact litigation and class action cases that drive lasting social and economic change. Key areas of legal practice include:

• Wage and Hour Class Actions: Representing tens of thousands of workers under the FLSA and California Labor Code for unpaid overtime, off-the-clock labor, and misclassification of employees.
• Workplace Discrimination: Litigating systemic civil rights and Title VII class actions on behalf of women and minority workers facing systemic gender pay disparities, discriminatory promotional ceilings, and hiring bias.
• Disability Rights and Public Accommodations: Trailblazing national disability access litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California civil rights laws, securing groundbreaking settlements for talking ATMs, accessible transit pathways, and healthcare accessibility.
• Tenant Rights and Housing Justice: Fighting abusive landlord practices across California, recovering tens of millions of dollars for tenants subjected to illegal late fees, hidden housing charges, and unlawful Section 8 side payments.
• Consumer Protection and Privacy: Protecting consumer rights against unlawful automatic renewals, deceptive subscription fees, airline overcharges, and privacy violations under the California Invasion of Privacy Act.
• Voting Rights Enforcement: Challenging at-large municipal voting systems that unlawfully dilute minority voting strength under the California Voting Rights Act.

Trailblazing Structured Negotiations and Trial Success

In addition to aggressive courtroom litigation, DHKL partners pioneered Structured Negotiation, a collaborative alternative dispute resolution method that allows plaintiffs to achieve monumental policy changes and technological accessibility without protracted court battles. This method has expanded equal digital and physical access for hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities throughout the country.

The firm provides multilingual services, communicating effectively with clients and distributing class notices in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. Class action matters are almost universally handled on a contingency fee basis, ensuring affected workers and consumers have access to elite representation regardless of financial means.

Inquire About Potential Legal Action in Oakland

If you have been denied earned overtime wages, misclassified by your employer, or subjected to discriminatory workplace policies, you do not have to fight alone. DHKL investigates widespread corporate misconduct and evaluates potential class and representative actions. When your workplace rights or civil liberties are infringed, contact Dardarian Ho Kan and Lee in Oakland, California, to submit your potential case inquiry. Hire an attorney team with more than five decades of proven class action victories on your side.