Brian S. Kabateck

Kabateck has always had the kind of work ethic that would lead to sleepless nights, multi million dollar verdicts and satisfied clients.

"I think I was just fortunate to have a work ethic instilled in me when I was a kid by my parents," Kabateck said. "That's just something that has always been an important part of me. I think that the only thing that sets me apart from other people is I am willing to just keep working and working and working."

His work includes representing the victims of two Boeing crashes overseas and the plaintiffs in the aftermath of the PG&E and Southern California Edison fires. In Kabateck's mind, no case is more demonstrative of his work ethic than the Friendly Village mobile home park case.

Kabateck represented the residents of a mobile home village in Long Beach. His clients' homes were built on a former dump site, and the homeowners alleged the management of Friendly Village were not fulfilling their duties to keep the land livable. The homes were sinking into the ground, sewer lines breaking and filling the air with the stench of human waste and land rent prices rose 50% in three years, according to court documents.

The jury awarded the 31 class members nearly $40 million after 11 weeks of trial.

Kabateck is pleased with the result and he will be representing more residents from Friendly Village later this year, he said.

"I feel super proud of it because we really were able to uncover landlords who were abusing these people, who were trying to hide behind on a variety of devices to prevent themselves from being held liable while these folks were average, ordinary, working-class people who were just trying to have a home," he said.

To Kabateck, the long hours and the emotional work is worth it. He said it's imperative to "give dispassionate legal advice" while remaining "compassionate caring" for the problems his clients are facing.

"I love what I do and I love the people that I represent in the cases that I have," Kabateck said. "I'm really, really fortunate to have the career I have. There's 40 million people in California and I just feel so lucky to be in the position I'm in."

-- Nicole Tyau