James Kan

Oakland

James Kan has practiced since 2005 as the inaugural civil rights fellow at the firm now known as Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee.

He used to teach 6th-grade math in Paterson, New Jersey, through Teach for America before turning to law. "While I loved my time as a teacher, I quickly realized that I could make a bigger impact through the practice of law," Kan said. His law school studies centered on the intersection of public interest and civil rights, leading him to serve as a research assistant for Professor Jack Greenberg of Columbia Law School, who encouraged him to apply to the firm at the time.

Kan entered the firm expecting employment discrimination and wage and hour work to be a starting point. The cases changed his trajectory. "Yet, the longer I worked at the firm and on its employment cases, the more convinced I became that I wanted to continue my career pursuing employment impact litigation on behalf of workers," Kan said.

Among his recent matters, plaintiffs and a certified class alleged that Disney paid women in California less than men for similar jobs. Rasmussen v. The Walt Disney Company, 19STCV10974 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 2, 2019).

After five years of litigation before Judge Elihu Berle, including certification of California Equal Pay Act claims, the parties reached a settlement. Last December, plaintiffs obtained final approval of the $43.25 million class settlement for nearly 15,000 women in California, which included prospective relief.

"Disney, a major entertainment industry employer, has committed to meaningful practice changes which will benefit even more women in the future," Kan said. Pre-certification discovery required understanding multiple defendant entities across the class period and contending with disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a separate matter, plaintiffs and other sales representatives alleged that Oracle violated the California Labor Code, including provisions on written commission agreements, timely payment of earned commissions, and restrictions on mandatory confidentiality agreements. Abrishamcar v. Oracle, CIV-535490 (San Mateo Super. Ct., filed July 14, 2015).

The PAGA action represented more than 5,000 Oracle sales personnel in California for 2015 to 2018. Kan served as co-lead trial counsel, co-presenting plaintiffs' opening statement and presenting corporate witnesses over nine court days. The court's statement of decision favoring plaintiffs on several PAGA claims anchored the result. After nearly a decade of litigation and two liability bench trials, plaintiffs obtained a $15.5 million settlement on April 7, 2025, approved by Judge Nicole Healy on May 29, 2025.

On what trials demand, Kan points to method and people. "In my experience, winning an employment case at trial requires the right preparation and the right team."