The Firm believes in giving back to the community. We are proud of our charitable and volunteer work in the public interest.
- In 2015, the Firm received the “Champions of Civil Justice” award from Contra Costa Senior Legal Services “in recognition of your dedication to the cause of civil justice.”
- In 2009, the Alexander Community Law Center at the University of Santa Clara honored the Firm with its Community Award for the Firm’s “dedication to consumers, to consumer law, and to high ethical standard in the prosecution of consumer class actions.”
- The Firm’s attorneys actively assist and support the Court system, serving as Judges pro tem in the Contra Costa Superior Court, accepting frequent appointments as “discovery facilitators” and serving as mediators and arbitrators in several of Contra Costa County’s Alternative Dispute Resolution programs.
- The Firm provides pro bono representation to several charitable and non-profit organizations, including the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries in the West (an adjunct of the Magnes Museum) and the American Association of Retired Persons. The Firm has also co-counseled with and filed amicus briefs on behalf of various legal aid and non-profit consumer advocacy organizations, including the Public Law Center, the National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
- The Firm and its members have long been active in numerous charitable activities. The Firm established the Warren Eukel Teacher Trust in 1992 in honor of a well-known educator, and remains a principal supporter of that organization. The Eukel Teacher Trust honors several outstanding Contra Costa County K-12 teachers each year with cash awards. In total, more than $500,000 has been distributed to teachers since the Trust was created. Firm partner Alan Plutzik currently serves as the President of the Trust. Dan Birkhaeuser has been a board member since 1997 and Paul Mahler serves as the Trust’s legal counsel and secretary.
- For many years, the firm has provided significant financial support to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
- Members of the firm have twice been recognized with awards for outstanding support for legal services for the underprivileged, once by Contra Costa Legal Services and once by the Contra Costa Pro Bono Committee. In addition, in 2012, the Firm was recognized by Bay Area Legal Aid as a “Guardian of Justice.”
- Cy Pres awards from the Firm’s class action cases have provided many millions of dollars to deserving organizations where class members could not be located to pay them their shares of the damages recovered.
- The Firm is also a contributor to numerous consumer and consumer advocacy organizations, including the National Consumer Law Center, the Bay Area Legal Aid Foundation, Centro Legal de la Raza, The Bar Fund, Contra Costa Senior Legal Services, Public Citizen, Public Justice and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.