Zahed Amin

Partner

Zahed.Amin@lewisbrisbois.com

Zahed Amin is a partner in the San Diego office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Toxic Tort & Environmental Practice.

Mr. Amin handles the following types of matters:

  • Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Construction
  • Insurance Coverage and Reinsurance
  • Surety
  • Class Actions
  • Unfair Competition and Infringement of Trade Secrets
  • Products Liability
  • Professional Liability
  • Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation

Mr. Amin has substantial experience litigating and influencing high-impact civil actions in state and federal courts for commercial, construction, insurance coverage and reinsurance, surety, real estate, landlord-tenant, employment, unfair competition, products liability, professional liability, toxic torts, asbestos litigation, business torts, and intellectual property legal matters. Mr. Amin has taken and defended in excess of 200 party, third party, and expert witness depositions.

Mr. Amin has successfully prepared and argued numerous law and motion matters, including motions for summary judgment/adjudications, demurrers, motions to dismiss, motions to strike, motions for judgment on the pleadings, motions to compel, motions for financial discovery, motions for conditional relief from automatic bankruptcy stay, motions for protective orders, motions for good faith settlement, motions contesting good faith settlement, motions in limine, and motions for nonsuit.

Mr. Amin has represented clients in multiple different industries, such as financial professionals, accountants, attorneys, design professionals, insurance companies, sureties, construction subcontractors, automotive corporations, craning companies, chemical distributors, distributors of kitchen and bathroom products, third party administrators, manufacturers of cellular technology equipment, and farming corporations.

Some of Mr. Amin’s representative matters include the following:

  • Served as second chair during a multi-week jury trial involving fire damages to a historical railroad bridge;
  • Prosecuted a commercial arbitration regarding the interpretation and application of a contractual indemnification clause under Texas law;
  • Secured a settlement on behalf of a third party administrator at less than 10% of the alleged damages in a professional liability case involving allegations of fraudulent billing and mishandling of insurance claims;
  • Represented a manufacturer and distributor of cellular modules in a multi-party dispute concerning allegedly defective memory chips;
  • Successfully opposed a motion for class certification involving 1,000 putative class members regarding alleged habitability issues at a 325-unit hotel;
  • Obtained a defense verdict in December 2012 on behalf of a diacetyl supplier in a type of lawsuit commonly referred to as “popcorn lung;”
  • Serve as National Coordinating Counsel for a chemical distributor sued in more than 50 lawsuits around the country;
  • Represented a manufacturer of cellular technology equipment in litigation and arbitration involving human exposure to radiofrequency radiation energy;
  • Secured summary judgment on behalf of a company sued in an asbestos exposure lawsuit;
  • Obtained a dismissal of a lawsuit for a farming corporation after applying recent changes to the state’s redevelopment laws and regulations;
  • Represented financial professionals and accountants in lawsuits involving the use of life insurance products as an estate planning tool;
  • Represented accountants and an accounting firm in an internal employee embezzlement lawsuit;
  • Represented excavation, demolition, painting, and framing subcontractors in construction defect lawsuits; and
  • Secured a dismissal on behalf of a law firm in a legal malpractice action after serving comprehensive written discovery and filing a demurrer and a motion to strike.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Mr. Amin served as an associate attorney for a boutique litigation firm in San Ramon, California.

Immediately prior to becoming a California licensed attorney, Mr. Amin worked in the Real Estate Law Department of The Men’s Wearhouse, where he identified the company’s rights and obligations delineated in negotiated real estate documents.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Complex Business & Commercial Litigation
  • Insurance Coverage
  • Professional Liability
  • Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation
  • Surety
  • Class Action & Mass Tort
  • Products Liability
  • COVID-19: Insurance Coverage
  • COVID-19: Commercial & Contractual Litigation Disputes
  • Asbestos Litigation

Additional Experience

Admissions

California

Associations

American Bar Association

Awards & Honors

  • Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (“CALI”) Award for Appellate Advocacy
  • CALI Award for Constitutional Law
  • CALI Award for International Trade
  • CALI Award for International Law
  • CALI Award for International Human Rights

Education

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

Juris Doctor, cum laude, 2007

  • Managing Editor, Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution
  • Member, American Bar Association National Moot Court Team
  • Member, Corporate Law Moot Court Team

University of California, Los Angeles

Bachelor of Arts, 2004

Publications

  • Exposing Dead Air: Challenging The Constitutional Sufficiency of Uninsured Motorist Arbitration Procedures, 22 Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution 527 (2007).
  • Contributing Author, Recoverability of Attorney’s Fees in Declaratory Relief Actions Under California Law, Compendium of State Laws, Defense Research Institute (2009).
  • Contributing Author, Recoverability of Attorney’s Fees in Declaratory Relief Actions Under Oregon Law, Compendium of State Laws, Defense Research Institute (2009).
  • Contributing Author, Recoverability of Attorney’s Fees in Declaratory Relief Actions Under Idaho Law, Compendium of State Laws, Defense Research Institute (2009).