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WC&C Attorney Frank W. Chen Selected Attorney of the Year for 2003 by California Lawyer Magazine

Attorney Frank W. Chen of Wasserman, Comden & Casselman LLP's Alhambra office is a recipient of CALIFORNIA LAWYER Magazine's Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for 2003.

Every year, the CLAY Awards recognize California lawyers in each of several practice areas such as civil litigation, real estate, employment, environmental law, intellectual property, civil rights, criminal law, and transactional practice who has "substantially influenced public policy or a particular industry, brought about a significant development in their field of practice or in law-firm management, or achieved a notable victory for a client or for the public in a difficult, high-stakes matter." According to the editors of CALIFORNIA LAWYER, Chen received the coveted CLAY award for his pro bono work with state and local prosecutors, local elected officials, legislators, and the State Bar in coordinating a unique and sweeping defense to abusive litigation brought by the Trevor Law Group of Beverly Hills.

The Trevor Law Group attorneys filed dozens of lawsuits against thousands of auto repair shops, and a single lawsuit which collectively named more than 1,000 primarily minority-owned restaurants. Because the lawsuits alleging unfair business practices (Cal. Business and Professions Code § 17200) were designed to extort settlement monies from minority small business owners who found it to be economically unfeasible to defend these cases, Chen coordinated a team of defense lawyers, many of which provided pro bono representation.

In addition, Chen provided the Chinese language media with dozens of press releases and informational articles regarding the litigation process. Moreover, with the cooperation and support of local elected officials and state legislators, Chen also presented several free seminars in English and in Mandarin Chinese on how to defend these lawsuits, and encouraged public forums for discussion of legislative change. Most significantly, Chen caused the State Bar of California to launch the largest investigation in its history, resulting in formal disciplinary action being filed against the Trevor Law Group. Finally, Chen coordinated the efforts of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the California State Attorney General's Office, which caused the State Attorney General to file a civil lawsuit against the Trevor Law Group for its abusive litigation. After the court dismissed the consolidated auto repair shop cases in March 2003, the Trevor Law Group voluntarily dismissed the restaurant lawsuit a week thereafter. After the State Bar Court in May 2003 effectively suspended them from practicing law, the three Trevor Law Group lawyers voluntarily resigned from the State Bar in July 2003.

Frank Chen is also the recipient of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California's Pro Bono Service Award in 2003, the Community Leader Award for Assembly member Judy Chu's 49th Assembly District Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2006, the Southern California Chinese Lawyer's Association's Judge Delbert E. Wong Distinguished Service Award in 2006, and the Los Angeles New Horizon Club award for Citizen Of The Year in 2007. He is a former President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, a former Trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and a former Board Member of the Taiwanese American Lawyers Association. He currently serves on the board of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County. He is also a member of both the San Gabriel Valley and San Fernando Valley Bar Associations.