Firm Overview
Main Office
Headquarters
300 Montgomery Street
Suite 1121
San Francisco
CA
94104
Phone
- (415) 362 - 9181
Fax
Websites
Office Information
Emergency After Hours
No
Real Estate
We started out representing real estate brokers when they got sued. Weâre pretty good at that; 3 of us were brokers ourselves, for 30 years. Each. We noticed insurance carriers denying claims. About 30% of the time. So now, we sue them. A lot.
Real estate today is going through changes more dramatic than almost anything weâve ever seen. Someoneâsomewhere, somehowâhas to make sense of it. And because of the chaos in the market, there are dramatic increases in insurance claims â which are routinely getting denied by the carriers. Thatâs where we come in.
Hanson Law Firm (HLF) is almost entirely made up of senior real estate attorneys, each with about 30 yearsâ experience as a broker (although now, we only practice law). HLF is, primarily, a firm of brokers, for brokers. We protect them when they get sued; we represent them when their insurance carriers refuse to.
California Law Protects Brokers When an Insurance Company Acts in Bad Faith.
We find that many brokerages have had claims unfairly rejected or denied by their carriers, more so now, in these difficult economic times, than ever before. HLFâs attorneys aggressively pursue insurance companies that deny claims in Bad Faith.
But change is everywhere, and weâve changed too.
Our insurance Bad Faith practice is expanding. We now also represent businesses outside of the real estate industry in their cases against insurance companies that refuse to defend or settle their claims too.
As always, we continue to represent our brokerage clients as independent E&O counsel (sometimes referred to as âCumis counselâ) in the defense of claims made against them, and in bringing âBad Faithâ actions against their E&O insurance carriers when they refuse to defend the brokerages. We continue our representation of clients in DRE Administrative Hearings as well. And, with recent changes in the law mandating a change in the focus of the DRE to be more toward acting as a âconsumer protectionâ agency, we expect weâll soon be handling even more of those cases.
In addition to our core business representing brokerages and agents, weâve expanded to include the representation of borrowers and investors as well. We now offer services related to foreclosures: preventing them, or perfecting them; sometimes, we will even perform them as a trustee.
At a time when âcommon senseâ isnât common, HLF is here, doing what we do best â giving our clients solid ground to stand on.
We donât do everything, but what we do, we do well. Really well. And thatâs real estate, and insurance bad faith.
Hanson Law Firm (HLF) is almost entirely made up of senior real estate attorneys, each with about 30 yearsâ experience as a broker (although now, we only practice law). HLF is, primarily, a firm of brokers, for brokers. We protect them when they get sued; we represent them when their insurance carriers refuse to.
California Law Protects Brokers When an Insurance Company Acts in Bad Faith.
We find that many brokerages have had claims unfairly rejected or denied by their carriers, more so now, in these difficult economic times, than ever before. HLFâs attorneys aggressively pursue insurance companies that deny claims in Bad Faith.
But change is everywhere, and weâve changed too.
Our insurance Bad Faith practice is expanding. We now also represent businesses outside of the real estate industry in their cases against insurance companies that refuse to defend or settle their claims too.
As always, we continue to represent our brokerage clients as independent E&O counsel (sometimes referred to as âCumis counselâ) in the defense of claims made against them, and in bringing âBad Faithâ actions against their E&O insurance carriers when they refuse to defend the brokerages. We continue our representation of clients in DRE Administrative Hearings as well. And, with recent changes in the law mandating a change in the focus of the DRE to be more toward acting as a âconsumer protectionâ agency, we expect weâll soon be handling even more of those cases.
In addition to our core business representing brokerages and agents, weâve expanded to include the representation of borrowers and investors as well. We now offer services related to foreclosures: preventing them, or perfecting them; sometimes, we will even perform them as a trustee.
At a time when âcommon senseâ isnât common, HLF is here, doing what we do best â giving our clients solid ground to stand on.
We donât do everything, but what we do, we do well. Really well. And thatâs real estate, and insurance bad faith.
Christopher Hanson
At Hanson Law Firm, we sue insurance companies.
That started because of our real estate practice. Christopher Hanson, the founder of HLF, is one of the firm'Âs lawyers with 30 years of experience as a commercial and residential real estate broker. (There are others in the firm, with similar 30 year backgrounds.) In 1978, Mr. Hanson received his California real estate agent'Âs license, and two years later, his broker'Âs license. In 1993, Mr. Hanson was awarded the nationally recognized CCIM designation by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. In 1997, Mr. Hanson was admitted to practice law in California and founded Hanson Law Firm. He started the Firm to represent real estate brokers, and it still does.
But as the market changed, drastically, so did the Firm'Âs, and Mr. Hanson'Âs, focus. When insurance carriers began making wholesale denials of claims made by his broker clients, Mr. Hanson stated suing the very carriers who were supposed to protect those clients. Successfully. Recent (within the last 18 months) examples include a recovery of one million dollars for one client from a TOPA Insurance bad faith claim, and $625,000 from Lloyds of London on another. As defense counsel, he'Âs had plaintiffs'Â attorneys sanctioned over $13,000 for filing frivolous lawsuits against his clients.
Mr. Hanson is also an experienced trial lawyer - the kind not afraid of (and who actually enjoys) being in a courtroom. Ingenious, tenacious, strategic, are just some of the adjectives HLF'Âs clients use to describe him.
To give you a sense of his tenacity, we share these few points of interest. At 6, Mr. Hanson taught himself how to ride a 2 wheel bicycle, by propping it up against the wall of his house and riding like hell down the driveway - praying he could make the corner onto the sidewalk and not go flying into the street. At 16, he learned how to SCUBA dive without knowing how to swim. At 32, he rode a motorcycle across the country for ten months, without ever having ridden before. At 34, he enrolled in a night time law school, and, while working full time, was still the editor in chief of the school'Âs law review; with only one year of undergraduate credits to his name. Three years later, he started his independent law practice which has grown to include additional attorneys, state wide, and has thrived for 15+ years. At 48, he decided sailboat racing was his next interest, so crewed on several ocean races down the California coast, all the while remaining a confirmed power boater.
Mr. Hanson simply doesn't believe in the phrase: "You can'Ât do that."
Representative list of clients:
-Â RE/MAX Gold
-Â Century 21- Landmark
-Â Exit Realty - Â Carson
-Â Mason Management
-Â Centers Dynamic
-Â Alameda Realty
-Â Juvon Realty
-Â Homes and Land 4 U
-Â 4 Rivers Realty
-Â California Loan Associates
-Â Golden Key Funding
-Â Home Funders
-Â Infinity Realty
-Â ARR, Inc
-Â New Vision Realty
-Â United One Mortgage
-Â West Management
-Â Boston Market
-Â American Radio Systems
-Â Favorite Brands Foods
-Â DHL, Corp.
-Â American Dehydrated Onion & Garlic Association
-Â GCE Commercial, Inc.
-Â Catalyst Group, LLC
-Â Gold Coast Interiors, Inc.
- Ingersoll Rand
The following is a partial and representative selection of clients Mr. Hanson represented in his capacity as a commercial real estate broker:
-Â Kaiser Permanente
-Â Doric Development
-Â Banner Development
-Â Avery-Dennison
-Â Shidler Group
That started because of our real estate practice. Christopher Hanson, the founder of HLF, is one of the firm'Âs lawyers with 30 years of experience as a commercial and residential real estate broker. (There are others in the firm, with similar 30 year backgrounds.) In 1978, Mr. Hanson received his California real estate agent'Âs license, and two years later, his broker'Âs license. In 1993, Mr. Hanson was awarded the nationally recognized CCIM designation by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. In 1997, Mr. Hanson was admitted to practice law in California and founded Hanson Law Firm. He started the Firm to represent real estate brokers, and it still does.
But as the market changed, drastically, so did the Firm'Âs, and Mr. Hanson'Âs, focus. When insurance carriers began making wholesale denials of claims made by his broker clients, Mr. Hanson stated suing the very carriers who were supposed to protect those clients. Successfully. Recent (within the last 18 months) examples include a recovery of one million dollars for one client from a TOPA Insurance bad faith claim, and $625,000 from Lloyds of London on another. As defense counsel, he'Âs had plaintiffs'Â attorneys sanctioned over $13,000 for filing frivolous lawsuits against his clients.
Mr. Hanson is also an experienced trial lawyer - the kind not afraid of (and who actually enjoys) being in a courtroom. Ingenious, tenacious, strategic, are just some of the adjectives HLF'Âs clients use to describe him.
To give you a sense of his tenacity, we share these few points of interest. At 6, Mr. Hanson taught himself how to ride a 2 wheel bicycle, by propping it up against the wall of his house and riding like hell down the driveway - praying he could make the corner onto the sidewalk and not go flying into the street. At 16, he learned how to SCUBA dive without knowing how to swim. At 32, he rode a motorcycle across the country for ten months, without ever having ridden before. At 34, he enrolled in a night time law school, and, while working full time, was still the editor in chief of the school'Âs law review; with only one year of undergraduate credits to his name. Three years later, he started his independent law practice which has grown to include additional attorneys, state wide, and has thrived for 15+ years. At 48, he decided sailboat racing was his next interest, so crewed on several ocean races down the California coast, all the while remaining a confirmed power boater.
Mr. Hanson simply doesn't believe in the phrase: "You can'Ât do that."
Representative list of clients:
-Â RE/MAX Gold
-Â Century 21- Landmark
-Â Exit Realty - Â Carson
-Â Mason Management
-Â Centers Dynamic
-Â Alameda Realty
-Â Juvon Realty
-Â Homes and Land 4 U
-Â 4 Rivers Realty
-Â California Loan Associates
-Â Golden Key Funding
-Â Home Funders
-Â Infinity Realty
-Â ARR, Inc
-Â New Vision Realty
-Â United One Mortgage
-Â West Management
-Â Boston Market
-Â American Radio Systems
-Â Favorite Brands Foods
-Â DHL, Corp.
-Â American Dehydrated Onion & Garlic Association
-Â GCE Commercial, Inc.
-Â Catalyst Group, LLC
-Â Gold Coast Interiors, Inc.
- Ingersoll Rand
The following is a partial and representative selection of clients Mr. Hanson represented in his capacity as a commercial real estate broker:
-Â Kaiser Permanente
-Â Doric Development
-Â Banner Development
-Â Avery-Dennison
-Â Shidler Group
License
- Bar Number: 187954
California , 1997
* Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the state agency that licenses lawyers. Any past disbarments and suspensions (with possible exceptions for minor violations or nonpayment of dues, in our discretion) will be indicated accordingly in the badge. Member attorneys are required to notify Nolo immediately if they become the subject of any disciplinary action by any state licensing agency.
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