akoss@kossfirm.com         

Direct Line:  (925) 393-7895   

As a certified specialist in Legal Malpractice Law, Adam’s practice focuses on ethics, legal malpractice, and other professional liability claims including accounting, real estate, and insurance professionals, from pre-lawsuit negotiations through trial and appeals. His representation of each client is focused solely on achieving the best outcome for that particular client.

Adam is one of the few Legal Malpractice Specialists in the San Francisco Bay Area whose litigation practice centers around plaintiff side litigation, representing legal services consumers against their former lawyers.  After formulating a litigation plan in cooperation with his clients, Adam works diligently toward those unique and tailored goals. Throughout litigation, Adam focuses on his clients’ best interests and is always willing to explore resolutions and settlements on favorable terms. He does, however, recognize that some cases must be decided by a jury, and has served numerous times as trial counsel in court and arbitration, as well as handling appeals in those professional malpractice cases.

MEMBERSHIPS AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Adam is past member (2018-2021) of the California State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC) and currently serves as a Special Deputy Trial Counsel for the State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel, prosecuting disciplinary cases in which there is a conflict for the State Bar’s Trial Counsel . Adam is an active member of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Contra Costa County Bar Association, San Mateo County Bar Association, Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL), and volunteers on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Pro Bono Project.  In his free time, Adam volunteers in support of his daughters’ youth sports teams.  

ADMISSIONS

  • Certified Specialist, Legal Malpractice Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
  • All Federal District Courts within the State of California
  • Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

EDUCATION

  • University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law (2006), J.D., with great distinction, Order of the Coif
    • Managing editor of the Pacific McGeorge Global Business and Development Law Journal
    • Extern for Justice George W. Nicholson at the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (2002), B.A., Philosophy with an emphasis in ethics and public policy

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

  • Rules of Engagement:  Conflicts, Ethics and Bankruptcy, Bar Association of San Francisco, January 2020
  • Ethics and Lawyer Trust Accounts, American Immigration Lawyers Association, January 2019
  • A Brave New World: How to Ethically Navigate New Advances in Legal Technology, Bar Association of San Francisco, October 2018
  • Legal Ethics in the Digital Age, DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar, March 2018
  • Ethics and Appellate Litigation, DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar, May 2017
  • Positional Conflicts and Ethical Issues, DRI Appellate Advocacy Seminar, February 2016
  • Don’t Panic, It is Only a Fee Petition, DRI Professional Liability Seminar, December 2015
  • Strategic Use of Joint Defense Agreements in Litigation, Strafford Publications, July 2015
  • How To Avoid Ethical Pitfalls When Doing Pro Bono Work, Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Ethical Advice for Solo Practitioners and Doing Pro Bono Work, Bar Association of San Francisco, May 2013

SELECTIVE ARTICLES