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Deborah Chang of Chang Klein LLP has been recognized with the 2025 Lee B.Wenzel Civility Award by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates(ABOTA)

Deborah Chang on Elevating Cases into Causes

Deborah Chang knows that women are excellent trial lawyers. They’re masterful storytellers. They have a lens through which they see the world that accentuates the textures and intricacies that even a highly-skilled man might overlook. Chang believes that women know a love story when they see one and pick up on nuances that might...

Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers for 2023

We’re honored to announce our very own Deborah Chang has been named one of Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers of 2023. Congratulations Deborah! Thank you for being such an inspiration to other women lawyers. We are so proud to work with you and see the impact you make on our community every day.

Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Post

Introducing our first amazing Women's History Month Honoree - Deborah Chang - a leader, innovator and inspiration to us all! Let’s give her a round of applause 🎉 LACBA member Deborah Chang is the founder and managing partner of Athea Trial Lawyers LLP, a national law firm that promotes women trial lawyers, and a partner...

Judge awards $10.5M to family of Ugandan woman decapitated in Arches National Park

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge awarded more than $10.5 million to the widower and parents of a Ugandan celebrity and activist decapitated by a traffic control gate in Arches National Park. The husband of Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, Ludo Michaud, was awarded $9.5 million, while her mother was awarded $700,000 and her father received...

Family of woman killed by gate at Arches National Park awarded $10.2 million

SALT LAKE CITY — A Judge awarded $10.2 million to the family and spouse of Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, who was killed by an unsecured gate at Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo, 25, a women’s rights activist from Uganda, was killed when driving in Arches National Park with Ludovic “Ludo” Michaud during a camping...

Family of Ugandan activist decapitated in Arches National Park to receive $10.5M

A federal judge in Utah on Monday awarded more than $10.5 million to the family of Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, a Ugandan human rights activist who was decapitated in Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo’s husband, Ludovic Michaud, and her parents had sued the U.S. government for negligence as well as emotional distress on the part...

Family awarded $10.55 million in damages after Ugandan activist killed by Arches National Park gate

MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — The United States District Court in Utah has ordered $10.55 million in damages to be awarded to the family of a Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. On June 13, Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, 25, visited the national park with her husband, Ludovic “Ludo” Michaud, to celebrate...

Family of woman decapitated in 2020 Arches National Park accident awarded $10.55M in wrongful death lawsuit

UTAH, Jan. 30, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The heirs of a woman decapitated by a swinging gate in Arches National Park in 2020 have been awarded $10.55 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The victim was Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, 25. “On June 13, 2020, an untethered metal gate used to control highway traffic out of...

Rooftop Accident Case Settled During Jury Deliberations

A real estate agent who suffered a brain injury when he fell from a stairwell structure at the summit of the Sunset Vine Tower reached a settlement of the negligence suit he brought against the property owners and managers.

Chang | Klein LLP Named Among 2022 “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News — Best Lawyers®

In its first year, Chang | Klein LLP is honored to have been ranked in 2021 "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers©. The firm is recognized with a Regional Tier 1 Firm ranking, the highest ranking a firm can receive, in the area of Personal Injury Litigation. Law...

Sunset Vine Tower Manager Says Man Gazed at Hollywood Sign Before Fall

A real estate agent who suffered a brain injury when he fell from a stairwell structure at the summit of the Sunset Vine Tower was looking at the famous hillside Hollywood sign in the distance just before his tumble, a member of the building’s property management team told a jury Tuesday. Eric Click, a business...

Deborah Chang Honored by Daily Journal

Deborah has been named to the Daily Journal Top Women Lawyers 2021 and Top Plaintiff Lawyers 2021. The work of Deborah Chang is never done. Even when the legal industry was forced to slow down in 2020, she pushed to find new ways to keep the fight for justice going and worked tirelessly to...

Dissecting More Than the Law

No need to go searching for Candice Klein in the latest issue of Orange County Attorney Journals Magazine when she's right there on the cover. Congrats to Candice for being featured as the Attorney of the Month!

What is the value of a poor man’s life?

Trial Magazine: 6 Key Ingredients

Advocate January 2021

The Family of a Woman Decapitated by a Loose Fence is Suing Arches National Park, Saying an $8 Padlock Would Have Prevented Her Death

Nakajjigo’s family said an $8 padlock would have prevented the fence from moving and killing Nakajjigo, and are suing Arches and the National Parks Service for $270 million in damages, KCNC-TV reported. Deborah Chang, the attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Nakajjigo’s family, alleged that the National Park Service has known for years that

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Celebrate Wins in Virtual Conference

The Consumer Attorneys of California usually gather each fall at a San Francisco hotel and get dressed up to celebrate their new president and honor plaintiffs' attorneys for their big victories at a dinner that ends with a musical performance. As with everything else in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year was different. The...

Deborah Chang to Take Helm of Consumer Attorneys Group

When Brian J. Panish stood before an audience at the Consumer Attorneys of California Convention in 2014, he referred to Deborah S. Chang by a nickname she had earned around the office: Changzilla. “It was just a combination of her energy and passion,” Panish told The Daily Journal recently. “She’s just a separate being, like...

Family Files $270M Claim Against National Park Service After Death of 25-Year-Old Newlywed: Reports

The family of a women’s rights activist from Uganda has filed a $270 million administrative claim against the National Park Service after she was killed by an unsecured gate that sliced through her car as she sat with her new husband. Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, 25, drove to Arches National Park in Utah with her husband

National Park Service faces $270M wrongful death claim

Attorney Deborah Chang, who filed the claim on behalf of Michaud, as well as Nakajjigo’s parents, wrote that the National Park Service has for years used entrance and exit gates made of metal poles with “spear-like sharp ends, and they were known to swing into roadways when left unsecured.” Employees “knew or should have known...

Top Women Lawyers 2020

Deborah has been named in the Daily Journal’s Top Women Lawyers of 2020.

An activist’s dreams ‘were about to come true.’ Then, a horrific accident cut her life short.

“Our mission is to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Michaud said. According to Deborah Chang, the Los Angeles-based trial attorney representing Michaud, there was nothing he could have done to swerve out of the way of the gate that killed his wife and narrowly missed him. Yet park employees could have done a lot, the

Widower of woman decapitated by gate at Arches National Park struggles after trauma, files lawsuit

“What he saw and experienced that day, I cannot even imagine,” said Deborah Chang, an attorney representing Michaud and the Nakajjigo family. “The end of the gate impaled the car like a lance, and literally beheaded his newlywed bride right in front of him.” Chang has filed a $270 million claim for wrongful death. It’s...

Family sues state, city, others over Encinitas bluff collapse that killed three

We are seeking justice for the survivors of Julie Davis, 65, her 35 year-old daughter, Anne Clave, and Davis’ 62 year-old sister, Elizabeth Charles. The triple tragedy that occurred on Grandview Surf Beach in Encinitas on August 2, 2019 could have been prevented and new safety guidelines regarding beach erosion must be implemented. Read Full

Relative of beach landslide victims urges Encinitas to improve beach safety

We are seeking justice for the survivors of Julie Davis, 65, her 35 year-old daughter, Anne Clave, and Davis’ 62 year-old sister, Elizabeth Charles. The triple tragedy that occurred on Grandview Surf Beach in Encinitas on August 2, 2019 could have been prevented and new safety guidelines regarding beach erosion must be implemented. Read Full

Top Plaintiffs 2020

We are so proud of our very own Deborah Chang for being named in the Daily Journals Top Plaintiff Attorneys of 2020. Congratulations, Deborah!

Advocate April 2015

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We specialize in finding compelling stories and causes in complicated, high profile cases involving wrongful death and catastrophic injuries with a social justice element. We love to fight for justice on behalf of our clients to make the world a better and safer place for everyone.
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Copyright © 2025 Chang | Klein. All Rights Reserved.
*These results, testimonials, or endorsements do not constitute a
guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.