Kabateck LLP Managing Partner Shant Karnikian has been recognized in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Attorneys” for 2026, honoring his leadership of one of California’s most active disaster and mass tort litigation firms and his advocacy for the thousands of victims it represents.
The feature highlights Karnikian’s rise through the firm he now leads, from law clerk in 2012 to managing partner in 2024. Under his leadership, Kabateck LLP has taken on major cases involving fire, flood, and utility-related disasters, representing thousands of victims in high-stakes litigation against powerful defendants. The work is as personal as it is large in scale. Many of the firm’s clients are neighbors and families rebuilding their lives after losing nearly everything.
The firm is currently fighting for survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires, the Maui wildfires, and devastating flood events in Merced, Tulare, and Pajaro. It represents these communities against the utilities and defendants who upended them.
The Los Angeles Business Journal selected honorees on their impact on the profession and on the Los Angeles community. No one paid to be included. Karnikian’s recognition underscores Kabateck’s commitment to complex litigation and advocacy for those seeking justice against powerful defendants.