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Steven J. Bell

Before attending law school Steve worked in the field of occupational safety and health as a private consultant and later as an in-house safety engineer in the semi-conductor industry. He then attended the Santa Clara School of Law, graduating in 1986. He passed the California State Bar later that year and then began private practice representing individuals and families who had suffered harm due to the negligence of others. Steve is a member of several legal associations including the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys of California and the American Association for Justice. Additionally he has received a rating of “AV,” the highest peer reviewed rating given through Martindale-Hubbell.

While he handles a variety of cases, Steve’s focus has been representing clients who have sustained injuries while on the job and from construction accidents. In this regard he draws on his prior experience in occupational safety and health and over 20 years of litigating cases in many counties throughout California. Due to his wealth of experience in construction safety, he has also been asked to assist in cases in other states. Steve handles all aspects of these cases, which require knowledge of both the civil litigation and workers’ compensation systems.

Steve believes in community service and has spent a great deal of time volunteering in various youth sports organizations including AYSO, PALS, youth ice hockey and synchronized swimming. He also has volunteered in all three of his schools.

Melanie J. Carr

Melanie practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and public employee retirement law. She received her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University, where she graduated with honors in 2001. She obtained her juris doctor from the University of San Francisco in 2007 and was admitted to the State Bar of California the same year. While at USF, Melanie was an active member of the Labor and Employment Law Student Association and served as a technical editor of the Maritime Law Journal.

Melanie has been committed to advocating for injured workers since 2000, when she began her career at Jones Clifford, LLP. As the daughter and granddaughter of retired San Francisco firefighters, she is especially sympathetic to the needs of safety officers.

Francis V. Clifford

Frank joined the firm in 1977 and has been a certified specialist in workers’ compensation law since 1983. He also has expertise in public employee retirement law and death/survivor benefits. After receiving his B.A. from the University of San Francisco in 1970, he earned his juris doctor in 1973 from the University of San Francisco Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and the McAulliffe Honor Society.

Frank is a member, and former director, of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association and belongs to the Bar Association of San Francisco. He is a member of the editorial board for Matthew Bender Publications and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He has also been selected as a Northern California SuperLawyer since the inception of the selection process.

Frank and his wife Barbara live in Marin County and are the parents of three adult children.

Christopher C. Dehner

Chris was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived until he went off to college at Santa Clara University. After graduating Santa Clara in 1994 with a major in political science, he attended Hamline University Law School in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned his juris doctorate in 1998. After being admitted to the California bar in 1998, Chris worked for a short period of time with a small personal injury firm in San Francisco. He then began his career in workers’ compensation in 1999 when he went to work for Laughlin, Falbo, Levy and Moresi, LLP in their Walnut Creek office.

Chris became a member of Jones Clifford, LLP in 2000 and a partner in 2002. He primarily practices in the areas of Workers’ Compensation and Public Employee Retirement law, specializing in representing safety members injured on the job. Chris has extensive experience in litigating disability retirements as well. He is a certified specialist in Workers’ Compensation law and a member of the State Bar of California Workers’ Compensation Section. Chris is also a member of the California Applicant’s Attorneys Association, for which he served as San Francisco Chapter President from 2002-2004 .He also lectures on workers’ compensation matters.

Chris lives in San Francisco with his wife, Andrea, their three children, Darcy, Finley and Brendan, and their dog Libby. His free time is spent with his family including coaching soccer. From 2010 to the present, Chris has served on the Board of Directors for Support for Families of Children with Disabilities, a non-profit organization in San Francisco that provides information, education and support to families that have children with special needs.

Alexander R. Ennis

Alex practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and public employee retirement law. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of San Francisco School of Law.

In 2009, Alex relocated to the Bay Area. He earned his juris doctor in 2013 from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he competed in national and intrascholastic moot court competitions and worked as an associate editor for the USF Maritime Law Journal. Alex won CALI Awards for Excellence in Legal Ethics and in Environmental Law, International Trade, and the WTO.

Alex was admitted to the California Bar in 2013 and practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and public employee retirement law. Prior to joining Jones Clifford, LLC in 2014, Alex served as Law Clerk to the General Counsel of the California Public Utilities Commission, where he represented the Commission in administrative hearings, evaluated applications for rehearing, and drafted appellate briefs.

Alex lives in San Francisco, where he enjoys sports, camping, hiking, reading, travel, and spending time with friends. He has lived and worked in the United States, Cambodia, and Italy.

Alexander W. Hansen

Alex practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and public employee retirement law. He received his undergraduate degree from UC Davis, where he graduated with honors in 1997. After graduation he moved to Africa, and taught English in the country of Malawi as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He then moved to New York and worked as an elementary school teacher at PS 192 in Manhattan. He obtained his juris doctor from the University of San Francisco in 2005, and was admitted to the State Bar of California the same year. He has worked for the past nine years in the workers’ compensation arena, both on the Applicant and Defense side. From 2012 to 2013 he served as the San Francisco Chapter President of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association.

Born in San Francisco, Alex lives in the Mission District with his wife and two sons.

J Kevin Morrison

Kevin represents people who are injured, or are the survivors of someone who was killed, as a result of the negligence of another. He has more than 20 years’ experience in handling cases involving car accidents, big rig and truck crashes, bicycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, construction site incidents, MUNI crashes and defective products. Recognized by his peers as one of the top trial lawyers in the state, Kevin is a hard-working attorney who commits to his clients and confronts his opposition with great confidence.

Kevin has tried cases throughout California, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For Kevin, trial preparation includes leading his clients through the legal process that has resulted in a winning track record. He is highly skilled at working with a variety of technical and medical experts and he often uses focus groups to explore the most salient aspects of his complex cases. Kevin has mentored other attorneys on the use of successful trial techniques. His noteworthy trial work also includes several favorable appellate decisions.

Kevin’s peers and adversaries have recognized him as a leader in the field of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He and his team have the reputation within the industry for being thorough and tough, which typically leads to more favorable settlements on behalf of his clients. And although Kevin does not hesitate to take a case to trial, the vast majority of his cases resolve before trial. He has successfully represented clients in hundreds of mediations.

In addition to being inducted into the prestigious trial organization of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a highly selective national organization limited to attorneys with significant civil jury trial experience, Kevin is also Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated, and is a recognized Super Lawyer. These distinguished honors are a testament to the fact that his peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence, civility and ethics.

In addition to his trial experience, Kevin serves as an arbitrator and settlement conference panelist for the San Francisco Superior Court. He is an active member of the American Association of Justice, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, where he served on the Board of Directors for five years.

Kevin received his undergraduate degree in economics from Bucknell University in 1988. He graduated from Albany Law School of Union University in New York in 1992. During law school, he spent his third year as a visiting student at the University of San Francisco School of Law. While studying there, he decided to make the Bay Area his home. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Margot and his three children, Cora, Elsa and Luca. He is actively involved in volunteering and serving in leadership positions in his community. In his free time, he enjoys swimming and road cycling.

Kenneth M. Sheppard

Kenny practices in the areas of workers’ compensation law and disability retirement law. He is certified by the State Bar of California as a specialist in workers’ compensation law, and has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers each year since 2010. He is currently the incoming vice-chair of the State Bar of California’s Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee, of which he has been a member since 2011.

Kenny lectures extensively on the topics of workers’ compensation law and disability retirement law. He is also a contributing author and editor for the California WCAB Noteworthy Decisions Reporter published by LexisNexis, the California Workers’ Compensation Practice Guide published by Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) and the Employment Litigation Practice Guide published by the Rutter Group. He additionally serves as a volunteer staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, and a volunteer coach for the UC Hastings Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.

Kenny obtained his juris doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2003. While at Hastings, Kenny was an editor for the Constitutional Law Quarterly, and was also a judicial extern for the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, formerly of the United States District Court.

In his spare time, Kenny volunteers as a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind. He is currently raising his eighth guide dog puppy, a Golden Retriever/Yellow Labrador crossbreed named Grey.

Isabella L. Shin

Isabella is a Bay Area native who practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and public employee retirement law. She received her undergraduate degree in philosophy at San Jose State University, with an emphasis in ethics and social justice. She obtained her juris doctor at Santa Clara University School of Law and is licensed to practice law in California.

As an undergraduate, she worked full-time at a non-profit youth development organization and served two terms as an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer working with high-risk youth in disadvantaged communities.

While in law school, Isabella was a Policy Research Fellow at the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, served as technical editor for the Santa Clara Law Review, and interned for Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. She also traveled to Australia where she worked directly with trafficking victims at a women’s safe house in Sydney.

Prior to joining the firm, Isabella gained trial experience at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office where she represented the State in juvenile felony matters and misdemeanor cases. She is currently a board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley and the Korean American Bar Association of Northern California.

Joshua D. White

Josh focuses his practice on representing individuals in complex catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving vehicular collisions, defective products, dangerous conditions of public and private property, and bicycle collisions.

Before joining the firm in 2012 to pursue his passion for representing injured individuals and their families, Josh represented defendants in civil litigation matters involving claims for personal injury, products liability and premises liability, as well as complex business and real estate matters. During his time as a defense attorney, Josh acquired an intimate knowledge of the strategies and techniques used by the defense bar and insurance companies in defending lawsuits. He now utilizes the knowledge, insight and experience acquired during his years as a defense attorney to maximize the results obtained for his clients.

Josh has been recognized as a leader in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. In 2014 and 2015, he was selected as a Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Star, an honor limited to 2.5% of practicing attorneys under the age of 40. He is also an active member of the legal community, frequently co-chairing presentations on trial advocacy techniques, and maintains active memberships with the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association, the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Josh received his undergraduate degree in 1998 from the University of Oregon. In 2006, he received his juris doctor from Willamette University College of Law, and was admitted to the State Bar of California. While attending law school, Josh received a CALI award for Writing & Research, was an assistant editor for the Willamette Sports Law Journal, wrote for Willamette Law Online, and was a finalist in the Willamette Appellate Competition. Josh lives in San Francisco with his wife and their two daughters. He is an avid cyclist, and enjoys snowboarding, hiking and camping with his family and friends.

Alexander Wong

Alex was born and raised in San Francisco and attended the University of California at San Diego, receiving his BA cum laude in 1990. In 1991, he served as a Coro Foundation Public Affairs Fellow, after which he attended and graduated from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. In 1992-1993 Alex was a Student Regent of the University of California. After being admitted to the California Bar in 1994, he served as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, specializing in workers’ compensation matters. He joined our firm in 2000, became a partner in 2002, and is certified by the State Bar of California as a Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law. In furtherance of this interest, he served as Chair of the State Bar Executive Committee on Workers’ Compensation in 2001-2002. He was an editor and co-author of the legal treatise: California Workers’ Compensation Law and Practice (St. Claire) from 2004-2013, and is a frequent lecturer on California Workers’ Compensation matters. In 2014, he received the Applicant’s Attorney of the Year Award from the State Bar of California, Workers’ Compensation Section. He has also been consistently selected as a “Super Lawyer” from 2004 through present, and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

From 2000-2002, Alex was Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. He also has served as a trustee of Urban High School in San Francisco, and currently is a trustee of Town School for Boys. Alex is committed to diversity and inclusion work in the independent school community, and has presented at CAIS and POCC. Now he devotes his free time to his wife, Allison, and their two children, Samantha and Evan, with whom he makes his home in San Francisco.