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Susan J. Harriman
Partner

Email: sharriman@kvn.com
Tel: 415.391.5400

Education:
Hastings College of the Law, 1983
Brown University, 1976

Susan Harriman graduated from Brown University in 1976. After two years as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) and a year working for the Committee on House Administration in Washington, DC, she attended Hastings College of the Law, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1983.

Following law school, Susan was a teaching fellow at Stanford University Law School. She then served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Robert F. Peckham of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California.

Susan joined Keker & Brockett in 1985, becoming a partner in January 1989. Her practice ranges widely over the field of complex business litigation. She has tried cases in both state and federal court, involving legal malpractice defense, real estate, wrongful termination, and others. She has also arbitrated cases before the American Arbitration Association and the National Association of Securities Dealers. In 2001 and 2002, she represented Genentech, Inc. in a breach of contract action in Los Angeles Superior Court, which she tried twice after the first trial resulted in a hung jury. In 2003, she successfully defended Jenner Biotherapies, Inc. in a jury trial against claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of contract in federal court, while in 2004, she successfully defended Aspect Communications, Inc. against fraud and breach of contract claims brought by Electronic Data Systems Corp. After a three-week hearing, the arbitrator awarded Aspect $1.4 million on its counterclaims and awarding nothing to Electronic Data Systems.

In 2003, the Los Angeles Daily Journal Extra named Susan as one of California's "Top 50 Women Litigators." In 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 the Daily Journal named her as one of the top 75 women litigators in California. She has been recognized as a 2005 and 2007 Super Lawyer in the area of business litigation and was selected for inclusion in the 2006 and 2010 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of commercial litigation and legal malpractice law. Under the auspices of the Institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems, she has participated in programs in Jordan, the West Bank, and Bolivia. She also served as co-chair of the Lawyers' Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. On March 21, 2006, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Susan to a six-year term on San Francisco's Ethics Commission. She was elected chairperson of the commission on February 12, 2007. Susan also serves as chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection panel and as a member of the Standing Committee on Professional Conduct for the Northern District of California. On June 11, 2000, she was named to her high school's Wall of Fame "in recognition of scholarship, leadership, and community service."

Susan is a native of Providence, Rhode Island and has lived in San Francisco, California for more than 25 years.