01/16/2026
It was a sad day this past weekend as I attended the memorial service for Stephen F. Danz. He was an attorney I worked for for more than six years starting in January of 2005 through late 2011. Steve had a small firm in Los Angeles with a partner for many years and was always looking to expand his reach by connecting with attorneys in other parts of the state.
So I wound up running cases for him in San Diego using office space in Mission Valley that Steve subleased from a local Workers' Compensation attorney. To say it was probably the best learning experience of my career would be an understatement.
I had just gone through a two year experience of learning the ropes of litigating employment law cases from my first attorney mentor, the late Thomas R. Gill, in an office off Miramar from 2002 to 2004. Over the six years working for Steve Danz I definitely polished all skills involved in litigating cases (client intake, drafting Complaints, preparing and responding to discovery, taking depositions, retaining experts, mediating/settling and taking cases to trial). Looking over my folder for Stephen Danz & Associates cases I see I had about 97 matters I handled during the years I worked with Steve. It was definitely essential in my development as a lawyer.
Probably the best part of the arrangement was it was through Steve that I met Melanie Porter who interviewed to be an attorney assisting me. We met her at the Hotel Circle office and Steve and I both liked her so we deiced to test her out by having her do a potential client intake right on the spot. She nailed that under pressure, right in front of both of us, and we did wind up taking that caller as a client. Melanie was someone I mentored for several years and she soon grew into the lawyer I most trust to have my back if I ever need it. To this day she is and always will be my little sister and both of us are deeply impacted by the loss of Steve.
Throughout the years Steve would fly into Palomar Airport in Carlsbad or Montgomery Airport in San Diego where I would pick him up and he'd treat for lunch while we discussed active cases and he always had a stack of potential new clients to consider. Steve was also a pilot, in addition to his accomplishments as a lawyer, who had his own plane. He flew about 1,000 trips for Angel Flight - the organization that provides transportation for financially strapped patients needing specialized medical care in remote locations.
Throughout the years 2008 through 2011 Steve, Melanie and I had many meals on Steve at Gordon Biersch Mission Valley or he treated us to the lunch buffet at the 94th Aero Squadron to hang out, catch up and discuss various issues in San Diego office cases. I truly miss those lunch meetings now.
It was rather poignant that the day I learned of Steve's passing I drove down to National City that evening to grab an order of renowned salt & pepper chicken wings from Royal Mandarin to bring home to the family. On the long drive home as I was on the 163 North passing the Montgomery field area I saw the lights of a sole small aircraft descending toward the airport. Seemed odd to have a plane landing late in the evening there after dark. But to me it alsmost felt like Steve saying goodbye. No more picking him up at Montgomery and then heading over for lunch to talk over our cases.
Rest in peace Steve. You left an indelible mark on the profession, the lives of so many clients and a long list of attorneys (myself included) who valued your friendship and mentorship.
