Chain Cohn Stiles 85 years later, local ‘Hall of Fame’ law firm stays community focused
The current attorneys at Chain Cohn Stiles, from left: Doug Fitz-Simmons, Tanya Alsheikh, Matt Clark, David Cohn, Jim Yoro, Chad Boyles and Beatriz Trejo.
The year is 1934. The great Dust Bowl storm is sweeping across the Great Plains, Donald Duck premieres on television, and the FBI kills Bonnie and Clyde in a shootout. It’s also the year Morris B. Chain first set up shop in the Haberfelde Building in downtown Bakersfield. The Russian immigrant who grew up in Bakersfield had earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and struggled to find a law firm that would hire a fresh-faced attorney. It was, after all, during the Great Depression era, when “help wanted” signs were nowhere to be found. So he opened his own law practice and began 62
Bakersfield Life Magazine
August 2019
laying the foundation for what would become one of Central Valley’s most prominent and longstanding law firms, one whose mission became to fight for the everyday workingman and woman during their time of greatest need. The firm’s name changed through the years, but several things remained constant – most obvious is the Chain namesake. Today, the firm is known as Chain Cohn Stiles. Another constant? For 85 years, the firm has been firmly cemented in downtown Bakersfield, dedicated to helping Kern County’s residents, not only through accident and injury legal work, but also through com-