BakerHostetler recently announced that veteran environmental and product liability litigator Adam Baas has joined the firm as a partner in its San Francisco office, strengthening the firm’s litigation capabilities and continuing its strategic expansion on the West Coast.
Baas joins BakerHostetler’s Litigation Practice Group and will serve as a member of the Environmental and Product Liability and Toxic Tort teams. He brings more than two decades of experience handling complex toxic tort, product liability, and environmental litigation, as well as advising companies on environmental compliance, enforcement matters, and risk mitigation strategies.
Prior to joining the firm, Baas worked at an Am Law 10 firm and built a reputation as a leading litigator in cases involving emerging contaminants. His practice focuses on high-stakes disputes involving chemicals and environmental exposures across multiple industries, including chemical manufacturing, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, food production, textiles, and agriculture.
Baas is particularly known for his work in PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) litigation, a group of widely used chemicals that have become a major focus of environmental litigation. Over the past decade, he has been involved in numerous PFAS contamination and exposure cases, including multidistrict litigation and class actions related to firefighting foam and other sources of contamination.
In addition to PFAS, Baas has handled cases involving other emerging contaminants such as ethylene oxide, benzene, methyl tertiary butyl ether, 6PPD, and dioxin. His experience includes representing companies in state attorneys general actions seeking natural resource damages, defending citizen suits under environmental statutes, and managing complex multi-plaintiff litigation in both state and federal courts.
Baas has also served as lead counsel for corporate clients in major environmental disputes and mass tort matters. His litigation work frequently involves collaboration with experts in toxicology, chemistry, hydrology, and epidemiology to address complex scientific issues at the center of environmental claims.
Beyond courtroom advocacy, Baas regularly advises companies on regulatory compliance with federal and state environmental laws. His advisory work includes helping clients manage emerging contaminant risks, assisting with remediation and environmental issues related to property transactions, negotiating access agreements, and conducting environmental reviews for real estate deals.
The addition of Baas also reflects BakerHostetler’s broader growth strategy on the West Coast. Over the past five years, the firm has added more than 120 attorneys across its offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, and Seattle. In 2025 alone, the firm hired seven lateral partners, including a team of trademark and brand protection lawyers in Southern California and two real estate partners in Seattle.
Baas earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Oregon.
KEY QUOTES:
“Adam will fit right in at BakerHostetler because he fights hard for his clients. His 20-plus years of high-stakes toxic tort, product liability and environmental litigation experience across the chemical, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, food, textile and agriculture sectors will be an important asset to our firm and clients. He is also an adept business counselor our clients will turn to for sound advice on managing their most critical environmental risks. We are excited to have Adam further strengthen our national team on the West Coast.”
Steven Dettelbach, Chair Of BakerHostetler’s Litigation Practice Group
“Adam has been a leading environmental and toxic tort litigator in the Bay Area for the past 14 years, and his addition adds game-changing litigation expertise in the area of emerging contaminants such as PFAS and ethylene oxide and bolsters the firm’s environmental capabilities in California and across the country. His arrival further solidifies our full-service offerings on the West Coast, and we look forward to recruiting even more top talent in the years to come.”
Robb Adkins, Partner-In-Charge Of BakerHostetler’s San Francisco Office
