Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman

Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman
Name	Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Founded	1978
Founders	David C. Baum; Daniel S. Hedlund
Practice areas	Personal injury; product liability; medical malpractice; consumer protection; class actions
Key people	Robert E. Goldman; Todd E. Aristei

Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman is a Los Angeles-based plaintiff law firm specializing in product liability, mass torts, class actions, and catastrophic personal injury litigation. The firm has litigated cases involving pharmaceutical products, consumer goods, aviation accidents, and civil rights matters in federal and state courts across the United States. Its work has intersected with regulatory agencies, judicial precedent, and high-profile corporations.

History

The firm traces origins to litigation practices developed in the 1970s and 1980s in Los Angeles and San Francisco, emerging alongside firms that challenged corporations after incidents such as the Three Mile Island accident and controversies involving Tobacco Litigation. Founders established a presence during periods shaped by decisions from the United States Supreme Court, rulings in the Ninth Circuit, and reform debates around the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. Over decades the firm expanded from regional tort dockets to nationwide multidistrict litigation filings in venues like the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Northern District of Illinois.

Practice Areas

The firm focuses on litigation in areas including pharmaceutical and medical device liability akin to cases brought under statutes such as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulatory review by the Food and Drug Administration. Attorneys pursue claims in aviation matters involving entities regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and in consumer product liability claims involving manufacturers subject to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The firm handles mass torts coordinated through multidistrict litigation panels, medical malpractice cases tried in state courts like California Superior Court, and civil rights matters invoking federal statutes such as claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Notable Cases and Settlements

Attorneys have litigated claims against pharmaceutical companies in litigation similar to high-profile suits involving drugs like Vioxx and Talcum powder claims, and against device manufacturers in matters reminiscent of disputes over hip implant failures and transvaginal mesh products. The firm pursued litigation concerning brain injury and wrongful death in contexts paralleling cases against corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Bayer. It has been involved in litigation that reached federal appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and participated in settlements negotiated in multidistrict proceedings overseen by judges in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Attorneys and Leadership

The firm’s leadership roster has included principals and partners who have tried cases in state and federal courts and argued motions in appellate panels including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Notable attorneys have backgrounds that connect to legal communities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and national associations such as the American Association for Justice and the Consumer Attorneys of California. Senior lawyers have lectured at institutions like University of California, Los Angeles and engaged with bar organizations including the State Bar of California.

Awards and Recognition

The firm and individual attorneys have received professional recognitions from organizations similar to Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, and memberships in trial advocacy groups like the American Board of Trial Advocates. Its verdicts and settlements have been covered in legal industry publications such as The American Lawyer and Law360, and accolades reference rankings in regional lists for firms in the Los Angeles legal market.

Controversies and Criticism

The firm has faced scrutiny in media and legal commentary like other high-profile plaintiff firms when pursuing mass tort and class action litigation that drew attention from corporate defendants and defense trade groups including associations in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Some cases generated appellate review and commentary in outlets that cover tort reform debates, with critics citing concerns echoed in discussions involving the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and state-level legislative proposals. The firm’s litigation strategies have been contested in adversarial filings before judges in federal districts and in hearings before appellate panels.

Category:Law firms based in California Category:Plaintiff law firms Category:Legal organizations established in 1978