Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
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| Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founders | Steve Berman, Jeffrey C. Berman, Hagens, Berman |
| Headquarters | Seattle |
| Key people | Steve Berman |
| Practice areas | Class action litigation, Antitrust law, Consumer protection |
| Num attorneys | approx. 100 |
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an American plaintiffs' law firm known for high‑profile class actions, multidistrict litigation, and public interest suits. The firm has litigated against major corporations in sectors such as automotive industry, pharmaceutical industry, technology industry, and tobacco industry, and has been prominent in cases before courts in California, New York, and Washington. Its work intersects with landmark litigation involving entities like General Motors, Volkswagen, Apple Inc., Takata Corporation, and regulatory contexts related to Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission actions.
History
Founded in 1993 by trial lawyers with backgrounds in complex litigation and civil rights matters, the firm rose during the 1990s alongside expanding class action practice driven by decisions from the United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and developments in multidistrict litigation procedures. Early matters echoed nationwide trends following cases like Purdue Pharma opioid litigation and class actions against Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement defendants, leading to nationwide consolidation in venues such as the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Expansion continued through the 2000s as the firm opened offices and litigated matters tied to crises including recalls by Toyota, crises involving Takata Corporation airbags, and emissions controversies associated with Volkswagen. Throughout its history the firm has both coordinated multi‑state actions and engaged in mass torts, often aligning with public advocacy groups and state attorneys general such as those from California Attorney General and New York Attorney General offices.
Practice Areas and Notable Cases
The firm's practice areas include class action litigation, antitrust law, consumer protection, securities fraud, environmental law, and product liability. Notable cases involve allegations against automobile manufacturers such as General Motors ignition defect suits, emissions litigation tied to Volkswagen "Dieselgate", and vehicle airbag cases connected to Takata Corporation. In pharmaceuticals and healthcare, the firm has pursued actions related to opioid distribution alongside litigating matters involving Johnson & Johnson talc claims and consumer claims against AbbVie and other manufacturers. The firm has led antitrust challenges against technology and entertainment companies comparable to matters involving Apple Inc., Google LLC, and media conglomerates for licensing and pricing practices, and has prosecuted data‑privacy and consumer cases in contexts similar to litigation involving Facebook, Equifax, and Uber Technologies. The firm has also represented plaintiffs in securities suits echoing high‑profile cases associated with Enron and WorldCom‑era jurisprudence.
Firm Structure and Key Personnel
Organizationally the firm is structured as a plaintiffs' boutique with partners, senior counsel, associates, and litigation support teams operating from regional offices in cities comparable to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Key personnel include founding partner Steve Berman and a leadership team that has included former prosecutors, academics from institutions like Harvard Law School and Yale Law School, and litigators with clerkships on courts such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and trial experience in United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The firm often forms plaintiff steering committees in multidistrict litigation alongside counsel from firms like Quinn Emanuel, Lieff Cabraser, and Berger Montague.
Major Settlements and Impact
The firm has negotiated substantial settlements and judgments in cases producing recoveries for classes and influencing corporate practices, comparable in scale to settlements in Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement‑era litigation and multidistrict resolutions like those in Opioid litigation. Settlements have led to corporate compliance changes, vehicle recalls, and monetary distributions to consumers and states; comparable impacts are seen in landmark resolutions involving Volkswagen, Takata Corporation, and major pharmaceutical settlements. The firm’s outcomes have affected regulatory dialogues at agencies such as the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and state attorney general offices, and have been cited in subsequent consumer protection and antitrust enforcement actions.
Criticisms, Controversies, and Litigation Against the Firm
As with many high‑stakes plaintiffs' firms, the firm has faced criticism and litigation regarding fee agreements, class certification strategies, and settlement administration, drawing scrutiny akin to controversies surrounding firms in cases like AIG settlements and high‑value class actions led by national plaintiffs’ counsel. Allegations and appeals have engaged federal and state appellate courts including panels of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and petitions to the United States Supreme Court in matters about attorneys’ fees, cy pres distributions, and class notice procedures. The firm has defended its practices in adversary proceedings and ethics inquiries while continuing to litigate precedent‑setting matters.
Awards, Rankings, and Recognition
The firm and its attorneys have received recognition from legal industry publications and organizations comparable to listings in Chambers and Partners, The American Lawyer, and rankings by Legal 500 and Benchmark Litigation. Individual partners have been profiled in national outlets and have lectured at institutions such as Stanford Law School and University of Washington School of Law, and the firm’s cases have been cited in academic journals and treatises on antitrust, class actions, and mass tort practice.