Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser
Name	Lieff Cabraser
Founded	1972
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Offices	San Francisco; New York; Nashville
Practice areas	Class actions; Complex litigation; Antitrust; Employment; Consumer protection; Products liability
Key people	Daniel Becnel Jr.; Robert W. Lieff; Michael W. Bien; Elizabeth Cabraser
Num attorneys	100+

Lieff Cabraser is a United States plaintiffs' law firm known for large-scale class action litigation and consumer protection suits. The firm has litigated high-profile cases in federal and state courts, often involving mass torts, antitrust claims, and employment disputes. Its litigation has intersected with major legal developments, mass media coverage, and judicial precedents.

History and Formation

Lieff Cabraser was founded in 1972 during a period of expansion in plaintiffs' litigation that involved prominent firms and advocates associated with cases reaching the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and state supreme courts such as the California Supreme Court. Early partners were active contemporaries of lawyers who appeared in landmark matters alongside figures tied to the Civil Rights Movement, American Bar Association leadership, and advocacy networks connected to institutions like Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. The firm grew through representation in class actions that paralleled litigation trends involving pharmaceutical producers like Pfizer, Merck & Co., and Johnson & Johnson, and corporate defendants including Walmart, ExxonMobil, and Bank of America. Over decades it established offices in major legal markets, participating in litigation linked to federal statutes such as the Sherman Antitrust Act and regulatory regimes involving the Food and Drug Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notable Cases and Litigation

The firm has been counsel or co-counsel in cases that received national attention and appellate scrutiny, joining multidistrict litigation settings alongside firms arguing issues at venues like the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and multidistrict panels such as the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Lieff Cabraser attorneys have been involved in litigation related to pharmaceutical products implicated in suits against companies like GlaxoSmithKline, AbbVie, and Bayer. They have pursued antitrust claims and consumer class actions involving corporations including AT&T, Verizon Communications, Facebook (Meta Platforms), Google (Alphabet Inc.), and Apple Inc., and have litigated employment and wage matters against employers such as McDonald's, Amazon (company), and Uber Technologies. The firm has appeared in cases with intersections to bankruptcy courts like the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and appellate review including panels of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Practice Areas and Clients

Lieff Cabraser's practice areas have encompassed class actions, mass torts, antitrust suits, employment litigation, consumer protection, and products liability. Their client roster and representative matters have involved individuals and putative classes asserting claims against defendants ranging from multinational corporations such as General Motors, Toyota, Boeing, and Chevron Corporation to financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. The firm has represented claimants in matters touching regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when public-health or market-competition issues arose. Lieff Cabraser has also engaged in securities-related class litigation implicating issuers and underwriters tied to exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The firm has operated as a partnership with a leadership team of managing partners, executive committee members, and practice group chairs. Senior lawyers at the firm have held leadership roles in professional organizations including the American Association for Justice, the National Employment Lawyers Association, and local bar associations like the Bar Association of San Francisco. Its attorneys have been alumni of law schools such as Columbia Law School, University of Chicago Law School, New York University School of Law, and have clerked for federal judges on circuits including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and district courts such as the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The firm has coordinated with co-counsel and liaison counsel roles in multidistrict litigation and has retained experts with affiliations to universities like Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University.

Controversies and Investigations

Lieff Cabraser has been the subject of media scrutiny, internal reviews, and inquiries related to litigation practices, fee arrangements, and attorney conduct that drew attention from outlets including national newspapers and legal periodicals. The firm has faced investigations regarding compliance with court orders and disclosure obligations in complex settlements that involved competing counsel and regulatory oversight by entities such as state attorney general offices (for example, offices in California, New York (state), and Massachusetts). Some matters prompted appellate consideration in federal circuits and administrative responses by professional disciplinary bodies including state bar associations and committees affiliated with the American Bar Association.

Awards and Recognition

Attorneys at the firm have received honors and recognition from organizations such as the National Law Journal, Law360, Chambers and Partners, and regional listings like Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers. The firm and its partners have been acknowledged for trial achievements, appellate advocacy, and leadership in class action practice by groups including the American Bar Foundation, the Federal Bar Association, and law school alumni associations at institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University.

Category:Law firms based in San Francisco Category:Plaintiffs' firms (United States)