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| Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein |
| Type | Law firm |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Num attorneys | ~60 (varies) |
| Practice areas | Class action, consumer protection, antitrust, products liability, securities |
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein is a United States plaintiffs' law firm known for high‑profile class action litigation in consumer protection, antitrust, securities, and products liability matters. The firm has represented claimants against corporations, governmental entities, and financial institutions in federal courts such as the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and appellate venues including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, often securing multi‑million and multi‑billion dollar settlements. Its work intersects with major legal developments involving statutes and doctrines like the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Class Action Fairness Act and decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
Founded in 1972, the firm emerged during a period of expansion for plaintiff litigation alongside firms such as Milberg Weiss, Kohn Swift & Graf, and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann in venues including San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles. Early matters involved consumer safety and products litigation akin to cases against manufacturers represented by plaintiffs' firms like Lieff's contemporaries and disputes reminiscent of litigation involving Ford Motor Company and General Motors. Over decades the firm has litigated against corporations including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BP, and Johnson & Johnson, adapting to regulatory changes from agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. Partners at the firm have participated in professional organizations such as the American Bar Association, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, and the American Association for Justice.
The firm focuses on class actions and collective redress in areas including consumer protection cases against entities like Apple Inc., Google, and Facebook; antitrust litigation involving defendants such as Microsoft, AT&T, and Comcast; securities and shareholder suits targeting issuers listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ; products liability claims against manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corporation and Takata Corporation; and employment class actions alleging violations of statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act in matters comparable to suits against companies like Walmart and McDonald's. The firm's practice often implicates procedural tools from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and appellate review by circuits such as the Ninth Circuit and the Second Circuit.
The firm has been lead or co‑lead counsel in major settlements and trials resembling landmark matters such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal litigation, the Equifax data breach suits, and shareholder actions following corporate scandals at firms like Enron and WorldCom. It has secured recoveries in securities fraud cases involving allegations similar to those in suits against Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs, and consumer settlements over finance industry practices related to institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. In product and mass‑tort arenas the firm has pursued claims akin to litigation against Monsanto and 3M, and has obtained injunctive relief and monetary relief in cases invoking statutes enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The firm is organized as a partnership with a management committee and chairs overseeing litigation teams, similar in governance to firms like Kirkland & Ellis (management structures notwithstanding), and features senior partners who have clerked for judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Leadership has included attorneys who previously served in roles at the Public Defender Service and nonprofit organizations such as the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center, and who have taught at law schools including Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and UC Berkeley School of Law.
Attorneys at the firm have received awards and rankings from legal publications and organizations such as Chambers and Partners, The Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers, and have been recognized by advocacy groups including the National Consumer Law Center and the National Employment Lawyers Association. The firm's work has been cited in appellate opinions from the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, and its settlements have been reported in major media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
The firm has faced scrutiny and debate over issues common in class action practice, including fee awards reviewed under precedents like Boeing Co. v. Van Gemert and In re: Apple Inc.‑style disputes about cy pres distributions, attracting commentary from scholars at institutions such as Yale Law School and NYU School of Law. It has been involved in motions and appellate briefing addressing attorney fee standards under cases influenced by the Class Action Fairness Act and rulings of the United States Supreme Court concerning standing and certification. Ethical debates have involved engagement with state bar grievance processes like the State Bar of California and reporting in legal periodicals including The American Lawyer.
Partners and associates engage in pro bono matters with organizations such as the Public Interest Law Project, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and the American Civil Liberties Union, providing representation in matters related to civil rights cases similar to those pursued by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and immigrant rights work akin to cases handled by Immigrant Legal Resource Center. The firm supports civic initiatives in communities across California, participates in fundraising with charities like United Way and Stand Up To Cancer, and collaborates with academic centers at Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley.
Category:Law firms based in San Francisco Category:Class action law firms