Steve W. Berman, Managing Partner
Steve Berman co-founded Hagens Berman in 1993 and is the firm’s managing partner. He represents consumers, investors and employees in large, complex litigation held in state and federal courts. Berman’s trial experience has earned him significant recognition and led The National Law Journal to name him one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in the nation, and to repeatedly name Hagens Berman one of the top 10 plaintiffs’ firms in the country. Berman was inspired to build a firm that vociferously fought for the rights of those unable to fight for themselves. His innovative approach, tenacious conviction and impeccable track record have earned him an excellent reputation and numerous historic legal victories. He is considered one of the nation’s most successful class-action attorneys.
Mr. Berman served as lead counsel for the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history and has represented clients against Big Pharma in various actions ranging from price-fixing schemes to antitrust activities to culminate in more than $1 billion in aggregate settlements. He also works on antitrust matters including those regarding the battery and content lens industries, as well representing a class of animators against several employers. He was also responsible for securing $400 million in compensation for e-book owners for an antitrust pricing scheme involving Apple and five of the nation's top publishers. more »
Thomas M. Sobol, Partner & Executive Committee Member
Tom Sobol is a member of Hagens Berman's executive committee and leads the firm's Boston office, where he spearheads the firm's drug pricing litigation efforts against numerous pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Mr. Sobol was voted one of 10 leading litigators in Massachusetts and has been involved in some of Hagens Berman's most prominent victories in antitrust litigation, including Neurontin class action marketing settlement ($325 million), NECC meningitis outbreak settlement ($200 million), Flonase direct purchaser litigation settlement ($150 million), Wellbutrin XL direct purchaser litigation ($37.5 million), First Databank litigation (4% price reduction of most retail drugs), McKesson litigation ($350 million) and others. Mr. Sobol served as lead counsel to the Prescription Access Litigation (PAL) project, the largest coalition of health care advocacy groups that fight illegal, loophole-based overpricing by pharmaceutical companies and has been a lead negotiator in court-approved settlements totaling more than $2 billion. more »
Lauren Guth Barnes, Partner
Lauren Guth Barnes is a partner at Hagens Berman's Boston office where she focuses on antitrust, consumer protection and RICO litigation against drug and medical device manufacturers in complex class actions and personal injury cases for consumers, large and small health plans, direct purchasers and state governments. Ms. Barnes helped reach a $73 million class settlement for direct purchasers in MDL No. 2343: In re. Skelaxin Antitrust Litigation and served as co-lead class counsel for direct purchasers in In re Niaspan Antitrust Litigation as well as a role as liaison counsel for In re Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation. more »
Kristen A. Johnson, Partner
Kristen A. Johnson is a partner at Hagens Berman's Boston office where she focuses on combating waste, fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry. Her notable work includes securing a $142 million verdict against Pfizer for suppressing and manipulating results of scientific studies, for which she received a nomination from Public Justice for Trial Lawyer of the Year, with the rest of the Neurontin trial team. She has been involved in numerous antitrust cases against Big Pharma including In re Nexium Antitrust Litigation (D. Mass., MDL No. 2409); In re Loestrin Antitrust Litigation (D.R.I., MDL No. 2472); and In re Celebrex Antitrust Litigation, (E.D. Va. 14-cv-00361). Ms. Johnson also served as one of four attorneys who presented and cross examined witnesses for the plaintiffs during the 2014 Nexium Antitrust trial and was instrumental in the following settlements: Prograf antitrust ($98 million), Flonase antitrust ($150 million) and Wellbutrin XL antitrust ($37.5 million, partial). more »
Shana E. Scarlett, Partner
Shana E. Scarlett is a partner at Hagens Berman's San Francisco office. Her practice is devoted entirely to representing plaintiffs in complex litigation, and primarily in the areas of antitrust and unfair competition. She serves as one of the team of litigators representing indirect purchaser plaintiffs in the In re Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Litigation, alleging a price-fixing conspiracy to stabilize the prices of optical disk drives throughout the United States, in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. She is also one of the team of co-lead counsel representing indirect purchaser plaintiffs in the In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation and represents a class of consumers in the In re Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation, where attorneys from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro have worked closely with numerous State Attorneys General in representing the rights of consumers. Mr. Scarlett is also on executive committee of the Antitrust Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. more »
Elaine T. Byszewski, Partner
Elaine Byszewski is a partner at Hagens Berman where she has worked since 2004. She has litigated a number of complex class actions on behalf of consumers, employees and whistleblowers resulting in multi-million dollar settlements, including cases against Toyota, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Costco, Apple and KB Homes. She is currently involved in a multi-state antitrust action against major dairy cooperatives for colluding in the premature slaughter of a half a million cows to drive up the price of milk. more »
Jessica R. MacAuley, Partner
Jessica R. MacAuley is a Partner at Hagens Berman's Boston office where she focuses on nationwide antitrust class actions and consumer fraud litigation. She was instrumental in reaching a $98 million settlement for direct purchasers of the immunosuppressant, Prograf, and co-lead class counsel for direct purchasers In re: Solodyn Antitrust Litigation, a multi-district litigation challenging anticompetitive conduct by pharmaceutical drug makers. more »
Jerrod C. Patterson, Partner
Mr. Patterson brings to the firm extensive trial experience and a history of prosecuting complex fraud cases and assists the firm in its antitrust cases, including counterclaim representation of Ethical Coffee Company against Nespresso for its anticompetitive efforts to exclude environmentally friendly, biodegradable coffee capsules from the market. more »
Craig R. Spiegel, Partner
Craig R. Spiegel is a partner at Hagens Berman's Seattle office where his practice primarily focuses on class actions concerning unfair pricing of pharmaceutical drugs. Recent cases include actions against AstraZeneca and Merck. In one of Mr. Spiegel's notable cases, he helped obtain a substantial settlement for the state of New York and New York City in their litigation against Merck for losses suffered from deceptive marketing of the prescription drug Vioxx. more »
