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Lawyer Profile

Image of Nimish R. Desai

Nimish R. Desai

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
  • Recognized Since:
    2016
  • Recognized in:
    Qui Tam Law
  • Law School:
    University of California, Berkeley School of Law
  • Website:
    http://www.lieffcabraser.com
  • Location:
    275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
    San Francisco, CA 94111

Nimish R. Desai is a partner specializing in False Claims Act, class action, and environmental torts cases. In his False Claims Act practice, he has represented whistleblower clients in the healthcare, military contracting, mortgage, and securities industries. In addition to managing numerous under seal matters, Nimish has litigated and won notable cases, including obtaining a $46 million false billing case settlement from one of California’s largest hospital systems. Nimish also worked alongside the U.S. Department of Justice to recover $37 million from a military contractor accused of selling defective equipment.

In his class action practice, Nimish is one of the firm’s lead attorneys in the Takata air bag litigation, which has resulted in approved and proposed settlements totaling over $1 billion to date. He helped lead the litigation against BP for its allegedly defective solar panels, which resulted in a nationwide settlement valued at $67 million. Prior to that, he worked on litigation against Toyota for sudden acceleration problems in its vehicles, and against Pfizer for its allegedly defective prescription drugs Bextra and Celebrex. With his chemical engineering background, Mr. Desai also works on the firm’s environmental cases and investigations, including the 2015 Santa Barbara oil spill, currently being litigated in federal court in Los Angeles, and the TVA coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, which settled in 2014 for nearly $28 million.

Nimish has been named a Super Lawyer each year from 2013-2017 after being selected as a Rising Star in 2012. He previously served on the Board of the East Bay Community Law Center, and the Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California. He is also a member of the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, Bar Association of San Francisco, and Consumer Attorneys of California.

In addition to his degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law), Nimish earned a B.S. with high honors in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. in the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin.

Nimish has published several legal and scientific articles, including “American Chemistry Council v. Johnson: Community Right to Know, But About What?” Ecology Law Quarterly, Winter 2006, and “Analysis of Motor Vehicle Emissions in a Houston Tunnel during Texas Air Quality Study 2000,” Atmospheric Environment, 38, 3363-3372 (2004). He also serves as a contributor to the LexisNexis publication California Class Actions and Coordinated Proceedings.

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Lawyer Bio

Nimish R. Desai is a partner specializing in False Claims Act, class action, and environmental torts cases. In his False Claims Act practice, he has represented whistleblower clients in the healthcare, military contracting, mortgage, and securities industries. In addition to managing numerous under seal matters, Nimish has litigated and won notable cases, including obtaining a $46 million false billing case settlement from one of California’s largest hospital systems. Nimish also worked alongside the U.S. Department of Justice to recover $37 million from a military contractor accused of selling defective equipment.

In his class action practice, Nimish is one of the firm’s lead attorneys in the Takata air bag litigation, which has resulted in approved and proposed settlements totaling over $1 billion to date. He helped lead the litigation against BP for its allegedly defective solar panels, which resulted in a nationwide settlement valued at $67 million. Prior to that, he worked on litigation against Toyota for sudden acceleration problems in its vehicles, and against Pfizer for its allegedly defective prescription drugs Bextra and Celebrex. With his chemical engineering background, Mr. Desai also works on the firm’s environmental cases and investigations, including the 2015 Santa Barbara oil spill, currently being litigated in federal court in Los Angeles, and the TVA coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, which settled in 2014 for nearly $28 million.

Nimish has been named a Super Lawyer each year from 2013-2017 after being selected as a Rising Star in 2012. He previously served on the Board of the East Bay Community Law Center, and the Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California. He is also a member of the State Bar of California, American Bar Association, Bar Association of San Francisco, and Consumer Attorneys of California.

In addition to his degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law), Nimish earned a B.S. with high honors in Chemical Engineering and a B.A. in the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin.

Nimish has published several legal and scientific articles, including “American Chemistry Council v. Johnson: Community Right to Know, But About What?” Ecology Law Quarterly, Winter 2006, and “Analysis of Motor Vehicle Emissions in a Houston Tunnel during Texas Air Quality Study 2000,” Atmospheric Environment, 38, 3363-3372 (2004). He also serves as a contributor to the LexisNexis publication California Class Actions and Coordinated Proceedings.

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  • Education
  • Bar & Court Admissions
  • Affiliations
  • Award List

Education:

  • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., graduated 2006
  • University of Texas at Austin, B.S. & B.A, graduated 2002

Bar Admissions:

  • Texas, State Bar of
  • California, State Bar of California
 

Court Admissions:

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2009
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2008
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2007
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 2009
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 2017

Affiliations:

  • American Bar Association - Member
  • American Constitution Society - Member
  • Bar Association of San Francisco - Member
  • East Bay Community Law Center - Board Member, 2010
  • South Asian Bar Association - Board Member, 2010
  • State Bar of California - Member

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for work in:

  • Qui Tam Law
 

Awards:

  • Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in field of "Qui Tam Law," 2016 - 2021
  • "Super Lawyer for Northern California," Super Lawyers, 2013 - 2020
  • "40 and Under Hot List," Benchmark Litigation, 2018-2020
  • "Consumer Attorney of the Year Finalist," Consumer Attorneys of California, 2014
  • "Rising Star for Northern California," Super Lawyers, 2012
 

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Lawyer Practice Areas

Key: Awarded in Best Lawyers Not Currently Awarded for this Area in Best Lawyers

Firm Details

Image for Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP View Firm Profile
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
http://www.lieffcabraser.com
 
Headquarters
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 956.1000
4 Office Locations
in 2 Countries

Germany

Germany

Munich, Germany

Nympenburger Strasse 4, 5th Floor

Munich 80355

Germany

49 89 20 80 27 389

Get Directions

United States

United States

New York

New York

New York, NY

250 Hudson Street, Eighth Floor

New York, NY 10013

United States

(212) 355.9500

Get Directions

Tennessee

Tennessee

Nashville, TN

222 Second Avenue South, Suite 1640

Nashville, TN 37201

United States

(615) 313.9000

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News & Media

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