Best Lawyers in California, United States for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
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As one of the leading trial lawyers in California, Partner Matthew McNicholas represents victims in a range of areas, including catastrophic injury, wrongful death, employment law, maritime law, landlord-tenant habitability, product liability, sexual assault and other consumer-oriented matters, such as civil rights and aviation disasters. As Panel Counsel to the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Mr. McNicholas also has an emphasis in represe...
Based in the firm’s San Francisco office, Deborah Rosenthal brings 25 years of experience as a litigator to the firm’s asbestos, sexual abuse, and personal injury practice groups. She has helped secure millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on her clients’ behalf, against defective product manufacturers, oil and shipping companies, telecom carriers, and other institutional and individual wrongdoers. A writer for as long as she can remember, Deborah became a lawyer t...
Paul Kiesel received his Juris Doctorate from the Whittier College School of Law in Los Angeles in 1985. In 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Whittier Law School. His practice is devoted to representing consumers in personal injury, class action, environmental, and toxic tort litigation. Mr. Kiesel has repeatedly been selected as one of the top plaintiff attorneys in the State of California and the country. The Los Angeles Business Journal recognized Mr. Kiesel as one of ...
Jennifer M. Collins is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jennifer M., who practices law in Newport Beach, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jennifer M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Michael L. Baum is a senior partner of Wisner Baum (formerly Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman) based in Los Angeles. For 29 years, Michael was the managing partner of Baum Hedlund until he turned over the reins to R. Brent Wisner at the beginning of 2023. Under Michael’s stewardship, our firm grew from a small boutique law firm to one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs’ litigation firms that is now known for its cutting-edge, superior legal work. While running Baum Hedlund...
Khaldoun Baghdadi has been with the firm for 20 years. In 2016, he was part of the trial team in the Pinnacle hip implant litigation trial which resulted in a total verdict in excess of $1 billion dollars. He has dedicated his career to being a trial lawyer, helping people who need and deserve an advocate. He has served as lead trial counsel in cases throughout the State of California, on matters ranging from wrongful death, defective products, insurance disputes, medical negligence and publi...
Under Elizabeth Cabraser’s leadership, Lieff Cabraser has become one of the country’s largest law firms serving clients seeking redress for financial and consumer fraud , anti-competitive practices , harmful drugs and products , and illegal employment practices . For four decades, Elizabeth has made sure that our firm remains dedicated to its clients and its core values. Possessing unparalleled expertise in complex civil litigation, Elizabeth has served as court-appointed lead, co...
Ralph Jacobson received his law degree from Stanford University in 1969. His concentration has been in personal injury and employment litigation for over 30 years. He has written numerous articles for the CEB Civil Litigation Reporter, a leading professional journal for attorneys. One such article was cited by the California Supreme Court in an opinion. Ralph has served as a consultant to Bancroft Whitney, a leading legal text publisher, for its California Civil Practice Series. He has lectur...
Lee Cirsch is a senior attorney at The Lanier Law Firm. He is an experienced trial lawyer who has handled a wide variety of personal injury, products liability, and business and commercial litigation matters for more than two decades. He primarily focuses on representing the firm’s clients in personal injury and product liability matters. Lee focuses on the needs of the firm’s clients and develops the best strategy to achieve those needs in the most creative, efficient, and econom...
Haeggquist & Eck partner and trial attorney Amber Eck is a tenacious advocate for employees, consumers, and shareholders, and has been for the past 28 years. Amber has taken cases to trial in both state and federal court as lead trial attorney and has recovered millions of dollars for her clients in settlements, including multiple six- and seven-figure settlements. Amber doesn’t shy away from high-profile defendants — a fact well-illustrated by her role as co-lead counsel in t...
James P. Frantz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. James P., who practices law in San Diego, California, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mike Kelly is one of the nation’s top personal injury attorneys. For four decades he has protected consumers from corporate greed, medical mistakes, dangerous household products, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle accidents of every kind. He has tried, settled, and arbitrated more than 200 cases where the recovery by his client exceeded $1 million. In 2020 he helped negotiate the multibillion-dollar resolution of the 2017 California wildfire lawsuits brought against utility giant...
Elizabeth Smiley joined Baron & Budd’s Los Angeles office in 2018 as an associate in the Firm’s Class Action Litigation Group. There she helps bring nationwide, multi-million-dollar lawsuits to successful conclusion on behalf of our clients. In her work at Baron & Budd, Ms. Smiley is a trial attorney protecting the rights of consumers from corporate fraud. In 2020, she was part of the trial team that won the largest verdict in the State of Hawaii against a pair of pharmace...
Benjamin Haber is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs. Benjamin, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Benjamin is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.