Best Lawyers in California, United States for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs
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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 ...
Erika Contreras is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Erika, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Erika is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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...
Steven Hilst is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Steven, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Attorney Jennifer L. Alesio is a partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy in the San Francisco office. She focuses her practice on mesothelioma and asbestos-related cases, helping injured workers and their families secure the justice they deserve. In the 10 years Jennifer has practiced law, her tenacity in the courtroom and empathetic approach to clients has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for her clients. “It’s my job to tell the stories of the work...
As a defensive back on the West Point football team, Kevin Quinn never failed to offer opposing runners a hand up after he had knocked them down. Such sportsmanlike conduct has carried over to Kevin’s career as a trial lawyer. Today, many cases he handles result from referrals from attorneys that he has bested in the courtroom. Kevin came to California as a result of a shoulder injury incurred while playing football as a defensive back for the United States Military Academy at West Poin...
Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr. is a founding partner of Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire. He specializes in plaintiffs' litigation with an emphasis in business disputes, condemnation, and major injury cases. A tenacious litigator, Bartolotta is recognized annually by Woodward/White as one of the Best Lawyers in America -- a recognition he's received every year since 1987. "There's really no secret about what I do," he says, "I really do care for my clients; each case gets a piece of my soul." Bartolot...
Bijan Esfandiari is a pharmaceutical product liability litigation attorney and senior partner at Wisner Baum in Los Angeles, where he focuses his practice on complex and multi-district litigation, including defective medical devices, pharmaceutical drug product liability, and consumer fraud. Since joining the firm in 2007, Bijan has worked as lead counsel on several cutting-edge pharmaceutical and medical device cases. His legal work has helped thousands of clients secure compensation for the...
Rahul Ravipudi has spent his legal career representing handling catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians, industrial or construction accidents, and dangerous conditions of public and private property. He also represents consumers in class actions against businesses who engage in unfair and illegal business practices. Recently, Mr. Ravipudi recovered $10 million for the family of an independent truck driver killed by an intoxicated heavy lift ope...
With more than 25 years’ experience as a trial lawyer, Partner Patrick McNicholas exclusively represents victims in catastrophic injury, product liability, sexual assault and other consumer-oriented matters, such as civil rights and aviation disasters. Mr. McNicholas has tried and settled numerous noteworthy cases, including a $44 million settlement for air crash victims, a $10.8 million jury verdict awarded to a minor molested by a school teacher, a $10 million jury verdict to a constr...
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...
Itak Moradi is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Antitrust Law, Litigation - Antitrust and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs. Itak, who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Itak is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Brandon Castor is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs. Brandon, 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 Brandon 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.