Steve Berman (lawyer)

Early career

After graduating from law school, Berman worked for Jenner & Block, then Shidler McBroom Gates & Lucas, which later became K&L Gates. He represented plaintiffs in some of the first sexual harassment lawsuits in Washington. His interest in class-action lawsuits began in 1989, after winning an $850 million settlement for investors that provided bonds for a failed nuclear power plant project. He then worked for Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, who acted as co-counsel on the lawsuit, and later for Betts Patterson & Mines.[7] At the time, he focused on shareholder lawsuits representing shareholders against large companies.[7][9]

Hagens Berman and tobacco lawsuits

In 1993, Berman's employer decided not to take on a case against Jack in the Box for allegedly exaggerating to investors regarding the quality of the company's food before an e-coli outbreak.[9][4] The law firm was worried taking the case would harm its relationships with insurance companies they helped defend. In response, Berman left and started his own firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, with four partners and a few associates, so they could pursue the Jack in the Box case.[7] The case settled two years later for $12 million.[4][6] By 2014, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP had 80 employees and 9 offices.[8]

The law firm continued to use class-action lawsuits to target "social ills or corporate malfeasance."[7] Berman became known for his work in the 1990s against tobacco companies.[6][10] At the time, most people believed tobacco companies could not be held liable for health problems associated with their products.[6] After six years of litigation, where Berman represented 14 of 46 U.S. states that participated, the case was settled in 1996 for $206 billion.[6][10][8] Washington CEO Magazine estimated Berman would receive a total of $100 million in compensation,[9] while an article in the Irish Times estimated Berman's share was $10 million per year for 25 years.[10]

The firm suffered a setback in 2006 when it was ordered to pay $10.8 million to three small water-bottling companies in Maine. Hagens Berman had originally represented the bottlers in a lawsuit about water quality. But when the companies wanted to accept an out-of-court settlement offer, the law firm decided to instead pursue class action lawsuits over the objection of the bottlers. A jury found that the firm had been disloyal to its original clients.[2]

Later work

Berman has continued to pursue class-action lawsuits against corporations.[4] His firm won a $215 million settlement from Enron related to lost employee pensions after the Enron scandal[9][6] and $1.6 billion from Volkswagen related to the Volkswagen emissions scandal on behalf of car owners.[6] Berman won $1.63 billion from Toyota related to sudden unintended acceleration in certain Toyota vehicles. Berman also sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association for their response to athlete concussions[8] and for allegedly violating antitrust laws by prohibiting athletes from receiving compensation.[7] Berman has also sued pharmaceutical companies for alleged price-fixing, SeaWorld for its treatment of orcas, and Butterfinger for its alleged use of child labor.[4]

In the late 2010s, Berman started lawsuits against oil companies, accusing them of causing climate change, on behalf of coastal towns and others affected by rising water levels. The lawsuits used similar reasoning as the tobacco lawsuits in the 1990s, alleging oil companies willfully misled the public about the environmental harms of their product.[6]