Steve Berman (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Steve Berman is an American plaintiff
's lawyer who founded
and is Managing Partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a 42-attorney (as of June, 2007) law firm
based in Seattle, Washington
.
cases against Enron
, Washington Public Power Supply System, Purdue Pharma
(over OxyContin), Exxon
(with respect to the Exxon Valdez oil spill
), Boeing
, Intel (over alleged monopoly
practices), Michael Milken
, the Rio Tinto
mining company (with respect to human rights
violations and environmental destruction in New Guinea
), and VISA and MasterCard
(in which he achieved a $3 billion settlement). He was also instrumental in the state attorneys general’s
litigation against the Liggett Group
and subsequent $216 billion settlement, against the tobacco industry
, serving as special assistant to the various states. He was lead counsel for Microsoft
during part of its defense against antitrust
claims.
In 2003 Berman and his family endowed the Kathy and Steve Berman Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law
. In April 2009 it was announced that funding for the clinic had been eliminated and it would not be continued beyond the 2008-2009 academic year.
He has been listed as top lawyer in Washington State and one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in the United States
by the National Law Journal.
Several recent cases spurred public criticism. In 2006 he sued Apple Computer
, alleging that iPod
music players could cause hearing loss if the volume were too high. In 2007 Berman filed a class action
lawsuit against Avvo
, a law-related review site
, on behalf of Seattle, Washington
attorney John Henry Browne
, over the claimed unfairness of the site's rating system. That suit was dismissed on First Amendment
grounds.
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
's lawyer who founded
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and is Managing Partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a 42-attorney (as of June, 2007) law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
based in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
Background
Berman helped found his namesake firm in 1993. He was lead attorney in individual and class actionClass action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
cases against Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
, Washington Public Power Supply System, Purdue Pharma
Purdue Pharma
Purdue Pharma L.P., is a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by physicians and now located in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. In its early years, Purdue was known for its antiseptic product, Betadine Solution, and its Senokot laxatives...
(over OxyContin), Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
(with respect to the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
), Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, Intel (over alleged monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
practices), Michael Milken
Michael Milken
Michael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...
, the Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
mining company (with respect to human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations and environmental destruction in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
), and VISA and MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
(in which he achieved a $3 billion settlement). He was also instrumental in the state attorneys general’s
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
litigation against the Liggett Group
Liggett Group
Liggett Group , formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west in Mebane, North Carolina...
and subsequent $216 billion settlement, against the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
, serving as special assistant to the various states. He was lead counsel for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
during part of its defense against antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
claims.
In 2003 Berman and his family endowed the Kathy and Steve Berman Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law
University of Washington School of Law
The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington.The most recent 2012 U.S...
. In April 2009 it was announced that funding for the clinic had been eliminated and it would not be continued beyond the 2008-2009 academic year.
He has been listed as top lawyer in Washington State and one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by the National Law Journal.
Several recent cases spurred public criticism. In 2006 he sued Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, alleging that iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
music players could cause hearing loss if the volume were too high. In 2007 Berman filed a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit against Avvo
Avvo
Avvo.com is an expert-only Q&A forum where people can ask legal and health questions of lawyers and doctors, for free. The Q&A forum is backed by an online directory of doctors and lawyers licensed in the United States. Avvo provides listings to which doctors and attorneys can submit their own...
, a law-related review site
Review site
A review site is a website on which reviews can be posted about people, businesses, products, or services. These sites may use Web 2.0 techniques to gather reviews from site users or may employ professional writers to author reviews on the topic of concern for the site...
, on behalf of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
attorney John Henry Browne
John Henry Browne
John Henry Browne is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Seattle, Washington.-Background:Browne has represented defendants in a number of high-profile criminal cases...
, over the claimed unfairness of the site's rating system. That suit was dismissed on First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
grounds.
External links
- biography - on firm website