Hagens Berman announced the opening of a Washington, D.C. office that will be led by class-action attorney Jennifer Fountain Connolly, Of Counsel at HBSS.

HBSS Managing Partner Steve Berman views Washington, D.C. as the next logical step in building out HBSS' growing national presence.

"Washington, D.C. represents a significant opportunity for the firm to expand its reach," Berman said. "The new office will also make it easier for us to work more closely with clients in the area. It's our intent to place offices wherever we think we can best help our clients' interests."

HBSS currently has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco.

Connolly's practice focuses on pharmaceutical pricing fraud cases, qui tam litigation and antitrust class actions.

"HBSS is extremely excited to have someone with Jennifer's deep experience in antitrust law and class action litigation on board," Berman said. "She will play a critical role in expanding the firm's presence in Washington, D.C."

Connolly was a key member of the HBSS-led team that successfully tried the Average Wholesale Price litigation against four pharmaceutical companies, obtaining a verdict that was subsequently affirmed in all respect by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I'm honored to get this chance to head up Hagens Berman's newest office," Connolly said. "I look forward to working with the firm's clients in the D.C. area and expanding our presence there."

Connolly has experience leading antitrust practices and has held leadership positions in numerous complex class actions, including In re Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation as interim co-lead counsel for indirect purchasers;In re Live Concert Antitrust Litigation as co-lead counsel, and In re Actimmune Marketing Litigation as a member of the Interim Executive Committee.

The Washington, D.C. office is located at 1629 K Street N.W.

HBSS has tackled numerous antitrust and class-action cases over the years. Some of the firm's current antitrust cases include: Aaron Wagner v. Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi and other consumer electronics companies, a class-action suit that alleges several consumer-electronics companies manipulated the prices of optical disk drives;Allen Hale v. Guitar Center, a class-action suit that alleges Guitar Center conspired to fix pricing on fretted instruments; and Geoffrey Pecover and Jeffrey Lawrence v. Electronic Arts Inc., a class-action suit that alleges the video-game giant engaged in unlawful and anticompetitive agreements that nearly doubled the price of its popular and ubiquitous Madden NFL game.