SEATTLE – Hagens Berman’s co-founder and managing partner, Steve Berman, has been selected as one of Law360's Class Action MVPs of the Year for 2020. He was the only lawyer from a plaintiff sided firm named this year.

The award spotlights an “elite slate of attorneys” according to Law360, chosen for having distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals. Winners were selected based on the significance, size and complexity of the firm's work. Law360 saw more than 900 submissions, with only attorneys from 76 firms making the list.

“Year after year, we remain proud of the achievements our team has accomplished for our clients, as well as the breadth of cases we take on,” Berman said. “In 2020, Hagens Berman set major milestones in cases representing college-athletes, vehicle owners at risk of fires, investors suffering unforeseen losses, consumers without recourse against Big Tech, and tuition payers receiving a subpar education amid COVID-19.”

The firm highlighted in its submission a major victory against the NCAA in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that clears the way for individual Division I athletic conferences to independently set the rules for education-related compensation or benefits that their member institutions may provide to college-athletes, free from NCAA rules that the court found violate the antitrust laws. In the past year, the firm also submitted a motion for a preliminarily approved settlement with Hyundai and Kia pertaining to a class action the firm brought against the automakers in December of 2018 for a widespread rash of spontaneous, non-crash induced fires and engine failures in many models. The automakers have earmarked up to $758 million to settle this portion of the case. Hagens Berman’s investor-rights team was also named to lead a securities fraud class action against Zuora Inc., and consumers suing Apple Inc. were issued an order certifying them as a class in a suit accusing Apple of defrauding them under its protection plans. Hagens Berman has also taken on more than a dozen universities on behalf of tuition payers receiving online classes and activity fees amid closed campuses and COVID-19.

“Now more than ever, consumers, students and others need every chance they can get to protect their interests against the power of corrupt institutions and those looking to take advantage of the little guy,” he said. “We see this award as a testament not just to our firm’s dedication, but to the ability of class actions to make real change happen.”

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with 10 offices globally. Hagens Berman UK LLP is headquartered in London. The firm’s tenacious drive for plaintiffs’ rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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