Other than Susman Godfrey, what big firms take on contingent fee plaintiff's cases? Forum

[Bossman9]

Just curious.

[Anonymous User]

Just curious.

The way you framed your question seems to rule this answer out, but plenty of prestigious and profitable plaintiff's firms do, of course. Plenty of other fancy litigation boutiques do as well, because they are small and do not care about creating a conflict here and there. Quinn Emanuel might be the only non-boutique firm that fits the bill, though Covington has a large plaintiff-side insurance shop that might operate on contingency.

[Anonymous User]

I've heard Kirkland has done it on a case by case basis

[Anonymous User]

Boies Schiller

[Anonymous User]

There's a whole word of large plaintiffs side firms that take on complex cases and pay what big law firms do or even more. The areas that pay the highest are antitrust, securities, and consumer protection class actions. I think there is a huge problem with top law schools pushing people to take big law jobs without properly informing them of other opportunities. But, I digress.

The only way to learn about these firms is to do a ton of research (Harvard publishes a list of plaintiffs side and public interest firms) and interview with them to feel them out. News outlets or trade associations in the firm's space will also publish reports about top verdicts and that is a good indication of who's doing well but firm structures vary wildly.

The last point is important because you want to work at a firm (or at least I did) where you are compensated well and have a chance to make even more as a partner. Some firms have structures where one person, or a core group of people, make all of the decisions and the money. Definitely have to be more diligent and selective in your search than you would if you were going to a generic V20 big law firm.

[Anonymous User]

Boies Schiller

BSF has made loads of money doing exactly this (and stands to recover loads more—eg Blue Cross). The plaintiffs’ side contingency business became arguably even more important as the firm has bled partners and institutional defense clients since 2019.

[axiomaticapiary]

I am a different poster interested in this and I would also love more information about this "whole world of large plaintiff's side firms!" Any resources folks could point me to would be great.

[jbagelboy]

I am a different poster interested in this and I would also love more information about this "whole world of large plaintiff's side firms!" Any resources folks could point me to would be great.

Take a gander at the list of firms on the plaintiffs’ executive committee (PEC) in the opioid MDL before Judge Polster. That’s a good place to start.

[Anonymous User]

bsf