David Biderman, a partner in Perkins Coie's San Francisco and Los Angeles
offices, focuses his practice on mass tort litigation and consumer class
actions. He heads the firm's Mass Tort/Toxic Tort Defense group. He has
represented a wide variety of companies in state and federal courts in
California for 30 years.
David currently manages the firm’s
full-service product liability team responsible for defending over 1000 toxic
tort cases pending in Los Angeles and Northern California state courts. These
cases entail ongoing trial activity at various levels for several trials set
each month. The highly experienced and well-coordinated team has handled
thousands of asbestos toxic tort cases for a variety of clients spanning a
period of over 10 years.
The group’s clients include FORTUNE 500
companies from such industries as consumer products, aerospace manufacturing,
household goods, dry cleaning, and industries that generate electromagnetic
fields, such as electric utilities and operators of wireless communications
systems.
On consumer class actions, David represents packaged food
companies, coffee companies, dairy companies, footwear companies and others
whose nutritional or health claims have been challenged. He also has
represented search engines and other online companies. He has a record of
favorable results for clients. He successfully tried a major consumer fraud
class action on behalf of one of the world’s major search engines in a case
involving online gambling advertisements. For that same client, he negotiated
a favorable settlement of a class action challenging its online advertising
pricing. He represented a major coffee retailer in defeating a class action on
standing grounds. He also has litigated pre-emption defenses arising out of
food labeling and obtained a dismissal for a client whose nutritional statements
were challenged.
David speaks and writes regularly on class action
issues. He has presented to the American Bar Association (ABA), the Federation
of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Product Liability Advisory Group and
others on consumer class actions. David has served the courts through the Civil
Litigation Subcommittee of the California Judicial Council, on special
committees formed by the state courts to address toxic tort litigation, and as a
member of the ABA’s American Jury Project.
David is recognized by clients
and by professional organizations for his client service and work ethic. He has
regularly been listed as a “Super Lawyer” in Los Angeles or San Francisco. He
has been recognized by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Los
Angeles Business Journal as a “Top Rainmaker.” He has published articles in
the National Law Journal, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the
Defense Research Institute’s member publication, For the Defense, and the
Washington Legal Foundation.