Beyond Predominance: Alternative Arguments Against Class Certification

Ms. Firstenberg a partner in the Product Liability Litigation and Environmental groups, provides strategic counsel to life sciences companies and industrial and commodity chemical and pesticide manufacturers on high-stakes product liability, toxic tort, and regulatory matters. She has led nationwide mass tort litigation involving claims of wrongful death and personal injury in state and federal courts, securing favorable jury verdicts in multimillion-dollar drug and device cases. Ms. Firstenberg also frequently defends clients against claims involving exposures and environmental contaminations and advises clients on environmental compliance and risk management. As a first-chair trial lawyer, she partners with clients to assess pre-litigation risks, including conducting early case assessment to develop best practices to mitigate those risks consistent with each client’s goals. Ms. Firstenberg works closely with clients to understand the complexities of their business, with a sharp focus on aligning legal tactics with business objectives.

Mr. Fouts is a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation practice group, providing counsel on complex litigation matters, focusing extensively on consumer class action defense. With broad experience in federal and state courts nationwide, he represents financial services firms, technology companies, retailers, and other consumer-facing clients in class actions involving alleged violations of federal and state consumer fraud and privacy laws, breach of fiduciary duty, and contract disputes. Mr. Fouts has particular experience defending technology companies in class actions brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. In addition to his class action defense work, he assists clients with investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation initiated by regulatory bodies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and state attorneys general. Mr. Fouts's litigation practice also includes defending clients in commercial disputes, such as accounting malpractice, lender liability, contract breaches, and fiduciary duty claims.

Mr. Song is a senior managing associate in the Business Litigation group. He focuses on complex commercial litigation and class actions, representing clients in state and federal courts. Mr. Song's experience encompasses matters involving product liability, breach of contract, consumer disputes, fraud, and unjust enrichment.