The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers

Caroline Robert of DiCello Levitt, Shawn Williams of Robbins Geller and Kathy Patrick of Gibbs & Bruns are among this year's honorees.

We’re delighted to recognize The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.

These are the lawyers and firms that give consumers, investors and businesses a fighting chance against corporations and other powerful entities that can sometimes seem too big to confront.

Not for these lawyers. They say bring it on.

They contest ridiculous pay packages on behalf of investors and face the ire of billionaires. They take on untouchable tech titans whose acquisition of personal data or construction of business processes have a few too many blurred lines. They challenge business moves that box out competitors.

Kathy D. Patrick joined Gibbs & Bruns determined to make a difference for those who were not treated fairly. In her remarkable career, she’s done that time and again, winning more than $20B in recoveries from financial institutions who engineered the residential mortgage-backed securities collapse. She has helped clients pursue those who committed securities fraud in Brazil, Thailand and Indonesia and has taken on the private prison and waste disposal industries. Currently, she’s preparing for trial on behalf of Macy's, TJX and other retailers against Visa and Mastercard, seeking treble damages to remedy claims for billions of overcharges on swipe fees.

Robbins Geller partner Shawn A. Williams got his start trying 20 cases as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan before heading West to join Robbins Geller. There, he has served as lead counsel in numerous groundbreaking cases and recovered billions of dollars for consumers and investors. He recovered more than $490M against Apple for investors and was among lead counsel challenging Facebook’s use of biometric information, recovering $650M – the largest recovery in biometric litigation at that time.

Caroline M. Robert earned incredible experience suing financial institutions for their role in reverse mortgage backed securities, representing China Development Industrial Bank against Morgan Stanley. She’s also represented international investors harmed by Volkswagen and Daimler’s use of devices to defeat emissions standards. Born and raised in France, she plays a key role in DiCello’s growing presence in securities and other financial litigation.

The firms represented here are remarkable. While some solely represent plaintiffs, others handle defense claims as well. As a whole they bring a level of assuredness and commitment to the justice system that can sometimes seem adrift. Susman Godfrey tops this guide with 55 partners whose understanding of their firm and its mission is clarion. They have company. Quinn Emanuel has amassed a worldwide fleet of tremendous advocates who can take on their adversaries, anytime, anywhere. Robbins Geller; Bernstein Litowitz; Pomerantz; Lieff Cabraser; Gibbs & Bruns; Seeger Weiss; Selendy Gay; Hausfeld; Cohen Milstein. All embody the professional defiance required to challenge the most powerful and are a source of inspiration.

We selected members of this guide through our time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes. We are extremely grateful for the wonderful submissions we received. Members of the Hall of Fame are denoted with an asterisk.