James Lee

James serves as a go-to lawyer for high-stakes litigation across several practice areas. James has experience litigating on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants across an array of subjects, including products liability, privacy and technology, complex commercial litigation, and large-scale class actions. James is frequently tapped for his strategic thinking, hands-on approach to all aspects of a case, and his commanding courtroom presence.

On the defense side, James typically represents Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation. James serves as trial counsel for some of the largest companies in their respective industries, including Philip Morris USA, United Health, Lens.com, and a Fortune 50 transportation company. James also serves as lead counsel for several technology-based companies in litigation matters involving data privacy and emerging technologies.

On the plaintiffs’ side, James represents both high-net-worth clients in commercial cases as well as plaintiff classes in complex class actions. James has successfully prosecuted cases as lead counsel for some of the wealthiest individuals in the world in high-stakes commercial litigation against global financial institutions and large-scale tech companies. James is also responsible for significant class actions, including a class action MDL against the auto industry and a nationwide class action against Google LLC.

Clients describe James as “fearless” and a “brilliant strategist.” Lawdragon recognizes him as one of the top 500 litigators in the country. In addition to his litigation work, James serves as the co-leader of the firm’s Class Action Practice Group, and he is administrative partner for the firm’s Miami office.

His recent experience includes:

• Serves as trial counsel on behalf of Philip Morris USA in multiple smoking and health product liability cases

• Achieved $1.5 billion settlement on behalf of the plaintiff class in an MDL alleging negligence, breach of implied warranty and RICO violations arising from defective airbags utilized by the auto industry

• Served as lead counsel on behalf of the plaintiff in protracted multimillion dollar partnership dispute, which resulted in a favorable settlement on the eve of trial

• Served as lead counsel on behalf of the defendant in a wrongful death action resulting from a crash involving a private plane owned by the defendant; the case was settled for nuisance value on the eve of trial

• Served as lead counsel on behalf of one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies in connection with allegations the company manufactured defective microchips impacting multiple product platforms; the case was resolved favorably pre-suit

• Currently serving as co-lead counsel on behalf of the plaintiff against Credit Suisse in nine-figure parallel arbitration and state court actions alleging breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision and fraud

• Currently serving as co-lead counsel on behalf of the plaintiff class against Google for violation of privacy and anti-wiretap laws arising from unauthorized data tracking while users are browsing the internet in private browsing mode

Insights: Annual Global Data Privacy Review Vol. 2 January 2020