Jonathan D. Selbin

The chair of Lieff Cabraser’s Economic Injury Product Defect Practice Group and member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Jonathan D. Selbin litigates consumer protection and defective products class action lawsuits against many of the nation’s most prominent corporations. This work has led to countless victories and numerous accolades, including a 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association for Justice as well as being named a Finalist for The American Lawyer’s 2021 Litigator of the Year. He has argued and obtained favorable appellate opinions in multiple Courts of Appeal, including in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits. In February 2020, Modern Counsel published “Jonathan Selbin Levels the Playing Field,” a profile of Jonathan highlighting his long legacy of fighting for equal rights. In May of 2020, Law360 named Jonathan a “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar,” and in September 2020, the New York Law Journal selected him as a “2020 Litigation Trailblazer.” Jonathan’s work on behalf of consumers has been featured in Forbes (September 2014) as well as the National Law Journal (March 2016).

Jonathan argued and obtained a favorable appellate opinion in the Sixth Circuit in In re Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer Products Liab. Litig., 678 F.3d 409 (6th Cir. 2012), vacated sub nom., Whirlpool Corp. v. Glazer, 133 S. Ct. 1722 (2013), reinstated Glazer v. Whirlpool Corp. (In re Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer Prods. Liab. Litig.), 722 F.3d 838 (6th Cir. 2013), cert. den., 2014 U.S. LEXIS 1484 (2014), and obtained a favorable opinion as appellate counsel in the Seventh Circuit in Butler v. Sears, 702 F.3d 359 (7th Cir. 2012), vacated, Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Butler, 133 S. Ct. 2768 (2013), reinstated, Butler v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 727 F.3d 796 (7th Cir. 2013), cert. den. 2014 U.S. LEXIS 1507 (2014). He also argued and obtained favorable appellate rulings in the Fifth Circuit in McManus v. Fleetwood Enters., 320 F.3d 545 (5th Cir. 2003), and in the Ninth Circuit in Omstead v. Dell, Inc., 594 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2010) and in the Eleventh Circuit in Cordoba v. DIRECTV, 2019 WL 6044305 (11th Cir. 2019) and Pedro v. Equifax, Inc., 868 F.3d 1275 (11th Cir. 2017).

Jonathan spearheaded a series of groundbreaking class actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) which have transformed the debt collection industry. Leading the Lieff Cabraser team, Jonathan developed and implemented the legal strategy responsible for the largest settlements in the history of the TCPA. In 2015, Lieff Cabraser and co-counsel achieved final approval for two of the largest settlements in the 25-year history of the TCPA: a $75,455,098.74 settlement with Capital One and several of its vendors (In re Capital One Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation, Master Docket No. 1:12-cv-10064 (N.D. Ill.)), and a $39,975,000 settlement with HSBC (Wilkins v. HSBC Bank Nev., N.A., Case No. 14-cv-190 (N.D. Ill.)). In 2015 alone, Lieff Cabraser’s settlements in TCPA cases collectively resulted in the recovery by consumers across America of over $130 million. By 2021, that number has risen to over $380 million. More importantly, Jonathan’s work on these cases has put a stop to millions of harassing calls by debt collectors. The practice changes secured by Jonathan, his team, and their co-counsel have ended harassing debt collection calls to tens of millions of customers and non-customers at many of the nation’s largest financial services providers.

Jonathan currently serves as court-appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel in the Gress v. Commonwealth Edison rate inflation class action alleging that a corrupt scheme within the Illinois state government caused millions of Illinois residents to pay dramatically inflated rates for electricity. He previously served as court-appointed lead counsel in In Re: Navistar Maxxforce Engines Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2590 (N.D. Ill.); In re: Whirlpool Corp. Front-Loading Washer Litig., MDL No. 2001 (N.D. Ohio); court-appointed co-lead counsel in In re: Capital One TCPA Litig., MDL No. 2416 (N.D. Ill.); court-appointed co-lead counsel in In re: Imprelis Herbicide Litig., MDL No. 2281 (E.D. Pa.), which resulted in a nationwide settlement of property damage claims in an amount of almost $575 million; and as court-appointed co-lead counsel in In re: Mercedes-Benz Tele Aid Contract Litig., MDL No. 1914 (D.N.J), where he obtained certification of a nationwide consumer protection litigation class, and twice successfully defended it in the Third Circuit.

Together, cases in which Jonathan has played a lead role have resulted in court-approved class action settlements with a combined total cash paid out to class members exceeding $3.4 billion, plus other relief such as extended and enhanced warranties.

He is a 1993 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, and he clerked for Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel in the Northern District of California from 1993-1995 prior to joining Lieff Cabraser.

Jonathan serves on the Board of Directors of Equal Justice Works, which is dedicated to creating opportunities for lawyers to transform their passion for equal justice into a lifelong commitment to public service. In 2017, Jonathan and his family founded the Selbin Voting Rights Fellowship at Equal Justice Works, funding a rolling two-year fellow working to ensure fair access to voting in at-risk communities.