Keller Rohrback proudly announces that Dean Kawamoto and Felicia Craick have earned Consumer Attorney of the Year recognition by Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) for their standout work on the JUUL Labs e-cigarette litigation, In re: Juul Labs, Inc. Marketing, Sales Practices & Product Liability Litigation and JUUL Labs Product Cases. 

The all-star team, announced on November 16 at the CAOC’s 63rd Annual Convention in San Francisco, includes attorneys Sarah London, Andrew Kaufman, Reilly Stoler, Caitlin Woods, and Nick Lee of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, Dena Sharp, Scott Grzenczyk, and Nina Gliozzo of Girard Sharp, and Ellen Relkin of Weitz & Luxenberg. Kawamoto, London, Relkin, and Sharp served as co-lead counsel in the wide-ranging case.

The litigation was the result of youth e-cigarette use, and use of the JUUL e-cigarette product in particular, rising to epidemic proportions, causing dramatic and disturbing increases in nicotine addiction among kids. The attorneys prepared for two trials—a bellwether personal injury case on behalf of a child who became addicted to JUUL and a government entity case on behalf of San Francisco Unified School District—before negotiating twin historic settlements, first with JUUL Labs, and then, mid-trial, with Altria (formerly Philip Morris, which had made an enormous investment in JUUL) of RICO, negligence, and public nuisance claims. The global settlements with JUUL and Altria resolved over 8,500 personal injury cases, a nationwide class action, and over 1,500 county, school districts and local governments. The government entity settlements are providing hundreds of millions of dollars for vaping education and prevention programs as well as addiction treatment and counseling.

Congratulations to Dean and Felicia, and the rest of the Keller Rohrback JUUL team for the commendable work that contributed to this prestigious award!