Hackerman Frankel. Complex Litigation Trial Attorneys.
The law firm of Hackerman Frankel is a two-attorney plaintiff firm that handles complex litigation typically involving multiple plaintiffs. Steve Hackerman has practiced since 1970 and Richard Frankel has practiced since 1983. Both attorneys have worked on complex litigation for the duration of their careers.
Hackerman Frankel focuses its practice on pursuing damages for clients arising from fraud, breach of contract, medical malpractice, product liability and breach of fiduciary duty. Defendants are usually large companies. The firm's cases often involve multiple defendants from different states and business decisions made over several years or more. The trials can last several days to a month or longer.
Cases accepted generally involve dozens, hundreds or thousands of plaintiffs wronged by the common actions of the defendants. While occasionally its cases have evolved into formal class action suits, Hackerman Frankel prefers to maintain a one-on-one relationship with its client, and to enter into individual contracts with each client.
For example, in Tenet Healthcare Cases III, Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4301 (Shasta County, California), the firm served as counsel for 325 plaintiffs and lead negotiator for all 750 plaintiffs. All of the plaintiffs were consolidated into one action for pre-trial purposes. The case eventually settled for $442 million.
In another case, McDonald, et al v. Shell Oil Co., Hoechst Celanese Corporation, et al, the firm served as co-lead counsel representing 400 individual homeowners whose homes were damaged due to defectively manufactured plumbing systems. The jury verdict for the homeowners found fraud, gross negligence, known violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and despicable conduct under California law. The cumulative cases handled by the firm settled for over $90 million and included punitive damages.
The two attorneys of Hackerman Frankel have resolved numerous complex lawsuits in their combined 61 years in practice. Additional representative cases are described in our description and coverage of important cases page.
