The Daily Journal (subscription) has published its 2018 “Top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyers” supplement, a listing that includes a profile of Lieff Cabraser partner Michael W. Sobol as one of 20 lawyers “on the cutting edge of Cybersecurity law in California.”
The chair of Lieff Cabraser’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy practice group, Michael notes that “the mission of a consumer advocate is to move society closer to a place where breaches are a rare event – not a normal part of daily life.”
The published profile highlights Michael’s recent work, including his leadership role in privacy litigation against giant insurer Anthem, Inc., sued in federal court in California after the personal and medical data of over 37 million customers was compromised via hacking. The litigation led to a $115 million settlement with Anthem that received preliminary court approval in August of 2017. Michael also represents parents suing The Walt Disney Co., Viacom Inc., and the makers of the hugely popular online game Subway Surfers that accuses the companies of collecting children’s personal information without parental consent in violation of federal law.
The Daily Journal’s recognition of Michael comes after other additional recent cybersecurity awards from Law360 (2017 Cybersecurity MVP) and the National Law Journal (2017 Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer). “The people responsible for data breaches need to fund the ability of consumers to protect themselves, now that they’ve been put in a vulnerable position,” Michael notes.
Congratulations Michael!
About Michael Sobol
As the chair of Lieff Cabraser’s consumer protection practice group for the past thirteen years, Michael W. Sobol leads novel and challenging consumer protection class action lawsuits of first impression. Within the last few years, Michael’s cases have recovered over one billion dollars and have reformed the business practices for the benefit of tens of millions consumers nationwide.
The Consumer Attorneys of California have repeatedly honored Michael as a finalist for the organization’s Consumer Attorney of the Year Award. In 2011, the CAOC recognized Michael for Gutierrez v. Wells Fargo, a class action trial that proved Wells Fargo deceptively represented its accounting of debit card transactions. Those findings were affirmed on appeal, and a $203 million judgment for restitution has been entered on behalf of a class of over one million California consumers.
Michael currently represents consumers asserting that Facebook violated their privacy rights by scanning private email messages, and residents of Detroit, Michigan in a class action lawsuit against Morgan Stanley for actively ensuring the proliferation of high-cost, high-risk mortgage loans to bundle and sell mortgage-backed securities to investors.
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