JANINE L. POLLACK
JANINE L. POLLACK
CONTACT ME:
PRACTICE AREAS:
Class Action Litigation
Consumer Protection
Complex Commercial Litigation
BIOGRAPHY
Janine L. Pollack is a Member of the Firm and the Class Action Practice Group. She has been a class action litigator for over 32 years and has prosecuted cases that have resulted in the award of hundreds of millions of dollars to defrauded consumers and investors. When clients believe that companies have employed deceptive practices, including false advertising, in selling their products or services, Janine investigates and initiates litigation should circumstances warrant. She has been appointed by courts to lead numerous class actions and has had much success in securing refunds and other remedies for class members. She has prosecuted jury and bench trials as first chair and won a jury verdict against R.J. Reynolds for wrongful death in a tobacco litigation.
Janine grew up in New Jersey and is a member of both the New York and New Jersey bars. After graduating from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, she worked in a general litigation firm for approximately eighteen months before joining a large plaintiffs’ class action firm. Realizing she had an unyielding passion for representing defrauded investors and consumers, she has been a class action attorney ever since and has devoted her practice to this field.
Janine is the Firm’s Chief Wellness Officer. Her and the Firm’s philosophy is that well-being is ground zero for all endeavors we undertake in life, including being an effective attorney. Since adolescence, her interests have revolved around her love for fitness, nutrition and the goal of uniting mind, body and soul and her enthusiasm for such interests has continued to grow over time. She strives to share that philosophy with her colleagues at the Firm and in the Bar to support them in finding strength, motivation and empowerment for fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. Janine and the Firm believe that well-being is an integral part of the lifelong process of continual self-improvement, self-awareness and growth and that all organizations can and should foster their employees’ quest on that path.
EDUCATION
- University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
J.D. 1989
Elected to Journal of International Business Law
- Rutgers University, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey
- B.A. 1986
High Honors, English and French double major (fluent in French)
- Phi Beta Kappa
- New York University in France Semester Abroad, Paris, France, 1985
BAR ADMISSIONS
New York
New Jersey
U.S. District Court
Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Janine is Co-President of the National Association of Shareholder & Consumer Attorneys (NASCAT), a non-profit organization of attorneys that supports consumer and investor rights, including through the class action mechanism. Janine is also the Chair of the Women’s Initiative at NASCAT, which seeks to advance women in the class action bar. She participated as a team leader in developing standards and best practices for increasing diversity in mass tort and class action litigation for the James F. Humpreys Complex Litigation Center at the George Washington Law School titled, “Inclusivity and Excellence: Guidelines and Best Practices for Judges Appointing Lawyers to Leadership Positions in MDL and Class-Action Litigation” (March 15, 2021). Janine is also a member of the Women in the Legal Profession Committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York, where she was a co-editor of the publication, Street Smarts for Women Lawyers. Her committee activities include wellness projects and presentations. Janine participates on the Communications Committee for the Institute for Well-Being in Law (IWIL), a non-profit organization whose focus is well-being within the legal community. To contribute as an alumnus, Janine participates in interviews of prospective students who are applying to the University of Pennsylvania.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- Lead litigator in consumer class action against major bank for failure to pay interest on mortgage escrow monies; settlement achieved
- One of lead litigators in consumer class action against lender for misrepresentations in financing documents to pay for energy-saving home improvements; settlement achieved
Co-lead counsel in data breach against large clothing retailer for failure to exercise reasonable care in safeguarding personal information of its customers; settlement achieved
Represented consumers nationwide in class actions against Skechers, Reebok and others for false claims regarding efficacy of “toning shoes”; worked with Federal Trade Commission in securing settlements
- One of lead litigators in consumer class actions against makers of boxed macaroni and cheese for failure to disclose presence or risk of dangerous phthalates
Working with various co-counsel in consumer class action against maker of infant formula for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
Working with various co-counsel in consumer class actions against several makers of baby foods for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
- Working with various co-counsel in consumer class action against makers of herbs and spices for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
HONORS
Janine is honored to have been named as a Super Lawyer every year since 2012 and to Lawdragon’s list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers every year since 2019. She has also enjoyed being appointed numerous times to Law360’s editorial boards. Janine’s prior firm was awarded the National Law Journal’s 2020 Trailblazer Award for an Elite Boutique Firm. In 2012, Janine was one of the attorneys featured on the front page of The National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List for her work on toning shoe cases, including against Reebok and Skechers, which resulted in settlements jointly with the Federal Trade Commission.
PUBLICATIONS AND NEWS
Taking Charge – The Travails and Triumphs of the Women Who Started Law Firms, The Journal of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Lindsay Podraza and Jay Nachman, Fall 2022
Smaller Firms Need Employee Wellness Programs, Too, Law360 Expert Analysis, Janine Pollack, June 9, 2021
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Women Lawyers in Leadership 2023, Practicing Law Institute, September 13, 2023
Making Wellness Work for You, Class of Our Own Women’s Summit, May 9, 2023
- Getting a Seat at the Table and What to Do Once You’ve Obtained Your Seat: Tips for Women Lawyers, Women Lawyers in Leadership 2022, Practicing Law Institute, September 14, 2022
- Health and Wellness Panel, Class Action Law Forum, University of San Diego School of Law, March 18, 2022
- Taking Care of our Own: Lawyer Well-Being Programs, AON Virtual Law Firm Symposium, October 14, 2021
- Getting a Seat at the Table and What to Do Once You’ve Obtained Your Seat: Tips for Women Lawyers, Women Lawyers in Leadership 2021, Practicing Law Institute, September 23, 2021
- HarrisMartin Webinar Series: Baby Food Litigation, April 8, 2021
Taking Control of Your Well-Being: How to Leverage Your Legal Organization’s Wellness Program, Practicing Law Institute, December 10, 2020
- How to Wow Motivation and Wellness: Your Guide to Grit and Fit, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, October 21, 2020 (highlighted in Penn Law Journal, Summer 2021)
- Women Lawyers in Leadership 2020, Practicing Law Institute, September 16, 2020
SORORITIES
Zeta Tau Alpha
LANGUAGES
French
