As a partner in Keller Rohrback’s nationally recognized Complex Litigation Group, Cari Laufenberg maintains a national practice representing consumers, employees, and institutions in complex class actions involving corporate fraud, data privacy, breach of fiduciary duty, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).Since joining Keller Rohrback in 2003, she has played a key role in obtaining multi-million-dollar recoveries for consumers, employees, and shareholders in many of the firm’s largest and most complex cases, including cases involving Meta Platforms, Inc., T-Mobile, Anthem Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Marsh McLennan Companies, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., HealthSouth Corporation and The Williams Cos.
While having excelled in the realms of corporate fraud, fiduciary duty, and ERISA, Cari has also developed an excellent reputation litigating data privacy cases by securing meaningful relief for her clients and class members. She has been instrumental in the foundation and growth of the firm’s data privacy practice group. In that effort, she has served as Co-Lead Counsel in a number of high-profile data breach cases for which she and the KR team have achieved outstanding results: In re T-Mobile Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 3019 (W.D. Mo.) (obtaining the second largest data breach settlement to date); In re 21st Century Oncology Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2737 (M.D. Fla.) (securing a meaningful settlement despite the company declaring bankruptcy), and as Class Counsel in Fox v. Iowa Health System (W.D. Wis.) (securing a favorable settlement for approximately 1.4 million victims of the UnityPoint Health data breach).
She also currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel in several other multidistrict data breach cases including In re 23andMe, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 3098 in the Northern District of California-a case concerning the exposure of highly sensitive personal and genetic information for 6.9 million customers and In re T-Mobile 2022 Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL 3037, in the Western District of Missouri-a case involving a November 2022 data breach impacting 37 million customers of U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile.
Cari has served in leadership positions in other prominent consumer class-action cases as well, including as Interim Lead Class Counsel in In re EpiPen ERISA Litigation (D. Minn.) and her appointment to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Oral Phenylephrine Marketing and Sales Practice Litigation, MDL No. 3089 (E.D.N.Y.).
She also played a fundamental role in the In re Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, MDL No. 2843 (N.D. Cal.), in which, together with co-lead counsel, KR achieved a $725 million settlement-the largest recovery ever achieved in a private data privacy class action and the most Meta has ever paid to resolve a private class action.
Over the past almost 20 years, Cari’s background in nonprofit management and public administration has served her clients well. She is adept at organizing large complex cases, working collaboratively with other counsel, and developing a cogent strategy which achieves short-term goals and long-term successes. Before joining Keller Rohrback in 2003, Cari served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Barbara Jacobs Rothstein of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences on class actions, identity theft and privacy, and other complex litigation topics.
Articles & Presentations
•Panelist, Sustaining Your Vitality and Law Practice with Mindfulness and Contemplative Practices, Class Of Our Own Women’s Summit, Nashville, TN (May 2025)
•Panelist, Improving Distribution Practices, Angeion Group Mega Summit, Santa Monica, CA (May 2025)
•Panelist, Emerging Issues and Trends in the Cyber Threat Landscape, The Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Annual Meeting, Redmond, WA (May 2025)
•Panelist, Healthcare Data Privacy - What Makes These Cases Different, HarrisMartin Data Breach Litigation Conference, Charlotte, NC (March 2025)
•Panelist, Third Party Filers: Issues, Ethics & Practical Considerations, Epiq’s Mass & Class, Fort Lauderdale, FL (February 2025).
•Panelist, Third-Party Filers and Candor to the Court, Complex Litigation Ethics Conference (October 2024).
•Presenter, Navigating Court Scrutiny: Best Practices for Selecting and Working with Class Settlement Administrators, CPT Group Webinar (June 2024).
•Presenter, eDiscovery Issues in Data Privacy Class Actions, Epiq’s Mass & Class, Fort Lauderdale, FL (March 2024).
•Presenter, Capital One Data Breach Litigation, HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference, Beverly Hills, CA (September 2019).
•Presenter, Consumer Recovery of Damages for Security Breaches or Misuse of Consumer Information, Law Seminars International Artificial Intelligence & Privacy Conference, Seattle, WA (August 2019).
•Presenter, Data Breach & Privacy Class Action Litigation, Law Seminars International Class Action Litigation Conference, Seattle, WA (May 2019).
•Presenter, Facebook Breach - Is Anyone’s Data Safe, HarrisMartin MDL Conference, Chicago, IL (May 2018).
•Class Action Lawsuits and Settlements: Uncovering the Things You Need to Know, The Knowledge Group Online CLE (November 2018).
•Presenter, Intel: The OEM Cases, HarrisMartin MDL Conference, Miami, FL (March 2018).
•Presenter, Legal Claims: Equifax and Other Data Breach Cases, HarrisMartin’s Equifax Data Breach Litigation Conference, Atlanta, GA (November 2017).
•Tana Lin, Cari Laufenberg and Lisa A. Nowlin, Brief for American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondent, Coffey v. Public Hosp. Dist. No. 1, Skagit Cty. Wash. d/b/a Skagit Regional Health, et al., No. 75769-5) (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 5, 2017).
•Panelist, Recent Settlements & Litigation Trends, HB Litigation Conferences, Data Breach Litigation and Investigation Forum 2017, San Francisco, CA (January 2017).
•Presenter, Don’t Be Spokeo’d: What You Need to Know in Litigating Data Breach Cases, American Bar Association, Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (September 2016).
•Panelist, The Client’s Perspective: ADR Users Share Insights Regarding What Mediators Do To Make the Process Succeed or Fail, American Bar Association, 18th Annual Section of Dispute Resolution Spring Conference, New York, NY (April 2016).
Recognitions
Honors & Awards
•Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Seattle, Washington, 2026 (Recognized since 2022):
•Litigation - ERISA
•Lawdragon, 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2023-2025
•National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Washington
•Selected to Super Lawyers list in Super Lawyers - Washington, 2022-2025
•Selected to Rising Stars list in Super Lawyers - Washington, 2008-2009, 2011
•AV, Peer Review Top-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
