Phong-Chau G. Nguyen

Phong-Chau G. Nguyen is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco office specializing in consumer and defective product cases, as well as personal injury/mass tort matters. He was part of the leadership team in the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions multidistrict litigation, which secured an unprecedented $14+ billion in settlements on behalf of U.S. owners and lessees of Volkswagen diesel vehicles, won the California Daily Journal’s “California Lawyer of the Year” award, and secured a finalist position for the 2017 Consumer Attorneys of California “Consumer Attorneys of the Year” award. Phong is also involved in similar work on Lieff Cabraser’s leadership team in the Fiat Chrysler diesel emissions case.

Phong’s other cases include the representation of injured persons nationwide in lawsuits relating to Toyota sudden acceleration accidents, as well as the GM ignition case, where he represents GM vehicle owners and lessees whose cars include defective ignition switches in litigation focusing on economic loss claims. He has also worked on behalf of consumers in the Takata airbag litigation, involving 70 million dangerous and defective airbags found to have been installed in over 40 million vehicles worldwide and which have caused at least 20 deaths and over 280 serious injuries. In November of 2017, an aggregate settlement in the case was announced with Toyota, BMW, Subaru, and Mazda valued at $741 million.

Other cases include the representation of hip implant patients injured by defective and dangerous DePuy artificial hip devices. Phong also litigated personal injury claims in the Medtronic Infuse litigation.

Honors & Awards

•Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of “Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Plaintiffs” and “Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs,” 2023 - 2026
•“Top 40 Under 40 Lawyer,” Daily Journal, 2025
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2023-2026
•“Lawdragon 500 X - The Next Generation,” Lawdragon, 2023, 2024
•“Rising Star of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” National Law Journal, 2025
•Super Lawyer for Northern California, Super Lawyers, 2024, 2025
•“40 and Under Hot List,” Benchmark Litigation, 2018-2023
•“Rising Star for Product Liability Law,” Law360, 2022
•“Rising Star for Northern California,” Super Lawyers, 2018-2022
•“California Lawyer of the Year,” California Daily Journal, 2018
•“Outstanding Volunteer for Pro Bono Work,” Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco, 2015-2017
•“Consumer Attorney of the Year Finalist,” Consumer Attorneys of California, 2017

Publications & Presentations

•Speaker, “Class Action and Antitrust MDLs - An Overview,” Fourth Annual Shades of Mass Conference, September 2025
•Presenter, “Class Action Ethical Challenges: Intra-Class Conflicts, Communication With Class Members, Attorney Fees, and More: Avoiding Legal Ethics Violations and Malpractice Liability,” Strafford Interactive CLE, September 2024
•Speaker, “California Competition in Consumer Claims,” Consumer Attorneys of California Class Action Seminar, September 2024
•Speaker, “Class Action and Securities MDLs - A Primer,” Second Annual Shades of Mass Conference, September 2023
•Faculty, “Managing Class Representative Discovery: Plaintiffs’ Strategies for Winning Certification,” Strafford CLE Webinar, April 2023
•Faculty, “Selecting and Protecting Class Representatives: Defending Plaintiff Depositions; Proving Adequacy, Typicality,” Strafford CLE Webinar, December 2022
•Panelist, “Civil Law Brown Bag - Case Management: Best Practices Whether Remote or In-Person,” Northern District Practice Program, July 2022
•Speaker, “First-Generation Professionals Plaintiff-Side Work Panel,” Berkeley Law School, November 2021
•Moderator, “Choose Your Own Adventure: A Discussion on Different Career Paths in Law,” Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, November 2020
•Speaker, “How to Effectively Manage People & Build Teams,” Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, August 2020
•Moderator, “Professional Etiquette, Tips for Navigating Social & Networking Events,” Barristers Club of the Bar Association of San Francisco, November 2019

In the News

•February 17, 2026
30 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Recognized as Lawdragon “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2026
•October 22, 2025
Phong-Chau G. Nguyen Named to the Daily Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” List for 2025
•August 21, 2025
36 Lieff Cabraser Lawyers Named to 2026 Best Lawyers Listings
•June 30, 2025
28 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Selected as 2025 Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
•May 2, 2025
Phong-Chau Nguyen Named to The National Law Journal’s 2025 “Rising Star of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” List