Robert J. Nelson

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Robert J. Nelson: Attorney with Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
  • Partner at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
  • Embarcadero Center West, 275 Battery Street, 29th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111
    View Robert J. Nelson's office location
  • Robert has played a leading role in the firm’s tobacco, aviation, motor vehicle, defective products and qui tam (whistleblower) litigation over the past 16 years, taking on many of the world’s largest corporations and holding them accountable.

  • Overall Rating

    4.5
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    3 Reviews

  • Overall Rating

    4.5
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    3 Reviews

    Peer Reviews

    4.5
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    3

    Peer Reviews

    4.5
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    3
  • Profile Visibility [ i ]
    • #780 in weekly profile views out of 38,194 Attorneys in San Francisco, CA
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Attorney Awards
  • Martindale-Hubbell Peer Reviewed
About Attorney Awards

Biography

Robert J. Nelson has played a leading role in the firm’s False Claims Act (fraud against the government law), automotive, defective products, mass torts, tobacco, consumer fraud and environmental cases, taking on many of the world’s largest corporations and holding them accountable. He has served as court-appointed Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in numerous state and federal coordinated proceedings, as well as in more than 40 class actions.

Robert likes to say that he specializes in fraud cases, whether by oil companies, tobacco companies, pharmaceutical companies, or insurance companies. He also has led some of the most innovative cases that the firm has pioneered. For example, he helped lead a RICO case against State Farm, in which the plaintiff class alleged that State Farm secretly helped finance the judicial campaign of an Illinois Supreme Court justice, then lied about doing so, all at the very same time that State Farm had a case pending before the Illinois Supreme Court in which State Farm had suffered a billion dollar judgment against it. The justice was elected to the Illinois Supreme Court and then voted to overrule that billion dollar judgment.

Published Works

•False Claims Roundtable, California Lawyer, June 2010, June 2011, April 2012, January 2013, August 2014
•Product Liability Roundtable, California Lawyer, December 2007, July 2009, June 2010
•Co-Author, “Class Action Treatment of Punitive Damages Issues after Philip Morris v. Williams: We Can Get There From Here,” 2 Charleston Law Review 2, 2008
•Contributing Author, California Class Actions Practice and Procedures (Elizabeth J. Cabraser editor in chief, 2003)
•“The Importance of Privilege Logs,” The Practical Litigator, ALI-ABA Publication, Vol. II, No. 2, March 2000
•“To Infer or Not to Infer a Discriminatory Purpose: Rethinking Equal Protection Doctrine,” 61 New York University Law Review 334, 1986

Honors & Awards

•Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in fields of “Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs” and “Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs,” 2012-2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2020-2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America,” Lawdragon, 2025, 2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2021-2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2020-2025
•“Lawdragon Finalist,” Lawdragon, 2009-2011
•“Super Lawyer for Northern California,” Super Lawyers, 2004-2025
•“Environmental MVP of the Year,” Law360, 2023
•“Energy/Environmental Law Trailblazer,” National Law Journal, 2021
•“Top 100 Lawyers in California,” Daily Journal, 2020
•“2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year,” Public Justice
•“Trial Lawyer Excellence Award,” Law Bulletin, 2019
•“California Litigation Star,” Benchmark Litigation, 2013-2016
•“Consumer Attorney of the Year Finalist,” Consumer Attorneys of California, 2007, 2010, 2014-2015
•Legal 500 recommended lawyer, 2013-Present
•“California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award,” California Lawyer, 2008, 2010
•“San Francisco Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist,” San Francisco Trial Lawyers’ Association, 2007

In the News

•February 17, 2026
30 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Recognized as Lawdragon “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2026
•January 9, 2026
Eleven Lieff Cabraser Partners Named to 2026 “Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America” List
•September 8, 2025
Twenty-Seven Lieff Cabraser Partners Named to 2026 “Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America” List
•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

See more ›

Areas of Practice (4)

  • Defective Products
  • Environmental Law
  • Personal Injury & Mass Torts
  • Whistleblower Law

Education & Credentials

University Attended:
London School of Economics, Graded First, 1981; London School of Economics, General Course, 1981; Cornell University, A.B., cum laude; Cornell University, A.B., 1982 Honors: College Scholar Honors Program; Honors: Root-Tilden Scholarship Program; Law Review: New York University Law Review, Articles Editor
Law School Attended:
New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude; New York University School of Law, J.D., 1987 Honors: Order of the Coif
Year of First Admission:
1987
Admission:
1987, California; 1987, California Supreme Court; 1987, U.S. District Court, Central District of California; 1988, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; 1995, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit; 1998, U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit; 1999, District of Columbia; 1999, New York; 2006, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California; 2012, U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit; 2016, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit; 2019, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Memberships:

Professional Associations and Memberships

•American Association for Justice
•American Bar Association
•American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
•Bar Association of San Francisco
•Bar of the District of Columbia
•Consumer Attorneys of California
•Fight for Justice Campaign
•Human Rights Watch California Committee North
•RE-volv, Board Member
•San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
•State Bar of California

Reported Cases:
Representative Cases: Sutter Anesthesia Billing; State Farm RICO; State Street False Claims
ISLN:
904193297

Peer Reviews

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Location

Contact Robert J. Nelson

Contact Information:

415-956-1008  Fax

www.lieffcabraser.com

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