LYNCH CARPENTER - Key Persons
Clara Taylor brings a host of experience to Lynch Carpenter. She is a retiree from Westinghouse Corp., where she gained her experience as an administrative assistant to Managers at Westinghouse. After retiring, in 2004, Bruce Carlson asked her if she would join us as a part-time administrative assistant, she accepted and has been with us ever since. Clara has had a wide variety of job duties over the years and is now working for the Firm Administrator.
Clara comes from the Pittsburgh area and enjoys her grandchildren immensely. She loves spending time with her family, enjoys eating out and travelling.
Eddie Jae K. Kim is a partner at Lynch Carpenter and manages its Los Angeles office. Eddie grew up in Southern California and received an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of California, at Berkeley, and a law degree from Cornell Law School. He has devoted his entire career to protecting the rights of individuals and small businesses.
During law school, Eddie clerked for the Orange County Public Defender and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where he advocated for the civil and criminal rights of indigent defendants. Upon graduation from law school, he worked and became a partner at the Southern California law firm McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP, where he played a substantial role in building a nationally-recognized consumer class action practice.
His work includes a number of significant and high profile cases, including Gutierrez v. Wells Fargo, which resulted in the $203 million trial verdict on behalf of one million California bank customers based on the unlawful assessment of overdraft fees. Gutierrez subsequently spawned a national multi-district litigation against many of the largest banks in the country that resulted in several billion dollars' worth of settlements. Eddie then managed a series of class actions against banks and credit unions throughout the country based on another unlawful overdraft fee practice, resulting in over $28 million worth of settlements.
He also worked on class actions relating to product liability, including developing the first-filed case Espinosa v. Hyundai, which challenged the auto manufacturer's advertisement of inflated fuel efficiency numbers and became the basis for the multidistrict litigation In re Hyundai and Kia Fuel Economy Litigation and the resultant $200 million settlement. He served as co-trial counsel in a class action against the boat manufacturer Correct Craft which resulted in a verdict for the class that included reimbursement of the purchase price and an injunction requiring the recall of dangerous boat showers that put people at risk of fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
In addition to representing individual consumers, Eddie has also represented small businesses through collective action, including a series of class actions on behalf of small trucking companies in California against nine of the largest intermodal shipping companies in the world, including MOL, MSC, Evergreen, Hyundai, and Wan Hai, based on the unlawful assessment of per diem fees for the lease of cargo containers. The lawsuits resulted in restitution and cessation of the unlawful practice.
Eddie has handled successful appeals in both state court and multiple federal circuit courts that have resulted in significant rulings, including rulings banning heads-I-win-tails-you-lose indemnification provisions from home purchase contracts and finding unconscionable the intermodal shipping industry's industry-wide arbitration provision.
He served as the co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California in 2013, which assists low-income, Korean-speaking clients at a Legal Aid Foundation clinic in Los Angeles.
When he is not practicing law, Eddie enjoys hiking in the mountains and composing music.
Education
B.A. University of California, at Berkeley
J.D. Cornell Law School
Edwin J. Kilpela, Jr., a partner at Lynch Carpenter, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before dedicating his practice and career to working on behalf of individuals, Ed litigated and tried complex class-action and mass tort matters at both Williams & Connolly LLP and then, later, at Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP, two of the finest complex litigation firms in the country.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Partner in Lynch Carpenter 's Pittsburgh
Elizabeth Pollock-Avery is a partner in Lynch Carpenter's Pittsburgh office. She is involved in many of the firm's practice areas and exclusively represents plaintiffs in litigation. Elizabeth has played an integral role in litigation in federal and state courts across the country, helping to hold large corporations and other entities responsible when they break the law and harm consumers, employees, and other frequently disadvantaged groups.
Elizabeth is counsel of record in several Lynch Carpenter cases in which classes and/or collective actions were certified, including Williams et al. v. Bob Evans Restaurants, LLC et al, 2:18-cv-01353 (April 14, 2022); Copley v. Evolution Well Services, LLC, 2:20-cv-01442 (W.D.Pa January 31, 2022); Wintjen v. Denny's, Inc. et al., 2:19-cv-00069 (W.D. Pa. November 18, 2021); Tompkins v. Ferny Properties, LLC, 3:18-cv-00190 (D.N.D. April 5, 2021); Sudano v. Texas Roadhouse Investments of Beaver PA LLC et al., 2:19-cv-00064 (W.D.Pa. April 26, 2021).
Prior to joining Lynch Carpenter, Elizabeth practiced plaintiff-side employment litigation in state and federal court. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with her husband and rescue chihuahua.
Gary F. Lynch was born and grew up in Western Pennsylvania. He worked his way through college, graduating in 1986 from Penn State University with a degree in Accounting and a dual minor in English and Business Logistics. Gary then earned his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he graduated in 1989, having served as an Editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review.
Gary began his legal career with the law firm of Reed Smith, then the largest firm in Pittsburgh. Since leaving Reed Smith in 1991, he has consistently represented plaintiffs in various employment and consumer lawsuits. Gary now has a national plaintiffs' class action practice in the areas of employee wage rights, consumer protection, and data breach and cyber security. As a founding partner of Lynch Carpenter, he has argued in numerous federal and state courts throughout the country and has handled more than 100 class actions. Gary has achieved numerous multi-million-dollar recoveries on behalf of plaintiff classes, and has represented plaintiffs against many of the nation's largest corporations, including Home Depot, PNC Bank, Equifax, and Target. He served as Counsel of Record in the United States Supreme Court case captioned Symczyk v. Genesis, which was argued to the Court in December, 2012, and resulted in a decision which helped shaped the law regarding the ability of a defendant to "pick off" a class representative by offering a judgment for their individual damages. In 2018, he argued successfully before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the case captioned Dittman v. UPMC, establishing a common law duty for the holders of electronically-stored personally-identifiable information to adequately secure and protect such information. Gary is a frequent local and national lecturer on class litigation, cybersecurity, and wage issues.
In Gary's words: "These days, individual citizens entering the American marketplace, whether as employees or consumers, often find themselves in a completely powerless bargaining position. While governmental policy makers have attempted, in many instances, to level the playing field on which goods, services and labor are traded, these governmental policies, which are intended to restrain business from acting in a fundamentally unfair manner, remain ineffective unless and until they are meaningfully enforced. In my practice, I view my role as assisting that enforcement process. I represent the "little guy" in the American marketplace. Given that my one grandfather worked in a steel mill and the other in a coal mine, my job is consistent with both the heritage of my family and the region of our country where I was born and raised, and where I continue to live. I believe in what I do."
In 2019, Gary was selected as a finalist for The Legal Intelligencer Attorney of the Year award and has again been selected as a Thomas Reuters' Super Attorney in Pennsylvania. Gary is past president and a current board member of the Human Services Center, Inc. (an outpatient behavioral healthcare provider in Western Pennsylvania) and lives in Pittsburgh.
Gary F. Lynch has been engaged in the practice of law for thirty years and currently oversees a nationally recognized plaintiffs' class action practice in the areas of data breach and privacy litigation, employee rights, wage & hour litigation, and consumer protection. Gary and his firm have handled hundreds of class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country. He has been appointed as class counsel in cases brought against many of the country's largest business organizations, including UPMC, Equifax, Home Depot, Wendy's, Target and Fedex. Gary has been appointed to leadership positions in some of the largest and most complex data breach cases of the past three years. He currently serves as Co-lead Counsel for the financial institution plaintiffs in the Equifax data breach litigation and the Home Depot data breach litigation, and was appointed to the five-member overall Executive Committee responsible for both the consumer and financial institution plaintiff tracks of the Target data breach litigation.
In 2012, Gary served as Counsel of Record before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk, addressing the issue of whether Rule 68 can be used to moot an FLSA collective action. The case resulted in a 5-4 decision, with Justice Kagan writing a strong dissent on behalf of Gary's client - a position which subsequently was adopted by the majority of the Court in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez.
Jamisen E. Etzel is Rated by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star - Click to visit SuperLawyers.com
Jamisen Etzel began his legal career at Lynch Carpenter as an associate in 2012, becoming partner in January 2020. Jamisen represents plaintiffs in all facets and stages of class and complex litigation, practicing primarily in data breach, privacy, wage and hour/misclassification, consumer fraud, financial fraud, and breach of contract matters. Jamisen regularly serves as court-appointed lead or co-lead counsel, and in that capacity has obtained final approval of numerous class action settlements.
Jamisen contributes in various capacities to high-profile complex and multidistrict class actions in federal and state courts around the country. His prior experience includes participation in the investigation, briefing, discovery, and resolution of major cases against The Wendy's Company, Home Depot, Target, Eddie Bauer, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, PNC Bank, and Equifax, all of which ended in approved class action settlements and returned millions of dollars in cash and other benefits to Lynch Carpenter's clients.
In March 2018, Jamisen was part of a three-person trial team that obtained a rare federal court class action jury award of $4.5 million in unpaid wages and illegally confiscated tips for misclassified nightclub workers. In 2017, Jamisen was the lead associate in Lynch Carpenter's team during a class arbitration trial concerning illegal second mortgage lending practices, resulting in a $24 million recovery for Lynch Carpenter's clients.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of Lynch Carpenter 's Chicago
Katrina Carroll is Rated by Super Lawyers - Click to visit SuperLawyers.com
Katrina Carroll is the founding partner of Lynch Carpenter's Chicago office and serves as Co-Chair of the Firm's Executive Management Committee. She graduated from Northwestern University, with honors in political science, and in 2000, received her law degree from Seton Hall University. Katrina has been recognized as one of the top 25 class action lawyers in the State of Illinois and has been named multiple times as a SuperLawyer.
Katrina is committed to pursuing justice and over the course of her 20 year career, she has recovered more than $1 billion for everyday people, investors and businesses. In September 2020, Katrina was appointed to serve as Co-Lead Counsel in the TikTok consumer privacy litigation, one of the biggest data privacy cases in the country. One of Katrina's other current cases, and one particularly close to her heart, is Steward v. Honeywell, where she represents property owners in a small town contaminated by nuclear radiation.
In Katrina's words: "I was raised with traditional immigrant values emphasizing hard work, and high standards. These principles guide me daily as I litigate against enormous companies on behalf of people they've wronged. Every case is a proverbial David and Goliath situation, and I relish the fight."
Katrina has been praised as a "model" lawyer by the Honorable Amy J. St. Eve, currently a sitting justice of the Seventh Circuit. She is well-regarded by her peers, regularly mentors younger lawyers and advocates for diversity in the legal profession. As a recognized authority on class action law, Katrina has spoken nationally at many prestigious conferences. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Loyola University School of Law's Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies and on Law360's Products Liability Litigation Editorial Advisory Board.
When she is not litigating for the little guy, Katrina enjoys cooking, spending time with her two children, and performing mediocre karaoke impersonations of Cher and Lady Gaga.
Kelly Iverson is a partner at Lynch Carpenter and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Executive Management Committee.
Kelly has extensive litigation experience in both state and federal courts. She served as lead counsel at trial in federal court in a medical malpractice action, receiving a verdict in her client's favor for the maximum statutory damage award. Her trial practice also includes first and/or second-chair experience at jury trial, commercial arbitration, and underinsured motorist arbitration.
Kelly has been appointed to leadership roles by judges around the country, including as Co-Lead Counsel in In re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Liability Litig. (W.D. Pa.) (products mass tort/class MDL) and In re: Erie Covid-19 Business Interruption Protection Ins. Litig. (W.D. Pa.) (insurance coverage class MDL); Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in In re Blackbaud, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (D.S.C.) (data breach class MDL) and In re Solara Medical Supplies Data Breach Litig. (S.D. Cal.) (data breach consolidated class action); and as Liaison Counsel in In re: Railway Industry Employee No-Poach Antitrust Litig. (W.D. Pa.) (antitrust MDL). Additionally, Kelly has served on committees assisting the leadership teams in In re Equifax, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (N.D. Ga.) (data breach class MDL); In Re: Marriott International, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (D. Md.) (data breach class MDL); First Choice Fed. Credit Union v. The Wendy's Co. (W.D. Pa.) (consolidated data breach class action) (W.D. Pa.); and In re Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. Litig. (N.D. Ga.) (consolidated data breach class action).
In 2021, Kelly was selected to the Sedona Conference Data Security & Privacy Liability (WG 11) brainstorming group on revising the Commentary on Application of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection to Documents and Communications Generated in the Cybersecurity Context. In 2022, she was selected to the drafting team to implement Commentary revisions consistent with the recommendations of our brainstorming group.
Kelly was born and raised in Pittsburgh where she received her degree in Business Management from Chatham University and her Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law. Prior to law school, Kelly spent four years working as a claim representative at Travelers Insurance Company where she handled automobile liability claims.
Kelly was honored to be selected for Duquesne's well-regarded trial advocacy program during law school. Her trial team won the 2008 Buffalo-Niagara Invitational Trial Competition, which was the largest invitational trial competition in the nation at the time. Kelly was able to share her love of trial advocacy when, from 2010 through 2017, she served as a high school mock trial attorney advisor for both Fort Cherry High School and Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy.
After law school, Kelly joined a large Pittsburgh law firm, Cohen & Grigsby. She was fortunate to have the unusual opportunity at such a firm to advocate on behalf of injured consumers and individuals, in personal injury cases and class actions. Her practice there also included insurance coverage and shareholder disputes. In 2018, Kelly was thrilled to join Lynch Carpenter, which permitted her to focus 100% of her practice on Plaintiffs-side representation on a national scale.
Kelly lives in Lawrenceville with her husband, Nathan, their three children, and their rescue dog, Rocky. She spends summers at the softball field and winters at the hockey rink watching her kids play.
In 2019, Kelly Iverson was named to Super Lawyers - Rising Stars.
Education
Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA - Graduated 2009
Juris Doctor - Summa Cum Laude
Associate Recent Decisions Editor, Duquesne University Law Review.
Maggie Robalino recently joined the firm as a paralegal based in San Diego, CA, where she calls home since leaving New York nearly four years ago. After graduating cum laude from Marist College with a dual major in Criminal Justice and Psychology in 2012, Maggie's collegiate internship director rescued her from a job at a rental car company by asking her to fill in temporarily for one of the Criminal Justice Intake Specialists at the Dutchess County Public Defenders' Office. While there, she conducted intake interviews, both in the office and jail, to determine eligibility for departmental services, conducted in-depth factual background interviews and conflict-checks, and joined investigators in performing their assigned duties, including service of court-issued documents and transport of clients to rehabilitation and correctional facilities.
During her two years at the Public Defenders' Office-having realized that neither sales nor cars were her passion-Maggie earned her Paralegal Certificate from Boston University. In 2014, Maggie transitioned into civil litigation after accepting a position as a Paralegal at Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney in their New York office. A few years later, after gaining tons of experience in toxic tort cases and an officemate she now calls her husband, or Remy, Maggie ventured to the west coast.
While at Johnson Fistel, LLP, Maggie honed her legal research and fact-checking skills pouring over SEC filings, and promptly familiarized herself with all aspects of litigation in California state court. The drafting, calendaring, and filing abilities she developed working on securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation at Johnson Fistel continued to serve her well in her next position at Global Legal Law Firm, where she took on a supervisory role, exercising the usual authority of a manager in her daily monitoring of both the attorneys' and support staff's daily workflow, work-product, and calendars, all while handling her individual caseload. Maggie brings her experience tracking and prioritizing case developments, and communicating the same to clients in a timely and digestible manner, to her work at Lynch Carpenter.
Maggie and her husband Remy live in Ridgeview/Webster with their two fur-babies, Mac and McGee. While not at work, Maggie likes to spend time getting acquainted with the Pacific, catching up with her tv-friends the Real Housewives, and putting her HGTV skills to use by teaching the Property Brothers a thing or two about DIY projects.
Pamela J. Miller is a Partner at Lynch Carpenter and manages the firm's Disability Legal Clinic. Born and raised in Western Pennsylvania as the proud daughter of a railroad worker, Pam grew up with an acute awareness of the hazards and risks of personal injury which American workers constantly face. Consequently, after graduating from Westminster College, Pam obtained her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1993, with the sole intent to represent injured and disabled workers.
Scott G. Braden hails from Fresno, California, where he completed his undergraduate at Fresno State, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy. In 2009, Scott relocated to San Diego to attend law school at the University of San Diego where he graduated in the top 6% of his class and received the distinguished Order of the Coif honor.
A dedicated consumer advocate, Scott's practice focuses primarily on complex consumer class actions. Prior to joining Lynch Carpenter, Scott practiced exclusively in civil litigation with The Stone Law Group, a San Diego firm, where he handled personal injury, employment, real estate and business dispute cases. As a result of his devotion and tenacity on behalf of his clients, Scott received many strong praises from satisfied former clients over the years.
Scott lives in El Cajon with his wife, Sarah, their son, Teddy (Theodore), and two dogs, Luna and Lola. When he is not practicing law, Scott enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, live music, movies (mostly science fiction and horror) and learning guitar riffs.
Education
J.D. University of San Diego School of Law (2013)
B.A. California State University, Fresno (2009)
Todd Carpenter is Rated by Super Lawyers - Click to visit SuperLawyers.com
Todd D. Carpenter, a partner at Lynch Carpenter, hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Todd settled in San Diego, California in 1999 when he started law school at the University of San Diego School of Law. Todd is a former shareholder at Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, P.C., where he practiced consumer class action litigation for almost ten years. In 2013, after departing Bonnett-Fairbourn, he founded Carpenter Law Group, APC in the Emerald Plaza in downtown San Diego. In 2016, Todd merged his firm with his close friends at Lynch Carpenter and is now the managing partner of the San Diego office. His practice focuses on consumer class action litigation, representing plaintiff classes in unfair business practices, false and deceptive advertising, product liability cases and anti-trust violations. Todd has represented plaintiffs in numerous class action proceedings in California and throughout the country, in both state and federal courts.
Through his participation in a multi-district litigation action before U.S. District Court Judge James Lawrence King in Miami, Florida, Todd represented consumers in separate actions against Union Bank, N.A. and Bank of the West to recover damages stemming from alleged fraudulent overdraft fee practices. The cases resulted in favorable settlements, culminating in over $50 million dollars in recovered fees to customers (In re: Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, Larsen v. Union Bank and Dee v. Bank of the West, MDL No. 2036 (S.D. Fl.). Todd has initiated similar actions against several other banks and credit unions across the country, obtaining multi-million dollar settlements in actions against Northwest Savings Bank (Toth v. Northwest Savings Bank, Case No. GD-12-8014, In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and Pinnacle National Bank (Higgins v. Pinnacle National Bank, Case No. 11-C4858, in the Circuit Court for the State of Tennessee, Twentieth Judicial District in Nashville).
Todd has successfully represented several plaintiff classes, including as Class Counsel at trial, in recovering statutory penalties resulting from violations of California's Song Beverly Credit Card Act ยง1747.08. Todd has also resolved cases alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). Most recently, he secured final approval of a $1.8 million-dollar deal with Southwest Airlines resolving two lawsuits filed against the airliner, Lumos v. Southwest Airlines Co., et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-01429, and Miller v. Southwest Airlines Co., et al., Case No. 4:12-cv-05978, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Todd's efforts as part of a collaborative team of lawyers have resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars in compensation for California consumers of food and supplement products arising from misleading advertising claims made by manufacturers about the safety and efficacy of their products. Todd and his co-counsel recently resolved a multi-million-dollar class case with the manufacturer of "Joint Movement Glucosamine," (Hazlin v. Botanical Laboratories, L.L.C. et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-00618), in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California arising from alleged misrepresentations concerning the product's efficacy in the improvement of joint function.
Todd has also represented, as class counsel at trial, small business owners and residential customers in the community of Ramona (California) in challenging the legality of sewer service rates assessed on an "Equivalent Dwelling Based Unit" of measurement under California's Proposition 218. (The Plantier Family Trust, Progressive Properties, Inc. et al v. Ramona Municipal Water District, Case No. 37-2014-00083195-CU-BT-CTL).
Todd received his B.B.A in 1999 from the University of New Mexico, where he was awarded the University's Karen Abraham's Outstanding Service Award in 1997 and again in 1998 for his development and participation in after-school recreational leagues for underprivileged youth at Los Ranchos elementary school. Todd received his law degree, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2002. He is a member of the California Bar and has also been admitted to practice in all Federal District Courts in the state of California.
Todd was selected by his peers as a San Diego SuperLawyer in 2014 and 2015. He was also voted a semi-finalist as a "Top Corporate Litigation Attorney" by the San Diego Daily Transcript in 2012.
In 2019, Todd was selected as a Super Lawyer in 2019. He has held that designation since 2015.
When not practicing law, Todd enjoys skiing, spear fishing and spending time with his family at the beach.