Civil RICO for Consumer Lawyers

Recent decisions are challenging the old rap that there’s little room for consumer advocates to press RICO claims. If the facts are right, it can be the perfect tool to target companies that knowingly support and enable wrongful behavior. We will walk you through the elements of a Civil RICO claim and provide practical examples of when it is—and is not—the proper claim to assert.

What You Will Learn

• Recent legal trends in Civil RICO cases
• The elements required to properly plead and pursue a Civil RICO claim
• Examples of hot documents and how to find them
• How a “Complete Sham” theory can help you at class certification

Speakers

Irv Ackelsberg joined Langer, Grogan & Diver P.C. in September 2006. A prominent public interest lawyer, Irv practiced for thirty years with Community Legal Services, Inc. (“CLS”) of Philadelphia. At CLS, Irv led its consumer law work, developing a national reputation for creative advocacy involving issues such as representation of homeowner victims of mortgage fraud, student victims of fraudulent trade schools, low-wage workers harmed by abusive employment background screening, and consumer creditors in chapter 11 proceedings. Irv was the 2005 recipient of the Vern Countryman Award, presented annually by the National Consumer Law Center.

Peter Leckman joined Langer, Grogan & Diver P.C. in 2011 and was named a partner in 2014. He specializes in antitrust and consumer class actions and appellate work. He has been named a “Rising Star” in the last four editions of Super Lawyers magazine. Prior to joining the firm, Peter worked as an attorney at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP in San Francisco. While at Altshuler, Peter was part of a team of lawyers that won California Lawyer magazine’s 2009 and 2010 “California Attorney of the Year” awards for defending voting rights and for litigating fraud claims against the for-profit University of Phoenix.