Daniel M. Hutchinson

A partner in our San Francisco office, Daniel M. Hutchinson’s practice has been focused on complex class and collective actions that have advanced the public interest. He is an advocate for under-represented and disadvantaged communities, and has litigated cases involving unfair employment practices against immigrants.

Daniel has pursued a series of consumer protection cases against major banks and financial services providers. Daniel’s efforts helped result in the largest monetary settlement in the history of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and ended harassing automated calls to millions of consumers.

Daniel was a key player in our firm’s case against Tata, in which we represented a certified class of over 13,000 Indian nationals claiming that Tata unjustly enriched itself by requiring them to endorse and sign over their federal and state tax refund checks.

In one case, Daniel worked closely with a small team of plaintiffs’ counsel on behalf of Mexican workers and laborers, known as Braceros, who were denied part of their wages after coming to the U.S. during World War II to fill jobs hurt by labor shortages in the agricultural, railroad and other industries. In approving the settlement in February 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer stated:

“I’ve never seen such litigation in eleven years on the bench that was more difficult than this one... Notwithstanding all of these issues that kept surfacing ... over the years, the plaintiffs persisted...And, in fact, they achieved a settlement of the case, which I find remarkable under all of these circumstances.”

Daniel has spoken and presented papers on civil rights claims at national employment law conferences, including events sponsored by the American Bar Association’s Section of Labor and Employment Law, the Impact Fund, the UCLA School of Law, the National Employment Lawyers Association, and the Consumer Attorneys of California. Daniel currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

Published Works

•Panelist, “Ascertainability isn’t a thing. Or is it?” Impact Fund Class Action Conference, February 2019
•Panelist, Employment Discrimination Class Actions Post-Dukes, Consumer Attorneys of California 50th Annual Convention, 2011
• Ten Points from Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 20(3) CADS Report 1, Spring 2010
•Panelist, Rethinking Pro Bono: Private Lawyers and Public Service in the 21st Century, UCLA School of Law, 2008
•Author and Panelist, Pleading an Employment Discrimination Class Action and EEO Litigation: From Complaint to the Courthouse Steps, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Second Annual CLE Conference, 2008
•Co-Presenter, Rule 23 Basics in Employment Cases, Strategic Conference on Employment Discrimination Class Actions, 2008

Honors and Awards

•Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Employment Law-Individuals, 2020
• Super Lawyer for Northern California, Super Lawyers, 2013-2019
• Rising Star, Law360, 2014
•Legal 500 recommended lawyer, LegalEase, 2013
• 50 Lawyers on the Fast Track, The Recorder, 2012
• Rising Star for Northern California, Super Lawyers, 2009-2012

Past Employment Positions

•Lewis & Feinberg, P.C., Law Clerk, 2003 - 2004
•Hon. Martin J. Jenkins, Northern District of California, Judicial Extern, 2004
•Oakland Unified School District, Teacher, 1999 - 2002

In the News

•July 7, 2020
Supreme Court Upholds Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s Robocall Ban

•June 16, 2020
21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge: LCHB’s Work Spreading Across the Legal Community

•August 15, 2019
Best Lawyers Names 21 Lieff Cabraser Lawyers to its 2020 Listings

•January 24, 2019
Daniel Hutchinson to Speak at 2019 Impact Fund Class Action Conference in San Francisco

•December 21, 2017
Connecticut Jury Finds Tech Support Workers Were “Willfully” Underpaid By Computer Sciences Corporation

•July 13, 2017
Classes Certified in Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against DIRECTV Over Alleged Violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

•September 19, 2016
Daniel Hutchinson Comments on the Fight or Settle Question Facing Offending Companies in TCPA Consumer Disputes

•May 18, 2016
Daily Journal Selects Daniel Hutchinson for 2016 Top 40 Under 40 List

•May 17, 2016
Lieff Cabraser’s Daniel Hutchinson Analyzes Announced Uber Drivers’ Class Action Settlement

•July 8, 2014
21 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Selected as 2014 Northern California Super Lawyers or Rising Stars

•April 22, 2014
Daniel Hutchinson Recognized As One of Nation's Top Employment Attorneys Under 40