Barrett S. Litt
Barrett Litt
Los Angeles
California (CA)
Civil Rights/First Amendment
Class Action/Mass Torts
Profile
I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1966 and from UCLA Law School in 1969. For the first approximately ten years of my practice, I focused primarily in the area of criminal defense at the trial and appellate levels, mostly in the federal courts. In that capacity, I handled hundreds of matters, tried many cases ranging from immigration offenses to murders, and handled numerous appeals. Since 1981, I have focused primarily on complex civil litigation in the areas of constitutional law, civil rights law, class action litigation, and complex multi-party litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. I litigate a wide range of civil rights cases, including housing, employment and other discrimination, police and jail abuse, and violations of a wide range of constitutional rights. My current emphasis is civil rights class actions, but I also do large, individual civil rights cases. I have obtained numerous seven or eight figure settlements or verdicts on behalf of civil rights plaintiffs. I have both spoken and published on the subject of civil rights training, particularly on civil rights class actions and attorney's fees. I am considered an expert on, among other things, civil rights class actions, and attorney’s fees in civil rights cases. I have filed declarations on numerous occasions expressing expert opinions on the appropriate standards for awards of attorneys’ fees in civil rights cases, which have been accepted by the courts.
Selected To
Southern California Super Lawyers 2012
Southern California Super Lawyers 2011
Southern California Super Lawyers 2010
Southern California Super Lawyers 2009
Southern California Super Lawyers 2008
Southern California Super Lawyers 2007
Southern California Super Lawyers 2006
Southern California Super Lawyers 2005
About Barrett Litt
Admitted: 1969, California
Professional Webpage: www.littlaw.com/Bio/BarrettLitt.asp
Honors and Awards:
- In 1987 my then firm received the Pro Bono Firm of the Year award award from Public Counsel. In 1992, my then firm received the Civil Rights Firm of the Year award from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In 1995, I received the Public Interest Alumnus of the Year Award from UCLA School of Law.
- Was selected to receive a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award for the year 2010., California Lawyer Attorney of the Year, 2010
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Licensed to practice in the State of California; U.S. District Court, Central District of California; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California; U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; United States Supreme Court.Additionally, admitted Pro Haec Vice in the U.S. District of Columbia; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia; U.S. District Court, District of Maryland.Rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Member of the Board of Directors of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, a national legal and advocacy group advocating primarily on behalf of disadvantaged seniors. Member of the Board of Directors of the Advancement Project, a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice.
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- "Class Certification in Police/Law Enforcement Cases", Civil Rights Litigation and Attorney's Fee Annual Handbook, Vol.18, Ch.3, West Publishing 2002; "Rights for Wrongs", Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, December 2005; "Select Substantive Issues Regarding Class Action Litigation In The Jail/Prison Setting", National Police Accountability Project, October 2006; “Obtaining Class Attorney’s Fees” presented at the Bridgestone CLE Class Action Conference on April 30, 2009, in Los Angeles, and scheduled for publication in updated form in the upcoming West Publishing's Civil Rights Litigation and Attorney's Fees Annual Handbook.
Verdicts and Settlements:
- 2001:Williams v. LA County - $27 Million class settlement for strip searches & overdetentions. 2004: McClure v. Long Beach - $22.5 Million civil rights verdict for two individuals whose civil rights were violated by preventing opening of Alzheimer's homes.2006: Bynum v. District of Columbia - $12 Million class settlement for strip searches & overdetentions. 2008: Craft v. SB County - $25.5 Million class settlement for strip searches; 2009 - MIWON v. City of Los Angeles - $12.8 Million class and individual settlement on behalf of protestors beaten and chased from MacArthur Park on May 1, 2007; 2010 - Goldstein v. City of Long Beach - $7.95 settlement for man wrongly convicted of murder.
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