Janine L. Pollack, Partner
☎ CONTACT
E: jpollack@hechtpartners.com
T: (888) 421-4529
PRACTICE AREAS
Class Action Litigation
Product Liability
Consumer Fraud Litigation
Janine L. Pollack is a Partner of the Firm and the Class Action Practice Group. She has been a class action litigator for over 35 years and has prosecuted cases that have resulted in the award of hundreds of millions of dollars to defrauded consumers and investors. She has been appointed by courts to lead numerous class actions and has had much success in securing refunds and other remedies for class members. She has prosecuted bench and jury trials as first chair, winning a jury verdict against R.J. Reynolds for wrongful death in a tobacco litigation.
Janine grew up in New Jersey and is a member of the New York and New Jersey bars. After graduating from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, she worked in a general litigation firm for approximately eighteen months before joining a large plaintiffs’ class action firm in 1991 and has devoted her practice primarily to class actions since then.
Janine is a Certified Health and Well-Being Coach and the Firm’s Chief Wellness Officer. Janine and the Firm are at the forefront of the focus on well-being in the legal profession. Her and the Firm’s philosophy is that well-being is ground zero for all endeavors we undertake in life, including being an effective attorney. Since adolescence, her interests have revolved around her love for fitness, nutrition and the goal of uniting mind, body and soul and her enthusiasm for such interests has continued to grow over time. She strives to share that philosophy with her colleagues at the Firm and in the Bar to support them in finding strength, motivation and empowerment for fulfillment in their personal and professional lives.
Janine graduated from University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in 1989, where she was elected to the Journal of International Business Law. Janine is active as an alumnus and participates in various programs at the University of Pennsylvania, including regarding well-being. Prior to law school, she graduated in 1986 from Rutgers College at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey with High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A., having double-majored in English and French. Fluent in French, she spent a semester abroad in 1985 at New York University in France.
Janine is Co-President of the National Association of Shareholder & Consumer Attorneys (NASCAT), a non-profit organization of attorneys that supports consumer and investor rights, including through the class action mechanism. Janine is also the Chair of the Women’s Initiative at NASCAT, which seeks to advance women in the class action bar. She participated as a team leader in developing standards and best practices for increasing diversity in mass tort and class action litigation for the James F. Humphreys Complex Litigation Center at the George Washington Law School titled, “Inclusivity and Excellence: Guidelines and Best Practices for Judges Appointing Lawyers to Leadership Positions in MDL and Class-Action Litigation” (March 15, 2021). Janine is also a member of the Women in the Legal Profession Committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York (City Bar), where she was a co-editor of the publication, Street Smarts for Women Lawyers. Her committee activities include wellness projects and presentations, as well as the Women on the Walls initiative that commissions portraits of women jurists for display at the City Bar. Janine is a member of the Mindfulness & Well-Being in Law Committee at the City Bar as well. Janine has also participated as a volunteer for the Institute for Well-Being in Law (IWIL), a non-profit organization whose focus is well-being within the legal community.
Notable Representations
Lead litigator in consumer class actions against major banks for failure to pay interest on mortgage escrow monies; settlement achieved in one case
One of lead litigators in consumer class action against lender for misrepresentations in financing documents to pay for energy-saving home improvements; settlement achieved
Co-lead counsel in data breach against large clothing retailer for failure to exercise reasonable care in safeguarding personal information of its customers; settlement achieved
Represented consumers nationwide in class actions against Skechers, Reebok and others for false claims regarding efficacy of “toning shoes”; worked with Federal Trade Commission in securing settlements
The lead litigator in oft-cited seminal consumer class action in D. Mass. (Bezdek v. Vibram USA Inc., 79 F. Supp. 3d 324, 338 (D. Mass. 2015), aff'd, 809 F.3d 78 (1st Cir. 2015)), against the manufacturer of “Vibram FiveFingers footwear” for mispresenting the health benefits of the shoes; settlement achieved
One of lead litigators in consumer class action against makers of boxed macaroni and cheese for failure to disclose presence or risk of dangerous phthalates
Working with various co-counsel in consumer class actions against makers of infant formula for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
Working with various co-counsel in consumer class actions against several makers of baby foods for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
Working with various co-counsel in consumer class action against maker of protein powder for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
Co-lead counsel in consumer class action against maker of chocolate confectionary products for failure to disclose presence or risk of PFAS “forever chemicals”
Worked with various co-counsel in consumer class actions against makers of herbs and spices for failure to disclose presence or risk of heavy metals
Working with various co-counsel on numerous data breach and privacy class actions, many of which have had successful settlements
Achievements
Janine is honored to have been named as a Super Lawyer every year since 2012 and to Lawdragon’s list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers every year since 2019. She has also enjoyed being appointed numerous times to Law360’s editorial boards. Janine’s prior firm where she was a founding partner was awarded the National Law Journal’s 2020 Trailblazer Award for an Elite Boutique Firm. In 2012, Janine was one of the attorneys featured on the front page of The National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List for her work on toning shoe cases, including against Reebok and Skechers, which resulted in settlements jointly with the Federal Trade Commission.
Thought Leadership
Janine is a frequent public speaker on well-being, women’s and other issues, including:
Women Lawyers in Leadership, Practicing Law Institute (numerous years)
Making Wellness Work for You, Class of Our Own Women’s Summit, May 9, 2023
Health and Wellness Panel, Class Action Law Forum, University of San Diego School of Law, March 18, 2022
Taking Care of our Own: Lawyer Well-Being Programs, AON Virtual Law Firm Symposium, October 14, 2021
Harris Martin Webinar Series: Baby Food Litigation, April 8, 2021
Taking Control of Your Well-Being: How to Leverage Your Legal Organization’s Wellness Program, Practicing Law Institute, December 10, 2020
How to Wow Motivation and Wellness: Your Guide to Grit and Fit, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, October 21, 2020 (highlighted in Penn Law Journal, Summer 2021)
BAR ADMISSIONS
State of New York
State of New Jersey
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
EDUCATION
J.D., University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
B.A. Rutgers University