Hausfeld represents a wide range of public and governmental entities, including state Attorneys General, cities and counties, public water providers, other public institutions, and sovereign nations. The firm partners with these clients in high‑stakes investigations and complex litigation spanning environmental and product liability, antitrust, consumer protection, human rights, technology, and privacy matters.
Recognized as a leading global claimant‑side firm, when representing public entities in complex affirmative litigation, Hausfeld draws from the strategies, resources, and trial experience honed in major class and mass actions. In a U.S. enforcement landscape marked by reduced federal regulatory oversight, growing procedural barriers for private plaintiffs, and constrained public budgets, Hausfeld helps fill the enforcement gap. Leveraging its impact litigation record, the firm empowers public entities to pursue enforcement priorities that might otherwise go unaddressed, designing strategies that seek both substantial monetary recoveries and transformative injunctive relief that drives real change in corporate conduct.
Representative Public Entity Matters
Hausfeld’s work for public entities spans a broad docket of timely, impactful, and cutting‑edge matters, including:
- Water Contamination and Emerging Contaminants: Hausfeld represents the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA), one of the largest public water providers in the United States, in a first‑in‑the‑nation groundwater contamination action seeking to hold chemical manufacturers responsible for decades of releases of the toxic chemical 1,4‑dioxane into public drinking water sources (SCWA v. Dow, et al.). SCWA also filed one of the first lawsuits in the country against 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers for contamination by PFAS “forever chemicals,” with the case proceeding within the Aqueous Film‑Forming Foams (AFFF) multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2873), where Hausfeld serves on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. In addition, Hausfeld acts as Special Counsel to the New Jersey Attorney General in high‑impact environmental litigation seeking natural resource damages and other relief for contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies by 1,4‑dioxane (Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, et al. v. Dow Chemical Co., et al.) and environmental justice litigation relating to alleged pollution of an area that includes the homeland of a Native American tribe and concealment of the extent of contamination from regulators and subsequent property owners, as depicted in the HBO documentary Mann v. Ford (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection et al. v. Ford Motor Company, et al.).
- Pricing and Antitrust Enforcement: Hausfeld represents the District of Columbia in District of Columbia v. Amazon.com, Inc., challenging Amazon’s conduct in online platform markets for first‑ and third‑party sellers. The firm also represents the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in In re Google Display Advertising Antitrust Litigation, alleging that Google used anticompetitive acquisitions and auction manipulation to foreclose rivals in digital advertising, and In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, alleging that the nation’s leading pork producers conspired to restrict supply and fix prices in violation of the Sherman Act. Hausfeld currently represents numerous institutional and municipal plaintiffs in In re: Insulin Pricing Litigation, challenging alleged long‑running conspiracies between pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers that artificially inflated insulin prices and harmed self‑funded payors. Hausfeld also represents the People of the State of Michigan in a civil antitrust action alleging that leading fossil fuel companies and a major trade association conspired to restrain trade and suppress competition from renewable energy (State of Michigan v. BP, et al.).
- Consumer Protection, Privacy, and Deceptive Practices: Hausfeld regularly partners with public entities to challenge deceptive sales and marketing practices. The firm represents the City of Philadelphia in litigation alleging that Bimbo Bakeries USA and S.C. Johnson & Son deceptively market certain plastic bags as recyclable when, in practice, they are not—claims brought under the City’s Consumer Protection Ordinance to protect residents from misleading environmental marketing and to promote truthful sustainability representations (City of Philadelphia v. Bimbo Bakeries USA and S.C. Johnson & Son). Hausfeld also represents the State of Maine in climate deception litigation against major fossil fuel companies, alleging that they misled the public about the dangers of climate change, causing severe environmental and public health impacts across the state (State of Maine v. BP, et al.).
- Affirmative Firearm Litigation and Public Safety: Hausfeld has developed a significant affirmative firearm litigation practice on behalf of major cities and public entities and is a recognized thought leader on national litigation strategy. The firm served as lead counsel to the City of Philadelphia, in partnership with the Giffords Law Center, in a landmark “ghost gun” case against Polymer80, Inc. and JSD Supply, Inc., alleging that their marketing and distribution of unserialized firearms fueled the city’s gun violence crisis and threatened residents’ health and safety (City of Philadelphia v. Polymer80, Inc. and JSD Supply, Inc.). The case settled in under a year, securing the broadest injunctive relief obtained in any ghost gun case in the country at the time and $1.3 million in compensation to support efforts to remediate gun violence harms. Hausfeld is also lead counsel to the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, again in partnership with the Giffords Law Center, in a consumer‑protection action against Glock, Inc. alleging deceptive marketing that promotes illegal “Glock switches” and misleads civilians about the legality of fully automatic weapons (City of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Glock, Inc.).
Across these and other engagements, Hausfeld demonstrates the breadth and depth of its public entity practice. The firm understands the unique legal, political, and fiscal considerations facing public and governmental clients and brings to each matter sophisticated litigation strategies, trial experience, and subject‑matter knowledge refined in its broader claimant‑side work. By partnering with public entities to safeguard drinking water, challenge anticompetitive conduct, protect consumers, advance environmental justice, combat gun violence, and pursue climate accountability, Hausfeld helps clients translate policy priorities into concrete results—protecting communities, preserving natural resources, and strengthening markets nationwide.