Samuel J. Strauss

Partner

Overview

We built the firm around opening the courthouse doors to everyday people. Once inside, we represent those people against corporations that harmed them, whether by invading their privacy, defrauding them, or injuring them with defective products. And we do so despite the odds stacked against them. Although the defendants we sue have wronged our clients, these companies have vast resources that will overwhelm any one person. But we beat the odds because our clients do not act alone, they join thousands or millions of others who have suffered the same harm. Our firm prosecutes those class actions because they are a chance to right a wrong that has impacted many.

Education

University of Washington Law School
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) with Honors

University of Texas at Austin
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
- High Honors

Bar Admissions

Washington, 2013
Wisconsin, 2017
Illinois, 2022

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan

Outside Interests

Traveling and exploring national parks
Camping, hiking, and fishing
Spending time with my two dogs

Experience

I am a class action attorney because I believe in the power of impact litigation. Starting as an attorney at an elite class action firm in Seattle, I used that experience to help build our practice. We work with consumers, employees, and patients who serve as “class representatives” and together we tell a story that wins cases and changes lives.

The case types we pursue vary, but we have a focus in privacy and consumer fraud cases, including:

Data Breach. If a company collects your data, they accept duties to safeguard it. That may include anything from your health records, to your financial information, to your Social Security number. If the company fails to fulfill those duties by leaving vulnerabilities in their systems, your data may be exposed and stolen. We represent the consumers, employees, and patients impacted by those breaches to help protect their identities and ensure their data is protected.

Right of Publicity. No one wants to see their name and face in an advertisement without their permission, and there are laws designed to stop companies from doing so. Yet in the digital age, companies have disregarded those laws and increasingly marketed people’s data without their consent, using their names and faces to advertise that data. We prosecute cases to uphold the law and stop those practices.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Telemarketing annoys people at its best and harasses them at its worst. The companies that use telemarketing are supposed to follow strict laws governing the practice, including by respecting Do-Not-Call registries, honoring a consumer’s demand not to be called, and never robocalling them without their consent. We represent the consumers annoyed and harassed by the companies that fail to follow those rules.

Consumer Fraud. A consumer fraud case arises whenever a company charges consumers for a good or service the company knows it cannot deliver as advertised. Whether it’s inflated premiums or hidden bank fees, these practices skim off the top on the hope that the consumer won’t notice or will give up when the company refuses to reimburse them. We represent the consumers cheated by these schemes, seeking to reimburse them for their losses and to stop the fraud from happening again.

Professional Activities

Qlaw Foundation Board of Directors, 2013-2015
Unemployment Law Project Board of Directors, 2014-2015
Washington Employment Lawyers Association, 2013-2015
Washington State Association for Justice, 2013-2015