Law firms suing Apple for smartphone dominance vie for leading roles, ET Telecom

Two rival law firm groups are pressing a judge to appoint them as leaders in a potentially lucrative class action lawsuit against consumers accusing Apple of monopolizing the smartphone market.

The opposing coalitions of plaintiffs’ lawyers presented their arguments Thursday to U.S. District Judge Julien Neals in New Jersey, who is presiding over the private antitrust cases brought against Apple after the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states sued the iPhone maker in March.

The law firms seeking to represent consumers who purchased iPhones from Apple include Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, Girard Sharp, Seeger Weiss and Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Brody & Agnello on one side and Hausfeld and Susman Godfrey on the other.

At stake is the chance to win a huge share of the legal fees resulting from any outcome in the consolidated case, which could be worth billions of dollars if successful. All the firms have a history of securing large antitrust awards.

The civil cases reflect a complaint by the Justice Department, which accused Apple of violating antitrust law by using contractual restrictions to force developers to comply with its rules. The lawsuits allege that Apple erected obstacles that limited consumers’ choices for third-party services.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has denied the government’s claims and asked the court to dismiss them. Apple has not yet responded to the consumer lawsuit. Apple and its lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lawyers from the plaintiffs’ law firm who applied to handle the cases did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In their presentation, Steven Berman of Hagens Berman and his team said their rival coalition would “entrust the fate of this landmark case” to just two law firms, a proposal they called “unrealistic” given the complexity, size and stakes of the case.

Hausfeld and Susman Godfrey, in their brief, said the class’s interests in the single-defendant case would not be “served by the inefficiencies that result from a sprawling, multi-firm, multi-layered leadership structure.” Both firms touted their “efficient, lean leadership structure.”

A third group of firms, which faced no opposition, asked to represent “indirect” purchasers, such as consumers who bought an iPhone from a mobile carrier. Those firms include Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky and Berger Montague.

A coalition of several other companies, including Korean Tillery, MoloLamken, and Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, have applied to chair the class, which will be attended exclusively by Apple Watch buyers.

In re: Apple Inc. Smartphone Antitrust Litigation, United States District Court, District of New Jersey, 2:24-md-03113-JXN-LDW.

Google monopoly ruling could help Apple defend antitrust case

Apple asks US judge to dismiss antitrust lawsuit

Apple App Store Consumer Class Action Lawsuit Set to Go to Jury in February 2026 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella)