Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro was competing in the Southern District of New York for lead counsel status in a case when the judge turned to managing partner Steve Berman and asked, “Why would I pick you from Seattle?” According to Berman, “I responded, ‘If I were a class member, what would I want? I’d want a law firm that’s been to trial in class actions that’s been successful with high recoveries. That’s my firm. We go to trial and get high recoveries.’ ”

He got the job.