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Draft:Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy

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  • Comment: Author confirmed on AFCHD no paid editing/COI; just a poor choice of username. qcne (talk) 15:08, 11 September 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: Username suggests paid editing. ‑‑gurkubondinn 14:25, 15 August 2026 (UTC)
  • Comment: Most of these sources only include a trivial mention to the company. Also, the Chambers and Partners source was written by CPM, so is not independent. Freddieh9 (talk) 16:04, 13 July 2026 (UTC)


Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP
Major practice areasPersonal injury, mass torts, class actions, wildfire litigation, employment law, antitrust
Key peopleJoseph W. Cotchett
Frank M. Pitre
Niall P. McCarthy
FounderJoseph W. Cotchett
Websitewww.cpmlegal.com

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP (commonly known as CPM) is an American plaintiffs' litigation law firm based in Burlingame, California, with offices in Santa Monica, California, New York City, and Seattle. The firm handles civil litigation including antitrust, consumer protection, environmental disputes, high-tech class actions, employment, securities, and personal injury law.[1]

History and development

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The firm was founded in 1969 by trial attorney Joseph W. Cotchett in Northern California.[2] Frank Pitre joined Cotchett's practice early in Pitre's legal career, later becoming a name partner. In a 2023 article, Pitre said he was the sixth lawyer in the then-six-lawyer firm when he joined.[3] He said that the firm later expanded to encompass about three dozen lawyers working in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. Over time, the practice expanded, ultimately becoming known as Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP.[4] Earlier iterations included Cotchett, Illston & Pitre, and Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy. The firm has represented public entities and individual plaintiffs and has represented plaintiffs in California energy and environmental litigation.[5] The firm broadened its practice from personal-injury and trial work into complex civil litigation. In 2025, Lawdragon described the development of CPM's Seattle-based technology practice. Led by managing partners Thomas Loeser and Karin Swope, the Seattle office concentrated mainly on nationwide high-tech class actions, while the San Francisco Bay Area office continued its broader plaintiffs' practice.[1]

Notable litigation

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The firm has participated in several high-profile litigation matters, including:

  • Following the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, Frank Pitre represented five families in a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company, alleging failure to address safety risks, and seeking removal or replacement of the neighborhood pipeline.[6]
  • Product liability and consumer litigation involving Apple over iPhone performance throttling;[7]
  • Securities litigation involving investors in Twitter following the acquisition by Elon Musk.[9]

ExxonMobil plastics litigation

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In September 2024, a number of environmental organizations (including the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay and San Francisco Baykeeper) represented by CPM sued ExxonMobil, asserting that Exxon misled the public regarding the efficacy of plastics recycling.[10]

In January 2025, Exxon separately sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups in federal court. CPM was not named as a defendant; however, the Daily Journal reported Exxon’s complaint repeatedly discussed the firm's role and characterized the firm as being "at the center" of the dispute.[11]

According to a Reuters report, Exxon alleged that CPM was connected with the Australian Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund and had actively enlisted American environmental organizations to serve as plaintiffs in the plastics litigation.[12]

A similar San Francisco Chronicle report discussed Exxon's allegations regarding CPM’s relationship with the fund. CPM partner Niall McCarthy rejected Exxon's characterization, describing the lawsuit as meritless.[13]

Los Angeles public-sector representation

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A 2007 LA Times article reported allegations from Deputy City Attorney Kerrin Tso that Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy had a potential conflict of interest while representing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) in litigation against Reliant Energy. Tso alleged that the firm, while representing the DWP, accepted six other clients pursuing claims against Reliant, and that she faced retaliation after raising concerns about outside firms connected to City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo’s political campaigns. The article reported that Joseph Cotchett had co-chaired Delgadillo’s political campaign. The City Attorney’s Office disputed Tso’s allegations, with a Delgadillo spokesman stating that Tso’s reassignment resulted from an ordinary departmental reorganization.[14]

References

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  1. 1 2 Hemingway, Meghan (February 20, 2025). "The Price of Modern Gold: Why Tom Loeser is Expanding Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy's Technology Group's Offices in Seattle". lawdragon. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  2. ↑ "Monster Atty Reveals Cotchett Fee Was $360K In Beats Row". Law360. December 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ Langford, James (January 9, 2023). "Lawyer Limelight: Frank Pitre". LawDragon. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP". Best Lawyers. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  5. ↑ McGreevy, Patrick (February 6, 2007). "Whistle-blower suit is filed against Delgadillo". latimes.com. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  6. ↑ Bulwa, Demian (October 20, 2010). "San Bruno fire: 5 families sue PG&E". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. ↑ "$500M iPhone Deal Gets Nod, But Virus Delays Final OK". Law360. May 15, 2020.
  8. ↑ Liedtke, Michael (February 24, 2021). "PG&E wildfire victims sue former management for neglect". pbs.org.
  9. ↑ "Bottini, Cotchett Pitre To Rep Twitter Investors In Musk Suit". Law360. April 25, 2023.
  10. ↑ "ExxonMobil Touted Recycling as a Fix to Plastic Waste. That Was a Lie, California Says | KQED". www.kqed.org. 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
  11. ↑ "Cotchett Pitre at center of Exxon's lawsuit over plastic recycling". Daily Journal. January 8, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  12. ↑ Dang, Sheila; Stempel, Jonathan (January 6, 2025). "Exxon sues California AG, environmental groups over attacks on recycling efforts". Reuters. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  13. ↑ Egelko, Bob (2025-01-07). "Exxon escalates battle over plastics recycling with defamation suit against California AG". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
  14. ↑ X (2007-02-06). "Whistle-blower suit is filed against Delgadillo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
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