John E. Tangren
John has distinguished himself in academia and the national legal community as an expert litigator and writer in complex antitrust cases and consumer class actions.
John has distinguished himself in academia and the national legal community as an expert litigator and writer in complex antitrust cases and consumer class actions.
John Tangren has exclusively represented plaintiffs for the past decade in multistate automotive defect class actions. In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars he’s recovered for his clients, he also obtained nearly half a million dollars in sanctions for discovery misconduct in a class action involving unintended acceleration in Ford vehicles. Most recently, John was a member of a trial team and led plaintiffs’ presentation on damages in a multi-state class action involving oil consumption of trucks and sports-utility vehicles, in which the jury awarded the class $102.6 million. The verdict—a rarity in class action litigation—is one of the highest-ever achieved for an automotive defect class action, setting the bar for litigating similar cases across the country. In another case, involving ignition switch defects, John served as Settlement Allocation Counsel in a blockbuster $121.1 million settlement against General Motors.
John’s professional accomplishments are among the most impressive in the country. He has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in product defect cases, including $600 million for property damage caused by an herbicide, $135 million for defective heavy truck engines, and $45 million and $40 million in cases involving defective SUV parts, all while setting himself apart as an expert legal writer and tactician.
John’s expertise in legal writing is recognized in the community; John frequently presents to other lawyers on how to best communicate their message, present advocacy in compelling ways, and use tools and technology to streamline the process. He also presents on other topics—ranging from communications with absent class members at an annual antitrust conference, to issues related to Article III standing in the federal court system. Some of his other presentations have included a lecture to members of the Chicago Bar Association concerning the Class Action Fairness Act and its impact on litigation since its passage, the use of discovery tools and techniques for electronically-stored information, and how to avoid legal ethics violations and liability for malpractice by following established protocols and procedures.
John has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer, in the National Trial Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40,” and as an Emerging Lawyer by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
