Bethany L. Caracuzzo serves as Special Counsel with Pritzker Levine LLP, where she focuses on litigation involving antitrust violations, defective products and services, employment law disputes and personal injury law.
Ms. Caracuzzo is active in the firm’s prosecution of several antirust class actions, including In Re Transpacific Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation, N.D.Cal. Case No. 07-cv-5634 (representing consumers in a multi-district class action alleging fuel surcharge price-fixing by airlines in the transpacific passenger airline market), In re Domestic Drywall Antitrust Litigation, E.D.Pa Case No. 13-md-2437 (representing nonprofit housing development entities and indirect purchasers in a multi-district class action alleging price fixing by U.S. drywall manufacturers) and In Re Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2471 (D.N.J.) (representing consumers in a multi-district class action alleging price fixing in oceanic auto shipping industry). She also has been a key contributor to the firm’s settlement of consumer class action litigation involving the Brazilian Blowout line of hair smoothing products.
Prior to joining Pritzker Levine, Ms. Caracuzzo spent twelve years representing injured victims at two well-known San Francisco Bay Area law firms. She has litigated and obtained favorable settlements in personal injury cases involving medical malpractice, dangerous drugs, defective products, dangerous property conditions, motor vehicle accidents and professional malpractice. She has served as a member of several trial teams in litigating cases to verdict, including those involving wrongful death, traumatic birth injuries and injuries from defective products.
Ms. Caracuzzo has represented plaintiffs in cutting edge medical malpractice matters involving In Vitro Fertilization (“IVF”) procedures. She also represented plaintiffs in cases addressing issues of clergy and teacher sexual abuse, and in civil rights cases.
In the employment arena, Ms. Caracuzzo has successfully represented individual victims of harassment and discrimination based upon their race, gender, national origin, disability and religious beliefs, as well as victims of sexual harassment and abuse.
She also has worked to obtain a favorable results on behalf of dozens of victims who, as result of illegal Ponzi schemes, were defrauded of their life savings.
Ms. Caracuzzo began her legal career in the Office of the District Attorney for San Diego County, where she focused on child support enforcement, paternity disputes and custodial/family law matters. She later worked as a Research Attorney for the Superior Court of Alameda County.
She has been recognized by her peers as a Northern California “Super Lawyer,” an honor accorded to less than 5 percent of all licensed attorneys in California.
Education
Ms. Caracuzzo graduated cum laude from Boston College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with a focus on conflict resolution. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree in just two years from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. While at California Western, she received the Wiley W. Manual Award for Pro Bono Excellence for her work with the San Diego AIDS Foundation Project.
Memberships/Speaking Engagements
Ms. Caracuzzo is admitted to practice in the State of California and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern Districts of California.
Ms. Caracuzzo currently serves as the Secretary to the Women’s Caucus of Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), a group dedicated to the advancement of women lawyers as well as committed to supporting and furthering legislation that impacts the lives of Californians.
She is an active member of several professional associations, including San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA), California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA), and the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF).
In February 2013, Ms. Caracuzzo was a featured SFTLA lecturer in a continuing legal education seminar entitled “Opposing Motions for Summary Judgment.”
Community/Pro Bono
Ms. Caracuzzo devotes substantial time and resources to the community of the Dogtown Arts District of West Oakland, where she and her family reside. She is a board member of the Dogtown Neighborhood Association and an officer of a Dogtown Arts homeowners association. She also is a member of Oakland Rotary No. 3.
Ms. Caracuzzo enjoys running and hiking with her dog, eating more than cooking, and spending time with her family enjoying the sights and sounds of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ms. Caracuzzo speaks Spanish (conversational).