Michael Schrag

For 28 years, Michael Schrag has represented consumers and small businesses in complex class actions and multi-plaintiff lawsuits against some of the country’s largest banks, insurers, credit card, and telecommunication companies. He has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of his clients and his class action practice covers a broad range of legal areas including antitrust, breach of contract, fraud, consumer protection, and civil RICO cases. Michael has also represented individuals and large groups of plaintiffs in breach of fiduciary duty, product liability, personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

Michael and his team recently recovered $52 million for borrowers wrongfully denied home loan modifications by Wells Fargo Bank. He served as court-appointed Co-Lead class counsel in Hernandez v. Wells Fargo Bank, representing a certified class of over one thousand borrowers who lost their homes after Wells Fargo wrongfully foreclosed. Michael and his team achieved a $40 million settlement, which was praised for bringing “significant” relief to the class. Michael was also appointed Co-Lead class counsel in a related loan modification case in federal court in Ohio against Wells Fargo that settled for $12 million.

Michael was also on the Expert Committee and trial team in the In re: Disposable Contact Lens Antitrust Litigation, a nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that manufacturers and distributors conspired to fix prices of contact lenses sold to consumers. The case settled for a total of $118 million after the court certified a nationwide class and denied Defendants’ motions for summary judgment. 

Michael was Co-Lead class counsel in an Unfair Competition case against a real estate developer. After plaintiffs-purchasers obtained an important victory in the Ninth Circuit (Beaver v. Tarsadia Hotels, 816 F.3d 1170 (9^th Cir. 2016)), the lawsuit settled for $51.15 million. He was also Co-Lead class counsel in Ammari v. Pacific Bell Directory where his team obtained a $27 million judgment on behalf of a class of small businesses after a jury verdict and two appeals. Michael also represented small business plaintiffs against AIG in an insurance fraud action that settled mid-trial for a confidential sum.

Currently, Michael serves on the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust Litigation, where Plaintiffs allege that the four largest meat packing companies conspired to suppress the prices paid to cattle ranchers for fed cattle.

Michael also helped initiate a class action against Umpqua Bank for aiding and abetting a real estate Ponzi scheme. The court recently certified a nationwide class and denied Umpqua’s motion for summary judgment.  

A Bay Area native, Michael began his career prosecuting securities class actions and serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Judith N. Keep, U.S. District Judge, Southern District of California. He then worked at Schrag & Baum from 2000-2006 where he helped initiate the currency conversion fee cases against Visa and MasterCard that ultimately resulted in a $336 million settlement. From 2007-2015 Michael was a partner and co-founder of Meade & Schrag, LLP, where he prosecuted class actions and also litigated personal injury, medical malpractice, breach of contract, and business litigation matters. From 2015-2022, Michael was a partner at Gibbs Law Group in Oakland, CA.