ADVANCING A BETTER FOOD SYSTEM
Biography
MAIA KATS is founding member of Just Food Law. As former Litigation Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (“CSPI”) - the Nation’s Top Non-Profit Food Cop - and with over thirty years of experience in complex litigation, Maia is nationally recognized as a leading expert in food class actions. Dr. Michael Jacobson, the founder and former long-time Executive Director of CSPI, described her as “one of the very best food litigators out there.” He said that Maia is “gifted, ethical, and tenacious" and "passionate about representing her clients in pursuit of honest advertising that both benefits them as consumers and advances public health.”
In addition to being a tenacious litigator, Maia is widely regarded by general counsels and CEOs of various Fortune 100 companies as ethical, pragmatic, and highly skilled at resolving complex claims. She has led and resolved numerous consumer class actions, including against PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Campbell Soup, Kellogg’s, GNC, and CVS. Her cases have been featured on Good Morning America and ABC News, and many others have been reported in a variety of publications including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, BBC News, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, as well as in several international news outlets.
Maia also regularly speaks on food and supplements litigation, and is a member of the steering and litigation conference planning committee for FDLI, the largest association of food and drug counsel in the country. In 2021, Maia was the honorary chairperson of FDLI’s Food & Drug Litigation Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. In 2022, Maia was appointed to Law 360's Consumer Protection Editorial Board. She has spoken at the National Association of Attorneys General Annual Conference, Grocery Manufacturers of America Annual Conference, and conferences of the American Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar, PLI, Lawline, and myriad others. Maia also regularly guest lectures on food litigation at Georgetown Law School.
An honors graduate (magna cum laude) of the University of Michigan and Michigan Law School, Maia began her litigation career on Wall Street with the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed.
Representative Cases
Lipkind v. PepsiCo.
Class Counsel
Lamar v. Coca-Cola Co.
Class Counsel
Arora v. GNC
Class Counsel
TV Writers Age Discrimination Litigation
Class Counsel
Thornton v. Amtrak
Class Counsel
Plum Organics (pre-suit resolution)
Class Counsel
Turner v. Jamba Co.
Class Counsel
Worth v. CVS
Class Counsel
Silver v. BA Nutrition
Class Counsel
Boord v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Class Counsel
McLauren v. Amtrak
Class Counsel
Multiple confidential pre-suit resolutions
Class Counsel
Ackerman v. Coca-Cola Co.
Class Counsel
Mantikas v. Kellogg Co.
Class Counsel
Baines v. Bountiful Corp.
Class Counsel
Flournoy v. NASA
Class Counsel
Jenson v. Eleventh Mines
Class Counsel
Representative Media
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Opinion, Even Cracker Consumers Are Entitled to Clarity, Wall Street Journal (12/25/2018)
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Editorial, Cheez-Its and the Judiciary, Wall Street Journal (12/17/2018)
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What’s really in your Jamba Juice?, Good Morning America (8/24/2018)
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What’s really in your Jamba Juice?, ABC News (8/24/2018)
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GMA investigates baby food labels, Good Morning America (8/16/2018)
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We’re losing more people to the streets than the sweets: Why two Black pastors are suing Coca-Cola, Washington Post (7/13/2017)
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Naked Juice Settlement Offers Up to $75 Per Consumer, ABC News (8/27/2013)
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Sorry, But Naked Juices Aren’t as Healthy as You Think, Good Housekeeping (10/5/2016)
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Naked Juice – over 40 million impressions on social media concerning filing of complaint (2016)
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Coke Deceives Public About Soda Risks, Suit Says, Bloomberg (7/14/2017)
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FBI Settles Sex Bias Suit, Washington Post (8/16/2006)
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After 10 Years, Age Bias Suit Ends in Changed Hollywood, New York Times (1/27/2010)
Representative Seminars
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Presenter, "Advocacy Without Antagonism: Principled Counseling in Food and Dietary Supplement Class Actions," FDLI (2/9/2023)
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Opening Remarks as Honorary Chair, "Equity Matters," 2021 Food & Drug Annual Litigation Conference (9/2021)
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Presenter, "New Class Action Developments: Unlawful Claims," 2021 FDLI Annual Litigation Conference (9/2021)
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Presenter, "Class Action Updates," FDLI Annual Litigation Conference (10/2020)
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Presenter, "Food Advertising," FDLI Annual Food Law Conference (9/2020)
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Presenter, "Sugar Litigation," FDLI Annual Food Law Conference (5/2019)
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Presenter, "Class Actions," Grocery Manufacturers of America Annual Conference (3/2019)
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Presenter, Bloomberg Philanthropies Conference, "Sugar Litigation" (2017)
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Presenter, Aspen Institute Conference, "Sugar Litigation" (2018)
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Presenter, “Supplements Litigation," National Association Attorneys General Annual Conference (2017)
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Presenter, "Mediation Representation," American Bar Association (2015)
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Guest Lecturer, "Food Class Actions," Georgetown Law LLM Seminar (2018-2020)
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Guest Lecturer, "Food Class Actions," New York University (2019)