Partner
Adam Polk is a partner at Girard Sharp. His experience covers all aspects of civil litigation, from initial case investigation and complaint preparation through settlement or trial. Adam’s practice encompasses a range of class action matters, including products liability, consumer finance, securities, antitrust, corporate governance, life science, and sexual abuse. Adam is respected among his peers for his leadership, preparation, and client-centered decision-making.
Adam currently serves as co-lead counsel in In re Meta Browsing Tracking Litigation (an action filed on behalf of Facebook users who allege their online activity was surreptitiously tracked without their consent); In re Maxar Technologies Inc. Shareholder Litigation (an action alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933); the Accellion Data Breach Litigation (litigation following a data breach incident the led to the theft of sensitive information in files loaded to Accellion’s File Transfer Appliance system); and the In re Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Shareholder Litigation (a securities case alleging Hewlett Packard misled investors when it merged with Computer Science Corporation Inc. to form DXC Technology Company). He also serves as on the co-lead counsel teams in In re California Gasoline Spot Market Antitrust Litigation, In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation, and In re PFA Insurance Marketing Litigation and is an executive committee member in In re Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation.
Recently, Adam served as part of the trial team in the first In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation trial. In a landmark result, the jury awarded approximately $15 million for the loss of four families’ eggs and embryos.
Adam also led several recent cases that resolved favorably for his clients, including In re Subaru Battery Drain Litigation (a consumer protection action concerning defective batteries in Subaru vehicles); Bentley v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. and Sosenko v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (class actions alleging that LG’s refrigerators are defective and prone to premature failure); and In re Nexus 6P Products Liability Litigation and Weeks v. Google LLC (two consumer class actions against Google relating to defective mobile phones, which resolved for a combined $17 million); and In re Sears Holdings Corporation Stockholder and Derivative Litigation ($40 million settlement).
Adam is the current co-chair of the ABA’s National Institute on Class Actions and the previous chair of the ABA’s Class Action and Derivative Suits committee, where he has been a frequent contributor of written and verbal content regarding emerging issues in class action litigation.
Adam has been selected by his peers as a Northern California Super Lawyer, Rising Star every year since 2013, and has been recognized as a National Trial Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40” every year since 2019. Adam was named to Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” list in 2021 and 2022, and honored in 2022 as a “Rising Star of the Plaintiffs Bar” by the National Law Journal. In 2023, he was named one Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Consumer Plaintiff Lawyers.”
Clerkships
Externed for Northern District of California Judges Sandra Brown Armstrong and Claudia Wilken
Education
J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Best Oral Advocate Award
Best Brief Award
Moot Court Team chair
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
Admissions
California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Northern District of California
Central District of California
Experience
In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation
Representing individuals and families as interim class counsel and sole liaison counsel in this case alleging that a tank holding plaintiffs’ eggs and embryos failed, compromising the viability of their genetic material.
In re Nexus 6P Products Liability Litigation
Serves as co-lead counsel in this consumer electronic product liability case against Google and Huawei arising out of their allegedly defective Nexus 6P smartphones.
Weeks et al. v. Google, LLC
Serves as co-lead counsel in this smartphone products liability case arising out of Google’s allegedly defective Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.
In re Sears Holdings Corporation Stockholder and Derivative Litigation
Represented nominal plaintiff Sears in derivative litigation alleging breaches of fiduciary duty arising out of Sears’s spinoff of several of its real estate assets into a newly formed REIT. Recovered $40 million on behalf of Sears.
Daccache v. Raymond James Financial, Inc. et al.
Represented investors in the Jay Peak EB-5 immigrant investor program in this case alleging that Raymond James aided and abetted a fraud resulting in more than $350 million in losses. Recovered $150 million on behalf of investors to date.
Booth v. Strategic Retail Trust, Inc., et al.
Represented class of investors in this securities fraud case alleging that a real estate investment company made fraudulent statements in connection with its offering of securities to the public. Recovered $5 million on behalf of investors.
Pending Cases
In re Lakeview Loan Servicing Data Breach Litigation
In re J&J Investment Litigation
Stark, et al. v. Patreon, Inc.
A.B. et al v. The Regents of the University of California et al, Central District of California
Ide v. British Airways, Southern District of New York
Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation, District of New Jersey
Juul Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, Northern District of California
Honors & Awards
Named to the Northern California Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list (2013-present)
Named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 (2019-2022)
Named to Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” (2021, 2022)
Winner of the National Law Journal’s Rising Stars of the Plaintiffs Bar (2022)
Named to the National Law Journal’s Top 25 Class Action Trial Lawyers in California (2022)
Named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Consumer Plaintiff Lawyers (2023)
Affiliations
Community & Professional
American Bar Association
Co-chair, Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee (2019-2020)
Member and newsletter editor, Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee
Member, Litigation Section
Member, Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California Chapter
Member, American Association for Justice
Member, Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
Member, Public Justice
Practice Areas
Antitrust
Consumer
Finance
Insurance
Investments
Sexual Abuse and Women’s Advocacy
