About Us

Three trailblazing attorneys founded a new plaintiffs' law firm with a mission to proactively seek out cases with broad, public impact. Zimmerman Reed opened its first office in Minneapolis, MN.

Represented hundreds of homeowners alleging that Household Mortgage Services routinely exceeded federal limits on how much of borrowers’ funds could be held in escrow accounts.

Joined a consortium of 65 law firms from across the country – called the Castano Group – that filed the first class action against the tobacco industry. When that nationwide case was decertified by the Fifth Circuit, the group filed a single state class action against the major cigarette companies. This case succeeded, culminating in a jury trial lasting three years from jury selection to final verdict. The Group ultimately litigated cases across the country in parallel with state attorneys general litigating in state court.

Expanded beyond Minneapolis by establishing a presence in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm also developed additional practice areas during this decade including mass tort, antitrust, public client, employment, privacy & data breach, and sports law.

Helped hundreds of women who had experienced injuries from their silicone breast implants to recover medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Represented hundreds of individuals injured by the largest release of anhydrous ammonia in U.S. history, which occurred when a Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed in Minot, North Dakota. ZR achieved a successful settlement in the matter and took the case of two injured individuals to trial, obtaining a $1.2 million jury verdict in Minneapolis on behalf of those clients.

Represented various cities, towns, school districts, and other municipalities in the MTBE Water Contamination Litigation to address chemical contaminants in their water supplies. The firm helped the entities recover damages including the costs of removing MTBE and benzene from drinking water supplies.

Represented employees who filed a case against Merrill Lynch under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ZR helped the employees achieve a $75 million settlement for their allegations that the investment losses they experienced in their 401ks were the result of the company improperly placing 401k investments in company stock.

Began representing hundreds of individual retired NFL players, working with counsel across the country on an uncapped settlement that has already paid out more than $1 billion on behalf of more than 4,500 former players. This settlement addressed—and continues to address—concussion-related lawsuits and has funded compensation for concussion-related brain diseases, medical testing and examinations, and medical research.

Secured a historic 9-0 Supreme Court victory for the State of Mississippi, affirming attorneys generals’ right to enforce their states’ laws on behalf of their citizens in their own state courts.

Represented investors who brought a series of lawsuits against financial services defendants, including Regions Financial, Regions Bank, Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., Morgan Asset Management, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Inc., alleging that violations of federal securities laws and breach of fiduciary duty caused three open-end mutual funds to tank in 2007. Regions Financial Corp. agreed to pay $125 million in 2015 to end both a putative class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits.

Opened a new office in Los Angeles, California.

Appointed Lead Counsel on behalf of banks and credit unions in a landmark action against Target following a massive data breach that compromised 40 million credit and debit cards and the personal information of 110 million consumers. The class action sought to hold Target responsible for the costs that payment card issuers incurred because of the data breach, including reimbursement of fraudulent charges and reissuance of new credit and debit cards. The case was one of the first certified classes in a data breach action, and ultimately achieved a $59.4 million settlement.

Began representing rideshare drivers in individual arbitrations alleging misclassification of the drivers as “independent contractors” to avoid paying certain expenses (such as insurance, gas, and maintenance costs of their vehicle), improper wage deductions, and damages due to misrepresentation and unfair business practices.

Represented the States of Indiana and Vermont in investigation of and litigation against entities who created and fueled the nation’s opioid crisis. The States’ litigations included claims against the Sackler family and pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, Inc. and drug distributors. The combined actions—and inactions—of these companies resulted in a medical, social, and economic crisis that has still not been eliminated. These cases, along with cases across the country, achieved a $26 billion settlement.

Achieved a historic $60.5 million settlement for the State of Minnesota. ZR represented the State of Minnesota in litigation and at trial against e-cigarette manufacturers, JUUL and Altria, for deceptively marketing their vaping products and targeting Minnesota’s youth.

Represented whistleblower and helped reached a $7 million settlement on behalf of the State of California and the United States in False Claims Act case against nursing facility operation ReNew Health in first-of-its-kind case alleging misuse of COVID-19 regulations.