Elizabeth J. Cabraser

Most recently, Cabraser has taken on still another high-profile multidistrict litigation - General Motors' faulty ignition recall.

"This has resulted in dozens of consumer class actions alleging economic loss to the recalled cars' owners and hundreds of wrongful death and personal injury claims," she said. In Re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, MDL 2543 (S.D. N.Y., filed June 9, 2014).

Adding to Cabraser's challenges is GM's 2009 government bailout related to its bankruptcy proceeding that resulted in a new company being formed.

"The question is whether the new GM is responsible for some or all of the claims," Cabraser said.

Some of these predated the bankruptcy, and there is uncertainty as to what extent the bankruptcy shields the new company from liability, she added.

Cabraser is one of three attorneys who have been appointed as co-lead counsel to organize the plaintiffs and make recommendations on their behalf.

In recent years, Cabraser's practice has been consumed by three other ongoing high-stakes multidistrict litigations.

Among them, the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Toyota unintended acceleration litigation, and the dispute involving the interception of electronic communications by Google Street View vehicles.

"I was hoping that the mass tort class-action suits would be quiet in 2014 and I could play catchup," Cabraser said.

Now that the Toyota litigation settlement program is well under way, and the Deepwater Horizon case is maturing, she added, GM happened.

"I need to get a bumper sticker that says, 'Torts happen,'" Cabraser said. "I wish that they wouldn't."

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