RBGG’s Michael Bien has been named by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California for 2017. Michael, who has now received the award five times, including 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016, is once again being recognized for achieving major landmark rulings for vulnerable populations against large institutional defendants. Most recently, he has achieved major victories in litigation to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to basic resources needed to participate in economic and civic life.
Michael has, for example, led the RBGG teams that have prevailed repeatedly in major class actions against the State of California regarding constitutional rights, health care, disability rights, and mental health care for prisoners in the state, including the historic prison overcrowding decision, Brown v. Plata, 131 S.Ct. 1910 (2011). The firm has been replicating this work in other states, most recently Nebraska where RBGG and co-counsel, including the ACLU Prison Project, filed a federal overcrowding suit in August 2017.
Michael is also co-lead counsel in National Federation of the Blind v. Uber Technologies, Inc. In this case, the firm represents the National Federation of the Blind and its California affiliate as well as several individuals in this groundbreaking action challenging denials of service and other discrimination that blind and low-vision riders with guide dogs face when attempting to use transportation arranged through the popular Uber mobile app. On December 6, 2016, the court granted final approval to a comprehensive nationwide class settlement, which is subject to RBGG and co-counsel’s ongoing compliance monitoring.