Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA—Amin Talati Wasserman has opened a Los Angeles office, to be headed by William Cole and Matthew Orr, both experienced in class action lawsuits, according to a press release.

Consumer class action lawsuits against manufacturers and retailers of food, beverage, supplement, and cosmetic products are growing, the press release explains, and are growing in California in particular. More than half of all filings involving supplements in 2020 were made in California; pre-litigation notices to food and drug companies made under California’s Proposition 65 grew to 1,546 in 2020—a growth of more than 1,000.

Cole and Orr both have long records of litigation wins for food, beverage, supplement, and cosmetic clients in class action, FTC, and state attorney general matters, according to the press release, including dozens of dismissals and summary judgment victories. Cole has served as the first assistant U.S. attorney, Chief of the National Security and Cybercrimes Section, and Chief of the Criminal Division in the federal Southern District of California, where he was honored for investigatory work on al-Qaeda. Orr’s accomplishments include a landmark federal appellate winthis year for Target, establishing that federal law preempted California law with regards to structure/function claims made by supplements.

Related: #NaturallyInformed: Advice for Retailers NPA’s Kyle Turk Testifies in CA Legislature Against Bill to Age-Restrict Supplements Is Your Immune-Health Structure/Function Claim Making Implied COVID-19 Disease Claims?

“These are milestone events for our firm,” said Ivan Wasserman, managing partner of Amin Talati Wasserman. “Creating a California presence and adding litigators of William and Matthew’s stature allows us to serve the litigation needs of our clients as effectively as we do in the regulatory and intellectual property areas.”

Cole added: “Amin Talati Wasserman sets the gold standard for legal advice in the industries it serves. We are honored to be joining this team and look forward to enhancing its litigation services from California.”

Orr concluded: “The lawyers of Amin Talati Wasserman have a tremendous depth of scientific knowledge. We look forward to drawing on it in service of our clients.”