We find
what wasn’t
meant to be
found
Something went very wrong, and the details don't feel right. Many of the facts are unclear or unknown. The issues are complicated, and the cause is uncertain. It doesn’t add up.
That’s where we come in. We invest in cases other firms won’t take. They’re not willing to make the same commitment, and that’s exactly what big corporate defendants expect. The complexity is often by design to discourage those who seek accountability.
But we are not deterred. This is the type of case we want.
I learned how to fight big corporations by working for them.
I started my career at a large corporate defense firm. That’s where I fell in love with complex trial work. I found success and was promoted to partner, but I knew I was in the wrong place.
I saw firsthand how companies used their money and power to get away with misconduct. They hired the most expensive lawyers and experts, attempted to hide key documents and buried the other side with paper work. They were banking on the fact that plaintiffs would be intimidated and unable to fight back.
Instead of defending this kind of behavior, I wanted to prosecute it.
CASES I BELIEVED IN
I left a stable partnership at the firm. My wife and I moved our young family across the country. It was a big leap, and I knew instantly it was the right decision.
As an Assistant US Attorney for the Eastern District of California, the law was all that mattered. I went on offense. I chose the cases to pursue. I picked the strategies. And I never turned back.
REcord-setting results
No one had been held accountable for securitizing defective loans in the 2008 financial crisis. Not until we looked into JPMorgan Chase & Co.
I was the lead investigator. The stockpile of documents was daunting — an enormous haystack without any promise that a needle even existed. Until we found it. A buried memo helped unlock everything.
In less than a year, my team converted a stagnant investigation into a $13 billion settlement, which at the time was the largest in U.S. history against a single defendant.
We also won a $122.5 million recovery against Sierra Pacific Industries for wrongfully starting a 65,000 acre wildfire that decimated ancient national forest land.
Despite clear evidence of liability, the company deployed an army of attorneys and experts, blaming the fire on others (including the United States) with baseless and elaborate allegations. This misconduct by the company and its lawyers validated my decision to leave the partnership at a large corporate defense firm.
I asked to lead the prosecution and poured myself into the case. It was the largest settlement ever for a wildfire.
Commenting on the team’s work, United States Attorney, Benjamin Wagner, said, “We were outmanned, outspent and outpapered, but not outlawyered.”
Coming home
It wasn’t part of a grand life plan, but I think I was always moving toward my own firm. Running my practice allows me to attack cases the way they should be handled — efficiently and aggressively.
I’m still on offense.
We took on a global pharmaceutical company in a wrongful death suit. That case preceded more than 300 others in a multidistrict litigation for which I am co-lead counsel.
Elias Law represented federal agents and U.S. citizens in a high-profile anti-terrorism case. It was the first such claim seeking to hold global banks accountable for their financial support of Mexican drug cartel violence.
We also secured the largest settlement in Missouri in 2023 for a single incident. The $23.71 million dollars won’t make up for the ways in which a young family was forever changed, but it will help pay for their son’s lifelong care.
Since 2015, our small team, as lead counsel, has recovered over $100 million for our clients.
Today, we’re continuing to take a very select number of clients and give them everything we have.
Education
University of Missouri School of Law, J.D., 2002
Order of the Coif
Order of the Barristers
Missouri Law Review, Note and Comment Editor
International Association of Trial Lawyers Award for Distinguished Advocacy
University of Missouri-Columbia, Bachelor of Journalism, 1998
IN BLACK AND WHITE
Todd Friedman knows how to level the playing field.
Todd joined Elias Law in 2018. He was ready to do more, in cases that meant more. Since then, he’s taken on Big Tobacco in complex wrongful death suits, handling cases from beginning to end.
As a seasoned trial lawyer, Todd develops case strategies, conducts discovery, handles motion practice and steadily pushes toward resolution, including numerous cases tried in state and federal courts.
Large corporate defendants often try to intimidate plaintiffs with oversized defense teams, but Todd isn’t swayed. The scales of justice measure something far more important than the size of a company’s legal retainer.
"All that matters is who’s right. The other side can have as many lawyers as they want. It’s not going to change whether or not they’re in the wrong."
Before joining Elias Law, Todd began his career clerking for an appellate judge, where he formed a foundational perspective on effective advocacy. He then worked for prominent civil plaintiff and defense law firms in Miami.
Education
University of Miami, J.D.
Magna Cum Laude
University of Miami Law Review
Awards for Best Work in Legal Research and Writing, Constitutional Law, and Art and Law
Swarthmore College, Bachelor of Arts in History
Varsity Lacrosse
STATE Bar admissions
Florida
Melinda Bommarito has everything covered.
Melinda is the thoughtful, detailed voice on the other end of the phone helping clients gather evidence, coordinate schedules and stay informed at every step. At the same time, she’s the fierce, uncompromising office manager, a sentry protecting our business and our clients.
Before joining the practice and making our mission her own, Melinda worked in the tech sector in various finance and managerial positions. A St. Louis native, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. Louis University.
Melinda is our head paralegal and director of operations. While she serves many invaluable roles, above all, her mission is to ensure that our clients’ needs are heard and they receive regular and timely updates about their cases.
Before joining the practice, Melinda worked in the tech sector in various finance and managerial positions. A St. Louis native, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. Louis University.
Let’s talk
If you have a case, a question or something you’d like to discuss, email us. Share as much or as little as you like and we’ll see how we can help. It’s confidential and free.
There’s no obligation, and if we take your case, we do so on contingency. We don’t get paid until you win a settlement.