Home Australia Crusading American lawyer who boasts a lavish lifestyle with private jet jaunts with his glamorous wife, a sprawling estate and pool chill sessions quits his law firm after putting Aussie corporates on notice

Crusading American lawyer who boasts a lavish lifestyle with private jet jaunts with his glamorous wife, a sprawling estate and pool chill sessions quits his law firm after putting Aussie corporates on notice

0 comments
Jetset attorney Harris Pogust's family social media accounts offer a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle afforded him by his successful career. Now he has left his company.

A senior international lawyer whose firm “warned Australian corporations” about a possible wave of class action lawsuits against mining and financial services companies has suddenly resigned from his position.

Pogust Goodhead, a specialist in international class actions, set up shop in Australia last year and warned that they were looking at a number of corporate giants and planning to hold them to account over their responsibility to exhibit “basic decency and fairness”.

But this week the company was hit by the surprise departure of jet-setting co-founder and global president Harris Pogust, who announced he was stepping down after six years to “devote more time and energy to my philanthropic efforts.”

In a statement this week, Pogust wished his co-founder, Goodhead, all the best, and praised the company for having “helped defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves against the misdeeds of big companies.”

Pogust Goodhead is currently taking action against BHP in the UK over the Samarco mine disaster in Brazil, which claimed the lives of 19 people and contaminated waterways and land spanning several villages in a case estimated to be worth up to £70,000. millions of dollars in damages.

Last month, the class action firm also laid off up to 20 percent of its staff, with jobs cut at its offices in both the U.K. and Brazil, the U.K.’s Law Society Gazette reported.

Mr. Pogust, a New Jersey native, has more than 25 years of litigation and class action experience. Daily Mail Australia revealed a glimpse of Mr Pogust’s lavish lifestyle earlier this year.

Photos show the crusading lawyer and his wife Carrie flying on a private jet, including with their dog, sipping cocktails on luxury boats and traveling interstate for meals.

Jetset attorney Harris Pogust’s family social media accounts offer a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle afforded him by his successful career. Now he has left his company.

In November 2023, he shared details of his new property: a sprawling six-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion that features a pool, gym, and wine cellar. A month earlier, he shared another photo of his laptop overlooking the ocean.

‘There’s nothing better than flying out to dinner than coming home. The fun never ends…’ he wrote, tagging his location to Philadelphia International Airport.

His wife also shared photos of Mr Pogust and the couple’s dog on a private jet, as well as luxury photos on yachts.

His company, Pogust Goodhead, launched in 2018 and earned the title of “first legal unicorn” after raising $300 million in financial backing early on.

Co-founder Tom Goodhead visited Australia twice in 2023 to meet with MPs, unions and super funds about potential litigation. The firm set up an office in Sydney, run by commercial disputes specialist Amie Crichton.

Ms. Crichton got her start on the other side of litigation, defending class actions on behalf of insurers for eight years. talking to law.comHe said the experience gives him a strategic advantage in prosecuting future class actions.

He said it had given him a much deeper understanding of how corporations seek to defend these issues and how to counter them.

“We are investigating a number of new cases against Australian multinational corporations, such as BHP, where their commitment to this responsibility has been seriously questioned,” Mr Goodhead said.

‘With the launch of our Sydney office, we are putting Australian corporations on notice that we are ready to hold them to account.

“We are establishing a base in BHP’s backyard to ensure we explore all avenues in our fight for justice for victims.”

New Jersey native Harris Pogust offers the best insight into their high-flying lives

New Jersey native Harris Pogust offers the best insight into their high-flying lives

The legal eagles said the areas they are targeting include the mining and resources sector, human rights issues, corporate misconduct, environmental issues and consumer law.

“Class action people are getting a little more creative and willing to try to find resources through different channels,” he said.

Goodhead, who studied at Oxford and Cambridge, spoke in February about the expansion and his current litigation portfolio.

He said winning one or more of the biggest litigations would make his team “the highest-paid attorneys in the country by a comfortable margin.”

And several months earlier, in an interview with the Law Gazette in November 2023, Goodhead spoke openly about his firm’s capitalist ambitions.

“We’re here to make a profit,” he said bluntly.

‘This is not an NGO, although I know we look like one. We’re here to make a profit… I have trainee lawyers making $150,000.’

You may also like