International lawyers fighting mining giant BHP in a $70 billion lawsuit have set up shop in Sydney with ambitions to “put Australian corporations on notice”.
Pogust Goodhead founders Thomas Goodhead and Harris Pogust are proud of their plans to make their attorneys some of the highest paid on the planet.
They do this by specifically investing their time in high-yield class actions, pocketing 50 percent of the payouts that can – and have – been worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Pogust’s public social media accounts offer a fascinating glimpse into the lavish lifestyle his successful career has afforded him.
He and his wife Carrie share photos flying on a private jet, enjoying cocktails on luxury ships, and traveling interstate just to enjoy a good meal.
Trading partners are currently clashing with 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 total, there are 700,000 plaintiffs and the case could be worth $70 billion in damages.
Mr. Pogust’s public social media accounts offer a glimpse into the lavish lifestyle his successful career afforded him.
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.
Pogust Goodhead founders Thomas Goodhead and Harris Pogust are proud of their plans to make their attorneys some of the highest paid on the planet.
Goodhead was also in Australia twice in 2023 to meet with MPs, unions and super funds about the litigation.
As part of their commitment to that case, they have established an office in Sydney, led 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.
speaking 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.
They are now looking at a number of Australian business giants, aiming to hold them to account on their responsibility to show “basic decency and fairness” to their community.
“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.”
Pogust and his wife live a good life according to social media
He shared another photo of his laptop overlooking the ocean.
He highlighted the mining sector for its “vital role in ensuring the availability of increasingly important rare and critical minerals.”
Cricton said the company does not discriminate and has “several sectors within our purview.”
Legal experts say 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.’
The trading partners are currently clashing with BHP in the UK over the Samarco mine disaster in Brazil.
As part of their commitment to that case, they have established an office in Sydney, headed by commercial disputes specialist Amie Crichton (left).
New Jersey native Harris Pogust offers the best insight into their high-flying lives
It’s its co-founder and president, New Jersey-born Harris Pogust, who offers the best insight into their high-flying lives.
Mr. Pogust has 25 years of litigation and class action experience throughout the United States.
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.
“After bidding on this house for the third time in the last 12 years, we were finally able to purchase it and from a fellow lawyer no less,” he said.
‘We hope this is the last move along with the pygmy goats, miniature horses and some other friends to add to the 7 dogs…’
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 the location to him at 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.
The company launched in 2018 and earned the title of “first legal unicorn” after raising $300 million in financial backing early on.
His wife also shared photos of Mr. Pogust and the couple’s dog on a private jet.
His wife also shared photos of Mr. Pogust and the couple’s dog on a private jet.
It now has 700 employees in five offices and has up to 27 lawsuits pending.
The litigation known as ‘My Diesel Claim’ was led by Pogust Goodhead, and won more than A$350 million for almost two million customers in a settlement against 14 car manufacturers who failed to disclose the true emissions of their diesel products.
But there was backlash in June 2023 when the law firm sent a late-night email to plaintiffs apologizing for an error in the fine print that indicated Pogust Goodhead’s fees would be capped at 35 percent. of profits, when in fact it was 50 percent. .
A spokesperson said: ‘An email has been sent to all MyDieselClaim customers to draw their attention to an error made in the fine print of our conditional fee agreements.
‘This refers to a reference that our rates are capped at 35%. This should, as in all other sections, read 50%.’
The mix-up sparked a flood of negative reviews online from complainants who said they were confused or felt misled by the error.
“Totally unacceptable… 15% x the number of claims filed equals a huge increase in your profits,” one wrote.
The firm has also led class action lawsuits against British Airways and German pharmaceutical company Bayer, over its Primodos pregnancy test product.
On that occasion, the firm dismissed the claim and it was dismissed.
Scottish National Party MP Hannah Bardell used her parliamentary privilege to criticize Pogust Goodhead’s handling of the matter.
‘They [claimants] “It’s been done by (and I’m going to use my parliamentary privilege) a company called Pogust Goodhead,” he said.
“Now they approached the Primodos campaign, they approached them to take on the case, but then they backed out and decided to abandon the plaintiffs and the victims when they didn’t think they had a chance of winning.”
Ms Bardell said there was an “aggravating issue” that the firm “withheld documents that constituents like mine had presented to them and handed over to them in order to pursue the case.”
He added: ‘This prevented the campaign from finding other legal representation and fundamentally meant that the campaign was not successful in court.
“This, in my opinion, is a hostile and hateful move by any legal firm.”