Daniel E. Seltz

Daniel Seltz is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office.

Daniel recently served as class counsel in a case brought on behalf of coffee farmers in the Kona region who sued nearly two dozen companies for selling “Kona coffee” that was not coffee from the Kona region. In approving settlements that delivered more than $122 million in economic value to the class, the Court described the case as one “of the most impressive class action cases I have dealt with in my time on the federal bench,” and one that was “great for justice.”

Daniel worked on a series of federal cases in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Mississippi, in which plaintiffs alleged that certain natural gas companies underpaid gas royalties to the owners of the gas. In one of the cases that settled, royalty owners recovered approximately 95% of the damages they suffered. In another, the Court praised Daniel’s and class counsel’s work as “diligent, expert, and performed at the highest level of professional standards.”

Daniel had a large role in litigation involving alleged overcharges in foreign currency exchange transactions by BNY Mellon as a custodian for pension funds. On September 24, 2015, the Court granted final approval to a $335 million settlement, which combined with settlements with other government and regulatory agencies, will result in total compensation to BNY Mellon’s customers of $504 million. Daniel was part of the team whose work led to a $72.5 million settlement in 2019 in another similar case against BNY Mellon.

He has also worked on several cases involving alleged pharmaceutical marketing fraud, including participating on the trial team in a case against Pfizer Inc. for violating a federal anti-racketeering law by promoting its drug Neurontin for unapproved uses. The Neurontin jury returned a $142 million verdict in favor of our clients, and the Court approved a class settlement of $325 million in 2014.

Daniel has been selected by Lawdragon as a “Lawdragon 500 Top Plaintiff Financial Lawyer in America” every year since 2020, and a “Super Lawyer” for the New York region every year since 2016.

Before joining our firm, Daniel served as Law Clerk to Honorable John T. Nixon, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 2003-04.

Published Work

•Co-Author with Jordan Elias, “The Limited Scope of the Ascertainability Requirement,” American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, March 2013
•Panelist, “Taking and Defending Depositions,” New York City Bar, May 2009, July 2024
•Contributing Author, California Class Actions Practice & Procedures (Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Editor-in-Chief), 2008
•Buying Time: Television Advertising in the 1998 Congressional Elections, with Jonathan S. Krasno, Brennan Center for Justice, 2000
•“Going Negative,” in Playing Hardball, with Kenneth Goldstein, Jonathan S. Krasno, and Lee Bradford, Prentice-Hall, 2000
•“Issue Advocacy in the 1998 Congressional Elections,” with Jonathan S. Krasno, Urban Institute, 2001
•“Remembering the War and the Atomic Bombs: New Museums, New Approaches,” in Memory and the Impact of Political Transformation in Public Space, Duke University Press, 2004, originally published in Radical History Review, Vol. 75, 1998

Honors & Awards

•Selected for inclusion by peers in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Plaintiffs,” 2025, 2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America,” Lawdragon, 2025, 2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2025, 2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America,” Lawdragon, 2019-2026
•“Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Antitrust & Competition Lawyers,” Lawdragon, 2025
•“Super Lawyer for New York Metro,” Super Lawyers, 2016-2025

In the News

•March 27, 2026
Twenty-Three Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” List for 2026
•February 17, 2026
30 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Recognized as Lawdragon “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2026
•October 30, 2025
21 Lieff Cabraser Attorneys Selected as 2025 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
•September 8, 2025
Twenty-Seven Lieff Cabraser Partners Named to 2026 “Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America” List
•August 21, 2025
36 Lieff Cabraser Lawyers Named to 2026 Best Lawyers Listings