Rachel Lanier Named to Law360’s List of Rising Stars for Her Trial Practice

Rachel Lanier, managing attorney of The Lanier Law Firm’s Los Angeles office, has been named to Law360’s 2026 Rising Stars list, recognizing her leadership in plaintiff-side trial work, particularly in multidistrict litigation. This year, Law360 recognized more than 160 attorneys under the age of 40 from more than 90 law firms across 35 practice areas.

Ms. Lanier has played a leading role on the firm’s social media addiction litigation team, helping spearhead efforts to hold social media companies accountable for the harmful features of their platforms. Earlier this year, she was part of the trial team in the first bellwether case against Meta and YouTube in Los Angeles. The jury awarded the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages for the mental and physical harm suffered by the unnamed plaintiff. In addition to her trial work, Ms. Lanier serves as co-lead counsel in California’s Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings for social media addiction litigation, which currently coordinates hundreds of cases involving common questions of fact and law.

Ms. Lanier’s work has earned recognition from several leading legal organizations. She has been named one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers and is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions and Personal Injury Litigation. She also has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers and has been selected nine times as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in New York and California. In addition, she is a frequent speaker at seminars and webinars presented by Harris Martin and numerous national and state trial lawyer associations, and is licensed to practice in California, New York and New Jersey.

A Houston native, Ms. Lanier earned her undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University before receiving her law degree from St. John’s University School of Law in New York. While in law school, she served as a legal advocate for domestic abuse victims through the Domestic Violence Litigation Clinic, worked as a teaching fellow for Dean Michael A. Simons, and received the Dean’s Award for Excellent Service in recognition of her extensive pro bono work.