As some firms plan layoffs and furloughs amid COVID-19, Regina Calcaterra and Janine Pollack quietly launched their own New York plaintiffs firm last month. Calcaterra, formerly at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, and Pollack, who left the same firm in 2018, recruited five of their colleagues to Calcaterra Pollack—partner Michael Liskow, an associate and three staff members—as well as a senior associate from Kelley Drye & Warren.

The new firm plans to pursue class actions on behalf of shareholders and consumers alleging fraud, including during the pandemic. Both lawyers said they predicted the plaintiffs’ bar could bring cases asserting constitutional rights violations relating to the recent protests.