Survivors' Rights

Lieff Cabraser represents two victims of sexual abuse at Ojai’s Thacher School and are continuing our investigation on behalf of other former students of the elite Thacher School in Ojai, California, into what has been described as a “bombshell” report revealing “four decades of sexual misconduct” by teachers and staff against teenage students at Thacher. Even more horrifyingly, the report includes information about a 16-year-old student who was repeatedly raped by her English teacher at Thacher. In addition, the report notes that even the former head of the school, who died in 2014, faced accusations of inappropriate touching and making improper comments.

The detailed, 91-page report was compiled by an outside law firm following a months-long investigation into the sexual abuse, molestation, harassment, groping, and rape at the Thacher School over the last forty years.

Lieff Cabraser represents survivors across the U.S. who have been victimized by sexual violence and sexual abuse. We treat every client with care, respect, and compassion as we bring our comprehensive legal skills forward on each and every case. We have a dedicated team of lawyers, nurse consultants, and paralegals experienced in working with and listening to survivors who work individually with every client in every case to see that justice is won.

We approach each case with a client-focused team, working at the pace and with the support each client deserves. In California, we have challenged abuse alleged at private schools like The Branson School in Marin County, at the country’s most prestigious universities, and via online platforms that have facilitated the sexual exploitation of minors. We understand the incredible courage it takes to challenge institutions and leaders, and we applaud our clients for taking steps that make the world safer for other survivors and that help to stop others from being harmed.

Our current and previous sexual abuse cases include our work on behalf of female students who were abused by the university gynecologist at USC ($215 million settlement and sweeping university reforms) as well as cases against the NCAA, the University of Michigan, the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, the Branson School in California’s Marin County, J.B. v. G6 Hospitality LLC, Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California, and Doe v. Twitter (representing anti-trafficking non-profit amici). We are also involved in numerous non-public school, church, and institutional student and teen abuse cases, including investigations regarding conversion therapy providers and troubled teen institutions.

If a school, church, sports team, hospital, or another institution failed to protect you from abuse, we may be able to help you hold that institution accountable, and possibly seek compensation and practice changes to prevent that failure from happening again to you or others. We urge you to contact a survivor’s rights lawyer at Lieff Cabraser today about your potential case and recovery.

If you were the victim of abuse unrelated to a larger institution, representation by our firm may not be the best option for your situation. We encourage you to consider representation by other attorneys, as well as support from resources like RAINN.org, WomensLaw.org, MaleSurvivor.org, 1in6.org (another resource for male survivors), iSurvive.org, and AfterSilence.org.