By Casey Sullivan

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Delaware shareholder litigation firm Grant & Eisenhofer has hired a veteran class action attorney to open an office in Chicago, the firm announced on Monday.

Chicago attorney Adam Levitt, 43, who specializes in representing consumers in product liability and deceptive marketing cases, joined Grant & Eisenhofer as a director. He moved over from the New York law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, where he practiced for 13 years.

Levitt currently is handling a class action against Porsche in which a group of car buyers claimed the carmaker failed to disclose that its Cayenne vehicles were equipped with defective cooling equipment, which exposed them to the risk of engine damage. Levitt is also representing a group of consumers who have sued ConAgra Foods on grounds that the food company falsely advertised its Wesson line of cooking oils as "all natural."

The office in downtown Chicago, which Levitt will lead, will be Grant & Eisenhofer's fourth nationwide.

Grant & Eisenhofer, which was founded in 1997, traditionally has represented investors and shareholders in class action disputes against companies including General Motors Corporation, DaimlerChrysler and Delphi Corporation for alleged financial improprieties.

Jay Eisenhofer, the firm's founding partner, said the firm now will begin taking on consumer cases more frequently. He said the firm has had increased demand from consumers interested in suing, which sparked the opening of the Chicago office.

Levitt said he chose to join Grant & Eisenhofer because it "is not a firm that files garden variety cases."

A Wolf Haldenstein spokeswoman released a statement on behalf of the firm's partner Fred Isquith, who wished Levitt the best.

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