Mr Omar Jafri > Pomerantz LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile

Mr Omar Jafri

2126611100 ojafri@pomlaw.com

Work Department

Securities Litigation

Position

Of Counsel

Career

Omar Jafri joined Pomerantz in April 2016 and was elevated to Of Counsel in January 2021. Omar was selected to the National Law Journal’s inaugural list of Rising Stars of the Plaintiffs’ Bar under the age of 40 in 2021, a new category in the Elite Trial Lawyers competition.  The National Law Journal selected lawyers who “demonstrated repeated success in cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs over the last 18 months [and] possess a solid track record of client wins over the past three to five years.” In 2021 and 2022, Omar was recognized by Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star in Securities Litigation.

Omar played an integral role in In re Juno Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation, in which the Firm, as Lead Counsel, achieved a $24 million settlement for the Class in 2018.  Omar also played an integral role where Pomerantz was Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in In re Aveo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation ($18 million settlement, which was more than four times larger than the SEC’s fair fund recovery in its parallel litigation); Sudunagunta v. NantKwest, Inc. ($12 million settlement); Cooper v. Thoratec Corporation et. al. ($11.9 million settlement following a reversal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after the lower court repeatedly dismissed the case); Thomas v. MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp. Securities Litigation ($6.2 million settlement with majority shareholder, Avenue Capital); Schaeffer v. Nabriva Therapeutics plc et. al. ($3 million settlement); and In re Sequans Communications S.A. Securities Litigation ($2.75 million settlement).  Omar currently plays a key role in the Firm’s representation of investors in connection with several complex cases that involve billions of dollars in damages.

Through vigorous litigation, Omar has helped shape important precedents for all investors.  NantKwest was the first case in the United States to recognize statistical proof of traceability.  In Roofer’s Pension Fund v. Papa et. al., the District Court independently analyzed the market of a security traded on a foreign exchange and found that it met the standards of market efficiency to allow for class certification for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Morrison.  Nabriva was the first case in the Second Circuit to sustain a complaint based on the failure to disclose the FDA’s serious criticisms identified in a Form 483 letter.  And in Yan v. ReWalk Robotics et. al., while the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit disagreed on the merits, the Circuit held that it is erroneous to dismiss a case for lack of standing when a named plaintiff can be substituted with another class member, shutting the door on such defense tactics in any future case filed in that Circuit.

Omar started his legal career at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, and has litigated major disputes on behalf of institutional investors arising out of the credit crisis, including disputes related to Collateralized Debt Obligations, Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, Credit Default Swaps and other complex financial investments. Omar also represented the Examiner in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the largest in history at the time, and helped draft a report that identified colorable claims against Lehman’s senior executives for violating their fiduciary duties.  He also has a robust pro bono criminal defense practice and has represented indigent defendants charged with crimes that range from simple battery to arson and murder.

Before joining Pomerantz LLP, Omar was a law clerk to Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was also an associate at Jenner & Block LLP’s Chicago Office, where he represented clients in a wide variety of matters, including securities litigation, complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, and internal investigations.

Omar graduated, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was a Harno Scholar and a recipient of the Rickert Award for Excellence in Advocacy. He received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was on the Dean’s Honor List and the University Honors List.

Memberships

Omar is admitted to practice in Illinois, the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and the Northern District of Indiana, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Fifth, and  Ninth Circuits.

Education

University of Illinois College of Law