With ‘the talent and resources to aggressively pursue a securities class action through trial and appeal’, New York-based plaintiff litigation heavyweight Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP maintains its market-leading reputation among institutional investors, regularly securing “eye watering” settlements in high-profile cases. Seasoned litigator Salvatore Graziano is frequently at the sharp end of many of the highest-profile cases handled by the team, and is currently playing a leadership role for plaintiffs in both the Boeing and Silicon Valley Bank cases. Other key securities fraud litigators include Max Berger; former federal prosecutor Hannah Ross, who has been key to uncovering litigation opportunities for institutional investors recovering losses incurred on securities purchased in international markets; ‘smart and driven’ Los Angeles-based attorney Jonathan Uslaner, who has excellent credibility before the Californian courts on class actions and opt-out cases; Rebecca Boon, who has a focus on effecting social change in the workplace, including in the context of shareholder derivative actions related to sexual harassment; and Katherine Sinderson, who continues to build a strong track record assisting investors with securities fraud class actions, including those arising from transactions and alleged misleading statements. The firm is also increasingly active in the shareholder derivative space, with the ‘smart and tough’ Jeroen van Kwawegen responsible for leading the firm’s efforts on the fiduciary duty front. Alongside ‘highly skilled’ Wilmington-based advocate Greg Varallo, who heads up the firm’s Delaware Chancery Court offering, van Kwawegen recently secured a high-profile victory for an individual Tesla stockholder in persuading the court to nullify Elon Musk’s entire $55bn compensation package.  All named practitioners are based in New York, unless otherwise indicated.

The ‘skilled and dedicated’ team at ‘sophisticated high-end’ New York-based plaintiff firm Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP has an excellent relationship with institutional investors. Working closely with in-house investigators, the firm’s rigorous evaluation process ensures that cases that do proceed have been closely vetted and comprehensively worked up, ensuring that the team achieves an excellent success rate in clearing the high pleading standards associated with a motion to dismiss. With a large number of former government attorneys among its ranks, the firm also displays a very prosecutorial mindset, ensuring when a case does proceed past a motion to dismiss/summary judgment stage typically the team secures large settlements for clients. Former prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York Michael Canty has vast trial experience, which has translated to a series of excellent successes in private practice, including his work alongside the ‘extremely thoughtful’ Jonathan Gardner for Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho in achieving a $125m settlement in a high-profile securities fraud case against Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Alfred Fatale III has developed an excellent reputation in handling Section 11 IPO cases; he recently secured a $200m settlement for Boston Retirement System and the Class in relation to the Uber IPO. The ‘attentive, professional, and responsive’ Carol Villegas has a flourishing domestic practice which includes ongoing securities litigation matters against Boeing, PayPal and DocuSign, inter alia, and has also been pivotal to the firm’s increased outreach for institutional investors in Europe. The arrival in June 2024 of Lauren Ormsbee from Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP further strengthens the team that is co-headed by Gardner and firm chairman Christopher Keller.

The nationwide team at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is well-placed to handle large-scale securities litigation for public and multi-employer pension funds, fund managers, banks and insurance companies, irrespective of geographical location. The team deploys a trial-ready approach, which ensures that it regularly secures high-value settlements in many of the highest-profile cases in the market. In 2024, it secured some of the largest US securities fraud recoveries, including the $490m settlement secured against Apple by San Francisco partner Shawn Williams in his role as lead counsel for injured investors stemming from claims that the tech giant misled investors about weakening demand for iPhones in China in 2019. San Diego-based founding partner Darren Robbins also remains at the forefront of many of the highest-profile successes for the firm, not only from a monetary perspective, but also often in the context of bringing about corporate governance reform. Also based in San Diego, Danielle Myers, who is responsible for overseeing the firm’s portfolio monitoring program, and Brian Cochran, who is particularly skilled at handling case investigation and initiation and lead plaintiff issues arising under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, are key members of the team, with both recently handling a number of cutting-edge matters regarding cryptocurrency and SPACs. Based in New York, San Diego and Florida, respectively, name partners Samuel Rudman; Michael Dowd; and Paul Geller co-head the team alongside Robbins.

Securities fraud and shareholder rights issues are a key element of Bernstein Liebhard LLP‘s service to aggrieved investors, and during the course of its over two decades in business, the firm has successfully secured a raft of high-profile settlements. Team head Stanley Bernstein has an excellent track record in the field, and as well as frequently securing substantial monetary settlements he has, over his long and illustrious career, also ensured corporate governance reforms for aggrieved minority shareholders. Bernstein recently achieved a high-profile victory alongside Michael Bigin, securing a $36m settlement for the City of Atlanta Firefighters’ Pension Fund resolving claims that Taro Pharmaceuticals misled investors about alleged generic drug price-fixing that led to a drop in stock price upon news of a DOJ antitrust investigation. Stephanie Beige is also recommended. All lawyers named are based in New York.

The team at Cohen Milstein, which is led from Washington DC by Steven Toll and Julie Reiser, is very active in the financial services sector, regularly handling complex market manipulation cases, including in relation to allegations of spoofing and short selling. New York-based partner Laura Posner is pivotal to the firm’s success in relation to both auditor fraud and market manipulation cases, and has additional insight gleaned through her previous role as Bureau Chief for the top securities regulator in New Jersey. As well as handling class action securities work, Reiser leads the firm’s fiduciary duty/corporate governance efforts, successfully challenging toxic workplace environments through innovative shareholder derivative actions. New York-based attorney Michael Eisenkraft is also recommended, particularly for his work in prosecuting innovative market manipulation and collusion cases in the financial markets.

Primarily based from New York, with a presence in Delaware, Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. has a strong reputation on behalf of public and private institutional investors in securities class actions (and opt-out cases), as well as shareholder derivative matters. The firm stands out for its trial-ready approach, with Daniel Berger one of the few attorneys in the country to have tried securities fraud cases to jury verdict during his career. Berger co-heads the team alongside Jay Eisenhofer, with both regularly teaming up to act on the highest-profile matters, including successfully securing a $360m settlement for an investor class in relation to GE’s allegedly materially false or misleading statements and omissions, inducing investors to buy stock at artificially inflated prices. Caitlyn Moyna has a broad securities litigation and shareholder derivative practice is regularly engaged in cases involving ESG considerations. Wilmington-based practitioners Rebecca Musarra and Kelly Tucker have a focus on shareholder derivative actions and corporate governance and regularly appear before the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Led from the firm’s new San Diego office by Patrick Daniels and Roxana Pierce, following their move in 2023 from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, the securities litigation team at DiCello Levitt continues to perform well in the market. A particular niche is the team’s work on international matters, both for foreign institutional investors in US-based securities class actions, and for aggrieved investors seeking recourse in foreign jurisdictions. Brian O’Mara is another key member of the San Diego-based team and is skilled at handling complex securities, antitrust, and consumer protection litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country.

New York-based litigation boutique Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP has insight into work for plaintiffs engaged in a range of securities-related litigation, including for hedge fund clients in opt-out actions.  Stephen Tountas, one of many partners who also has experience representing defendants, is currently acting for Northwestern Mutual and The Boeing Company’s retirement system, among others, in a direct securities fraud action against Valeant Pharmaceuticals. A complex dispute, the mandate involved a pioneering legal strategy to pursue opt-out claims under the New Jersey RICO act. Name partner Marc Kasowitz is an acclaimed trial lawyer whose broad commercial litigation expertise included a considerable amount of securities-related work arising from the 2008 financial crisis, including work for monoline insurers. Sheron Korpus heads the team. Michael Hanin has departed the firm.

‘Striving for the best interests of the funds and its members no matter how small’, Saxena White is popular among institutional investors due to its effective stewardship of their investments. The team, under the leadership of Steven Singer in New York, regularly achieves notable financial settlements as well as often effecting corporate governance changes. Florida-based co-founders Joseph White and Maya Saxena are also key members of the team, with both regularly engaged in the highest-profile mandates handled by the firm. Thomas Curry manages the firm’s Delaware office and is the main contact for clients in relation to corporate governance and shareholder rights matters.

Securities litigation and shareholder derivative lawsuits form an integral part of New York-based law firm Scott + Scott‘s work for plaintiffs, which include a roster of institutional investors including city, county, and state retirement systems and public pension funds. Supported by an in-house investigative department, the firm’s monitoring/case evaluation service – which recently expanded to also scrutinize potential global situations for European institutional investor clients and for select US funds with extensive worldwide exposure – is well-placed to identify potential violations of law adversely impacting overall fund values, ensuring an excellent success rate fending off motion to dismiss pleadings. Deborah Clark-Weintraub has achieved some notable settlements for clients, including in cases linked to misleading statements related to securities offerings and merger processes. The other primary contacts include Thomas Laughlin, who has had success in securities cases at trial and appellate level, and managing partner David Scott, who handles some securities work for institutional investors alongside his more active antitrust practice.