Based in in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco, California, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is highly regarded as one of the leading players in securities litigation, its 27-partner practice having amassed a strong track record in representing states attorneys’ general offices, as well as public and private entities, including municipalities, state agencies, mutual fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and multi-employer welfare funds. In the Radnor office, the practice is led by seven respected partners, with David Kessler and Darren Check the most active in this area of law. Together, they negotiated a $450m settlement for Sjunde AP-Fonden in the long-running litigation concerning misrepresentations made about the carrying value of Kraft Heinz assets, the sustainability of its margins, and the success of the company’s cost-cutting strategy in the wake of its 2015 merger. Sharan Nirmul and Richard Russo, Jr. are the lead partners in a new securities fraud class action concerning representations and omissions made by former executives of Signature Bank and its auditor KPMG about the bank’s emergent risk profile and deficient management of those risks that ultimately caused it to collapse in March 2023. Jennifer Joost and Gregory Castaldo also played key roles in that case. Matthew Mustokoff and Andrew Zivitz, who are involved in the high-profile case In re Celgene Corp. Securities Litigation, and key partner Naumon Amjed also play prominent roles in the practice.

The securities litigation practice at Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP in New York has undergone many changes in the last year, as the mantle of leading the practice has been passed on a younger generation. Firm chair Christopher Keller and head of litigation Jonathan Gardner still oversee the practice, but the leadership role is now in the hands of highly respected litigators Carol Villegas and Michael Canty. Clients note that they are ‘very responsive to any questions that arise, and handle matters in a very professional manner’. Villegas, is currently leading a securities class action against PayPal Holdings, Inc., which alleges that the company touted strong growth to get new accounts but was fueling this growth by essentially paying people to sign up, and that ‘bot farms’ were used to create fake accounts. Working with Eric Belfi, Villegas also secured a $73m recovery in a case against data analytics company Nielsen, which was alleged to have misrepresented the strength of its consumer purchasing measurement business, and the impact of European data privacy regulations. Canty’s recent track record includes working with Michael Rogers to secure a $125m settlement in a case against Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Up-and-coming partner James Christie also plays a key role in the practice. Thomas Dubbs and James Johnson recently retired from the firm.

MoloLamken LLP is a national litigation boutique that handles a broad range of complex litigation, ranging from securities fraud cases to white-collar defense matters. Steven Molo in New York leads the practice and is known as a compelling courtroom advocate, which helps him to reach significant settlements, often on the eve of trial. He recently achieved a $14m settlement in a long-running 10b-5 securities fraud stockholder class action against Dakota Plains, which transported oil developed from fracking in North Dakota to the coasts. Molo and Washington DC-based partners Robert Kry  and Lauren Weinstein are currently representing Deutsche Bank National Trust Company in one of more than a dozen suits that the firm is handling for securitization trustees against sponsors and originators of defective subprime mortgage loan securitizations in federal and state courts. In this case, investors lost more than $495m. New York-based Justin Ellis worked with Molo to assist Contrarian Capital Management LLC with its breach of contract actions arising out of the failure by Venezuela and its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to pay principal and interest on debt in excess of $1bn.

‘The team were easy to work with, detailed in preparation and punctual', say clients of Pomerantz LLP, noting that the lawyers ‘give clear advice and their reporting is second to none'. The firm’s track record hinges on the $3bn settlement it secured for investors in Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, which remains the fifth-largest securities fraud settlement in US history. In the New York office, Jeremy A. Lieberman leads the ‘efficient and attentive’ group, in which Emma Gilmore is among the standout partners. Together, they secured $26,5m for lead plaintiff Yun Wang in a securities class action brought against Deutsche Bank for its misstatements about the efficiency of its anti-money laundering and Know-Your-Customer controls. Tamar Weinrib is also recognised as an ‘exceptionally well-prepared, organized, highly competent, and effective’ partner, having defeated motions to dismiss in Theodore v. Purecycle Technologies, Inc. et al., which concerns a de-SPAC transaction in 2021. Michael J. Wernke and Austin Van are also key members of the practice. Head of client services Jennifer Pafiti, who divides her time between the Los Angeles and London offices, ‘has excellent industry knowledge and her personable style makes her a go-to advisor’.

Berman Tabacco is active in many fora across the US through its offices in San Francisco, California, and Boston, Massachusetts, and acting predominantly for state pension funds. Nicole Lavallee, who is managing partner of the San Francisco office, and Leslie Stern in Boston are the lead partners. Founding partner Joseph Tabacco in San Francisco is highly acclaimed for his work on anti-trust and securities fraud cases. Working with Lavallee, Tabacco helped to secure settlements with four foreign defendants for Utah Retirement Systems  in In re Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities Litigation, which concerned a fraudulent scheme in which the company’s founder and former officers and directors allegedly overstated the company’s income and revenue and issued false and misleading financial statements. Also in San Francisco, Daniel Barenbaum is ‘super-responsive and incredibly competent’, leading one client to remark that ‘if you’ve got a fire drill, Daniel is the lawyer to call’. Barenbaum worked with Lavallee to secure a settlement in Hayden v. Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., on behalf of Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association.

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP handles both defense and plaintiff work in the securities litigation space, and clients note that the firm is ‘a cut above the rest’. The firm is a frequent adviser to investment banks, public pension funds, Fortune 100 corporations, and high-net-worth individuals in high-stakes securities litigation. Led by John Zach in New York, whose ‘diligence, expertise and warm human nature is nothing short of world-class’, and Jonathan Sherman in Washington DC, the practice ‘exercises great compassion, creative critical thinking and strategization’. Matthew Schwartz in New York is a standout partner, having played a major role in securing a settlement in AIMCO CLO 10 LTD et al. v. Revlon Inc. et al., which significantly increased client recoveries compared to the plan of reorganization following Revlon’s bankruptcy. Marc Ayala and up-and-coming partner Brooke Alexander, who work from the Armonk office, play central roles in the practice. Both are key to the representation of investors in cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the founder of which is alleged to have schemed to take advantage of consumers and costing them $11bn.

Gibbs & Bruns LLP in Houston continues to handle cases related to mortgage-backed securities (MBS), the area in which it made its presence felt in the securities litigation market. Key partner David Sheeren recently won significant victories for PIMCO in cases concerning the calculation of termination prices owed in “clean-up calls” for legacy RMBS trusts, with more than $100m at stake. Also on behalf of PIMCO, Sheeren also secured a $242m settlement of RMBS claims with First Franklin and Bank of America. Standout partner Kathy Patrick, who has a stellar track record in high-stakes matters, secured $40m for key client Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in breach of contract litigation against Wells Fargo concerning the sale of Occidental shares. Partner Sam Cruse remains a prominent advisor to clients in the financial services and energy sectors. Cruse worked closely with Patrick on the $800m Libor suit against nine banks on behalf of Fannie Mae arising from alleged manipulation of bank borrowing rates.

New York firm Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP is active for both plaintiffs and defendants in securities litigation, frequently using this dual role to successfully negotiate settlements. The firm has long been involved in matters arising from mortgage-backed securities and continues to handle work in that area, including acting for Wall Street investor Carl Icahn in a claim against Rialto Capital Advisors alleging breach of contract and fraud in connection with the servicing of a CMBS trust that resulted in a loss of almost $73m. Michael Hanin, who leads the practice with Sheron Korpus and Stephen Tountas, took the lead in that case. Hanin also acted for Waterfall Asset Management affiliate Cascade Funding in a case arising from its purchase from Bancorp of a pool of $900m in mortgage loan assets, to be funded through a securitization in a CRE CLO, ultimately recovering $13m for the client. Name partner Marc Kasowitz, a pioneer of high-value securities litigation on behalf of hedge funds, international banks and sovereigns, remains active in the practice.

Litigation boutique Selendy Gay PLLC in New York acts for both plaintiffs and defendants in securities litigation, drawing on the experience of practice heads Philippe Selendy and Sean Baldwin, who built their reputations in matters concerning complex financial products including mortgage-backed securities. Together, they recently achieved an $855m settlement for Cerberus Capital Management in a breach of contract action against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce concerning the bank’s failure to pay back an investment in US housing-related assets. The firm is also making its presence felt in emerging areas of securities litigation, notably cryptocurrency cases. Selendy is representing plaintiffs in a putative class action based on the purported stablecoin USDT, claiming that investors bought into the market at a time when the price of the assets had been artificially inflated by defendants. Key partner Andrew Dunlap played a key role in that case. Also notable is Jordan Goldstein, who is leading 12 proposed class actions on behalf of investors who traded on multiple digital exchanges including Binance, which allegedly offered and sold billions of dollars of unregistered digital tokens.

The Rosen Law Firm in New York joins the ranking this year having built up a strong track record of high-value settlements in landmark cases. A prime example is the $250m settlement it secured in a multi-district certified class action against Alibaba arising out of the company’s issuance of materially false and misleading business information in connection with its IPO. Laurence Rosen and Phillip Kim led that matter. The eight-partner practice, which focuses almost exclusively on securities litigation, is led by Noel Chandonnet, who provides portfolio monitoring services to public and union pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, endowments and family offices, both domestically and overseas. The Alibaba case continues the firm’s track record of success in cases against companies based in China, though it also handles significant domestic matters, a key example being its work to secure a proposed $48m settlement in Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund Securities Litigation. The firm is also sole lead counsel in a class action against Robinhood Financial alleging market manipulation arising out of the historic “Meme Stock” events in 2021.