Douglas A. Rappaport > Akin > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

In addition to covering conventional securities defense and shareholder derivative actions for public companies and their directors and officers, Akin is perhaps best known for its work on behalf of funds and investment advisers. In this context, investment fund litigation head Douglas Rappaport regularly advises hedge funds seeking to effect change through shareholder activism, as well as often defending them in securities-related cases, including with regard to short-swing trading litigation and insider trading. Stephen Baldini has strong connections among private equity sponsors and hedge funds, regularly defending them in securities fraud disputes as part of his broad business litigation offering  Dallas-based Scott Barnard is focused on issuer-side securities fraud matters, including those involving parallel SEC enforcement actions; he has developed particular skill advising distressed companies in ancillary securities proceedings and counseling public energy companies and energy master limited partnerships in securities suits in Delaware and Texas. Contentious restructuring lawyer Joseph Sorkin co-heads the team alongside Barnard and Rappaport. All named practitioners are based in New York unless otherwise noted.

Akin‘s New York-based shareholder engagement practice merges the expertise of a dedicated team with the experience of lawyers across the firm in corporate law, investment management and litigation to advise leading activist investor funds on domestic and global matters, helping clients affect board composition and leadership without disrupting growth and progress. The practice is led by Douglas Rappaport, per one client ‘a joy to work with’, whose skillset spans activist investment advisory work regarding board seat solicitation, corporate governance contests, and public relations and shareholder communications as well as regulatory and compliance issues, all the while being a top-class litigator. Also prominent in the practice is Jason Koenig, who advises on shareholder activism with particular experience in the context of special situations and distressed transactions.

Drawing on the firm’s international network, Akin represents clients in national and cross-border business-to-business and consumer-to-business disputes, in both litigation and arbitration. Based in New York, practice head Joseph Sorkin represents financial restructuring and investment fund clients in both state and federal courts. Scott Barnard in Dallas co-heads the complex commercial litigation, class actions and trial practice, with a strong track record in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits and FINRA securities arbitrations. Douglas Rappaport, also based in New York, heads the investment funds litigation practice and co-leads the shareholder activism team.