Deborah Birnbach > Goodwin > Boston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Litigation centered on the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries forms the core of Goodwin‘s M&A disputes practice, which defends clients in the Delaware Court of Chancery, federal courts and arbitration proceedings brought by shareholders who claim they did not receive adequate compensation from M&A deals. Boston-based Caroline Bullerjahn and Deborah Birnbach handle an array of M&A and securities litigation, and the latter achieved a notable success in 2024, securing the dismissal of a shareholder action against Qualtrics in a class action that alleged it gave favorable treatment to Silver Lake over other prospective buyers. In New York, Douglas Flaum continues to defend Cedar Realty Trust in an appeal brought by plaintiffs alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty in relation to a merger with another REIT, while Jordan Weiss assisted Shareholder Representative Services, a former securityholder in Freshly, Inc. in a claim brought against Honeybuyer, alleging it failed to honor the terms of the merger agreement for Freshly. Jonathan Shapiro, who is based in San Francisco, represented the former head of legal at SVB subsidiary Boston Private Bank, in a class action brought under the Securities Act 1933.

Drawing upon deep industry knowledge in core firmwide areas of sector strength, Goodwin is very effective at representing life sciences, tech, real estate and financial services clients in securities litigation and derivative actions in state and federal cases throughout the country. Boston-based Deborah Birnbach has significant expertise handling both private litigation and regulatory investigations, regularly advising companies, as well as their directors and officers, in securities and shareholder litigation and corporate governance matters. In New York, Daniel Roeser has vast experience for an eclectic client base that includes public companies, executives and banks, in the defense of often cutting-edge securities litigation matters, including as it relates to SPACs, cryptocurrency and high frequency trading. Other key members of the team include New York based Douglas Flaum, who regularly handles complex securities litigation in the real estate sector, including for REITs; San Francisco-based Jonathan Shapiro, who is skilled at guiding tech-focused companies (including fintech entities) respond to securities class actions and government investigations and is a key member of the firm’s growing litigation presence in California; and in Boston, Caroline Bullerjahn, who is adept at defending biotech/life sciences companies in securities fraud litigation in courts throughout the country.