Led from New York by Henry Klehm and with vast geographical resources throughout the length and breadth of the country, Jones Day is well-placed to clients on big-ticket securities class actions, irrespective of geographical location. The ‘incredibly responsive’ team is also well-equipped to advise on standalone or parallel agency investigations/enforcement actions, with access to numerous former agency officials adding further credibility and insight to work in the space. Former senior SEC attorney, Dallas-based David Peavler is one such practitioner, with his arrival at the beginning of 2023 bolstering the practice, including in relation to work for energy companies subject to SEC regulatory scrutiny. Praised for his willingness to ’think outside the box’, Cleveland-based Geoffrey Ritts is key to the firm’s success at helping companies and their officers and directors defend against claims of securities fraud and derivative shareholder actions, regularly achieving an early dismissal of cases under the heightened pleading standards laid out by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA). Other key practitioners include ‘phenomenal’ San Francisco-based attorney John Tang, who has niche expertise defending Chinese companies against alleged US securities law violations; ’capable and hardworking’ Atlanta-based attorney Mike McConnell; New York-based Nina Yadeva; and Marjorie Duffy, who excels at handling derivative actions before the Delaware Court of Chancery from her office in Columbus.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'The Jones Day team is incredibly responsive and amazingly practical. I can always count on them to come up with creative business-oriented solutions and advice.'
  • 'Geoffrey Ritts is open to outside the box approaches to client representation.'
  • 'Mike McConnell is capable and hardworking.'
  • 'John Tang is a phenomenal attorney. He not only is truly brilliant, but also amazingly practical and responsive.'
  • 'The team is incredibly efficient, intelligent, and practical. Candidly, I have not seen such a perfect combination of business-oriented and technical savvy.'
  • 'John Tang is one of the best attorneys I have encountered in my career. He takes the time to explain complex legal issues in a clear/concise way to not only lawyers, but also business people.'

Key clients

  • United States Steel Corporation
  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
  • Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
  • Brookdale Senior Living
  • FirstEnergy Corp.
  • restor3d, Inc.
  • Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.
  • Corpay, Inc.
  • Flowers Foods, Inc
  • IVERIC bio, Inc.

Work highlights

  • Representing officers and directors of FirstEnergy in securities class action and shareholder derivative litigation relating to a public-corruption investigation concerning the Ohio legislature.
  • Represents the former CEO of a multinational mining company in a case brought by the SEC, prevailing on an interlocutory appeal where the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of scheme-liability claims in one of the most important securities law decisions this year.
  • Represents Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. and certain members of its board of directors in class action and derivative litigation involving Hertz’s largest stockholder and its affiliated directors, arising out of a stock buyback program in 2021 and 2022.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

John Tang

Practice head

Henry Klehm

Other key lawyers

Geoffrey Ritts; Mike McConnell; John Tang; Nina Yadava; Marjorie Duffy; Walter Davis; David Peavler; Ashley Heintz; Robert Watts; Sarah Efronson