Delaware

Firm overview

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP is widely recognized worldwide as a leading law firm advising institutional investors on issues related to corporate governance, shareholder rights, and securities litigation. Since its founding in 1983, BLB&G has obtained over $37 billion in recoveries and achieved precedent-setting corporate governance reforms on behalf of its investor clients. Working with its clients, its cases have resulted in sweeping corporate governance reforms, changing deficient business practices and serving as models for public companies going forward. A distinguished group of trial-tested litigators, BLB&G has repeatedly and consistently earned high praise from the courts in which it practices, as well as the respect of the defense firms and insurance carriers it faces in court and across the negotiating table.

Securities Fraud Litigation: Recognized by industry observers as one of the leading law firms worldwide representing institutional investors in complex securities fraud litigation (“the biggest star in the firmament” – Financial Times; “one of the best, bar none” – Euromoney; “consistently achieving the highest returns for investors” – The National Law Journal), BLB&G is regularly appointed by the courts as lead counsel in securities class actions, and has distinguished itself by focusing on the representation of respected institutional investors in meritorious cases. The firm is extremely selective in its prosecutions, only pursuing matters where its clients have significant holdings, and is well known for “consistently bringing high impact cases” (Securities Class Action Services).

The firm’s reputation for trial readiness is well established. BLB&G has obtained many of the largest securities fraud recoveries on record, including:

• $6.2 billion recovery for investors in In re WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litigation
• $3.3 billion settlement in In re Cendant Corporation Securities Litigation
• $2.43 billion recovery in In re Bank of America Corp. Securities Litigation, by far the largest shareholder recovery related to the subprime meltdown and credit crisis
• Nearly $2 billion recovery for Allianz Structured Alpha investors through more than 20 direct actions
• $1.07 billion recovery in In re Nortel Networks Corporation Securities Litigation
• $1.06 billion settlement in In re Merck & Co., Inc. Securities Litigation
• $1.05 billion settlement in In re McKesson HBOC, Inc. Securities Litigation

Corporate Governance & Shareholder Rights: One of the first law firms to demonstrate that litigation can be an effective tool for stimulating positive change in failing corporate management settings, BLB&G is a well-recognized leader in giving shareholders a voice. The firm litigates cutting-edge fiduciary duty issues in order to maximize shareholder value, protect the shareholder franchise and improve corporate governance practices. BLB&G has also obtained billions of dollars in additional consideration for investors, representing them in merger and acquisition transactions structured to deprive shareholders of fair value and unjustly enrich management. For example:

• BLB&G prosecuted the unprecedented shareholder derivative litigation against Fox News parent 21st Century Fox, Inc. arising from the systemic sexual and workplace harassment at the embattled network. The case resulted in a landmark settlement with one of the largest financial recoveries – $90 million – ever obtained in a pure corporate board oversight dispute; and the first ever Board-level independent  watch-dog of its kind – the “Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council” of experts expected to serve as a model for public companies in all industries.
• In the Allergan, Inc. Proxy Violation litigation alleging an unprecedented insider trading  scheme by billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management fund and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc, BLB&G  obtained a $250 million settlement for Allergan investors after a three-year legal battle, creating precedent to prevent similar such schemes in the future.
• In the UnitedHealth Derivative Litigation, BLB&G obtained an unprecedented clawback of approximately $920 million of ill-gotten pay from the company’s former officers and directors – the largest such recovery in history

SPAC Litigation: As part of the BLB&G’s mission to protect shareholder interests and police securities markets, the firm is actively prosecuting a variety of claims challenging misconduct related to special purpose acquisition companies, or “SPACs.” BLB&G’s leadership in this space includes claims against SPAC sponsors, boards of directors, and other related parties, seeking redress for investors harmed by fraud, conflicts of interest, and statutory violations, among other things. Our interdisciplinary team of attorneys—supported by fraud examiners, private investigators, and financial analysts—has extensive experience prosecuting securities fraud claims, fiduciary duty claims, and other shareholder litigation that is directly applicable to the burgeoning SPAC space.

Asset Protection & Fraud Monitoring: BLB&G is the trusted securities fraud monitoring counsel for hundreds of public pension funds and institutional investors worldwide. The firm provides comprehensive analysis of the financial and business media, as well as all securities and shareholder derivative litigation to provide its institutional clients with complete reporting on potential claims that may impact their holdings.

Distressed Debt & Bankruptcy: BLB&G represents creditors’ committees, bankruptcy trustees and investors in fixed income, high yield and distressed debt securities. The firm has an excellent track record of seeking redress for losses under the securities laws in actions under state and federal law against prior management, auditors, bankers and other advisors for various forms of misconduct, prosecuting claims on a contingent basis on behalf of institutions and individuals.

Commercial Litigation: BLB&G represents institutions and individuals on a contingency basis in a wide range of complex commercial litigation involving allegations of breach of contract, accountants’ liability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and negligence. The firm litigates cases arising from private placements of debt or equity securities, derivatives and other specialty financial instruments; and prosecutes bankruptcy claims on behalf of creditors and litigation trusts or debtors-in-possession. BLB&G has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors, public and private companies and corporations, bankruptcy trustees, creditor committees and a variety of other business entities while facing down the most powerful and well-funded law firms and defendants in the country. For example, on behalf of the bankruptcy trustee, the firm prosecuted BFA Liquidation Trust v. Arthur Andersen, arising from the largest nonprofit bankruptcy in U.S. history, and obtained a $217 million recovery from Andersen for the Trust. Combined with other recoveries, the total amounted to more than 70 percent of the Trust’s losses.

Firm overview

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 400 attorneys in 16 offices across the country. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Litigation team, including approximately 200 litigators, is routinely in court handling complex, high profile matters and bet-the-company lawsuits. The team is known for its success, having yielded a highly effective and accomplished track record of results including favorable jury verdicts, dismissals and summary judgments, creative settlements, and innovative solutions to disputes of all sizes and sophistication. Our litigators have experience in a vast amount of federal and state courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forums throughout the country. They have substantive experience in a full range of litigation matters ranging from commercial real estate disputes, high profile higher education investigations, construction dispute resolutions, and complex commercial contract litigation. Our litigators provide early case assessments and consider creative solutions to directly address the attendant risks and costs of litigation. Whatever the circumstance, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr litigators are ready to offer immediate, trusted, and experienced counsel. A few highlights of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s litigation experience include:

Real Estate Litigation
When disputes arise concerning real estate transactions, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr's Real Estate Litigation Practice combines real estate knowledge and litigation skills to provide advice and representation to both regional and national clients. Our experienced attorneys handle all types of commercial real estate disputes, including: land use appeals, acquisitions that fail to close, litigation over real estate arising out of bankruptcy proceedings, "takings" cases, landlord-tenant issues, disputes between brokers and buyers, real estate tax assessment appeals, and title disputes.

Higher Education Litigation 
The legal issues facing colleges and universities are more challenging than ever, reaching every corner of campus life with increasing complexity. From discipline to drones, Title IX to taxes, FERPA to financing, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr has a deep bench of lawyers who wrestle with these issues every day, including acting as general counsel to small colleges and universities without in-house lawyers. In the past few years, our Higher Education Practice has rendered service in some of the nation’s highest profile matters, including multi-campus university systems in large-scale government investigations and in proactive compliance reviews and audits (Clery Act, Title IX, Title IV, Title II, minors on campus) and defending institutions in front-page news lawsuits, including allegations of hazing, child abuse, sexual violence, student death, suicide, faculty dismissal, racial discrimination, ADA discrimination, and more.

Insurance Litigation
The Insurance Practice represents insurance industry clients in litigation in the United States and abroad. We litigate in many forums – including private arbitration and in federal and state courts – and in various substantive areas, including coverage for environmental, asbestos and other mass tort liabilities, coverage under professional liability, E&O, D&O, fiduciary claims and other insuring provisions, and claims and matters relating to life insurance and long term care insurance. Our insurance litigators have also represented a number of large, national insurers in putative class action suits challenging a variety of different business practices in the sale of insurance policies, billing and collection practices, claims administration and payment practices and policy administration practices. 

Construction Litigation
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Construction Practice provides experienced counsel throughout the life cycle of projects – from planning and contracting through project performance and dispute resolution – to clients across the country and around the globe. Due to our extensive knowledge on construction – ranging from project-specific matters to ongoing developments – our team is well equipped to handle disputes of any variety. We regularly practice before the Agency Boards of Contract Appeals, and in various forms of alternative dispute resolution. We have prosecuted and defended GAO, GSBCA, EPA and DOT protests, as well as Small Business Administration Size Appeals, and a variety of labor matters. Our conflict resolution experience includes representations in allegations of defective pricing, defective design, delay and inefficiency claims and time extensions, payment and performance bond sureties claims, among others.


White Collar and Government Litigation
Whether it is a search warrant, interrogation, subpoena, grand jury appearance, whistleblower claim or civil investigative demand, our White Collar and Government Litigation attorneys are prepared to respond quickly, conduct internal investigations, master the facts, and provide trustworthy and reliable counsel. As former federal prosecutors and regulators our attorneys have direct, practical experience to help our clients enhance their compliance procedures and to rigorously defend them against government investigations. We regularly handle ethics and compliance-related investigations involving a variety of regulations including: the False Claims Act (FCA), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), cybersecurity, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), U.S. government contracts, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, securities, and government lobbying activities, among others.

Updated Oct 2021

Firm overview

With more than 55 years of experience, Labaton Sucharow is a tenacious advocate for investors and consumers. The Firm offers complex litigation services in the areas of securities, corporate governance and shareholder rights law, consumer, cybersecurity, and data privacy, as well as whistleblower representation. Labaton Sucharow represents many of the largest institutional investors worldwide and has secured billions of dollars in landmark recoveries. The Firm’s successful reputation is built not only on its team of more than 70 attorneys, but also on its industry-leading in-house investigators, financial analysts, and forensic accountants.

Main Areas of Practice: 

Securities Litigation: Labaton Sucharow is a highly regarded securities litigation powerhouse that provides global securities portfolio monitoring and advisory services to more than 250 institutional investors with collective assets under management in excess of $2.5 trillion. Through these actions, Labaton Sucharow has recovered more than $18 billion in the aggregate for investors. At every stage, from investigation to the litigation of claims, we work closely with our clients to provide the information and analysis necessary to fully protect their investments. The detailed nature of Labaton Sucharow’s methods for evaluating filed and proposed actions is reflected in the results we have achieved prosecuting class actions. The Firm recently secured victories in In re SCANA Corporation Securities Litigation ($192.5 million recovery); In re Nielsen Holdings PLC Securities Litigation ($73 million recovery); City of Warren Police and Fire Retirement System v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ($39 million recovery); and Avila v. LifeLock, Inc. ($20 million recovery). Along with securing newsworthy recoveries, the Firm has a track record for successfully prosecuting complex cases from discovery to trial to verdict. “Labaton Sucharow has a deep and experienced team in the securities litigation space. The expertise they display gives us a high degree of confidence in the successful litigation of our class action cases.” We have been named Securities Litigation Firm of the Year by The National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers and Securities Practice Group of the Year by Law360, among other accolades.

Corporate Governance and Shareholder Rights Litigation: Our breadth of experience in shareholder advocacy has also taken us to Delaware, where we press for corporate reform through our Wilmington office. These efforts have already earned us a string of enviable successes, including one of the largest derivative settlements ever achieved in the Court of Chancery, a $153.75 million settlement on behalf of shareholders in In re Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Derivative Litigation. Our Delaware office has earned recognition as Shareholder Rights Litigation Firm of the Year by The National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers and as a Delaware Powerhouse by Law360.

Consumer, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy Practice: Labaton Sucharow is dedicated to putting our expertise to work on behalf of consumers who have been wronged by fraud in the marketplace. Built on our world-class litigation skills, deep understanding of federal and state rules and regulations, and an unwavering commitment to fairness, our Consumer, Cybersecurity, and Data Privacy Practice focuses on protecting consumers and improving the standards of business conduct through litigation and reform. Our team achieved a historic $650 million settlement in the In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation matter—the largest consumer data privacy settlement ever, and one of the first cases asserting biometric privacy rights of consumers under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). 

Non-U.S. Securities Litigation: Labaton Sucharow’s Non-U.S. Securities Litigation Practice is comprehensive, covering all aspects of non-U.S. actions. To this end, the Firm not only identifies all non-U.S. actions and verifies a client’s eligibility but also performs a thorough investigation and analysis for each action to which our clients have exposure— the depth of which is wholly unique to the Firm. Labaton Sucharow serves, or has served, as liaison counsel for clients in more than 30 such matters and has helped secure significant recoveries for clients.

Whistleblower Representation: Our whistleblower representation practice leverages the Firm’s securities litigation expertise to protect and advocate for individuals who report violations of the federal securities laws. 

Updated Sep 2022

Firm overview

Litigation Practice: The Paul, Weiss Litigation Department is unparalleled in achieving successful results. The firm’s lawyers regularly go up against the most skilled adversaries in the world, winning decisive trial, arbitration and appellate victories, and we have vast experience successfully handling a range of regulatory and enforcement inquiries and internal investigations. Clients include Fortune 50 corporations, and well-known financial services, energy, technology, sports, biopharmaceutical, medical device, media, asset management, insurance, industrial and other companies. 

We are trial lawyers, not just litigators. Our ability and confidence to go to trial and win, no matter how great the stakes, is a key weapon in our arsenal. Our unmatched track record of success at trial also helps us eliminate our clients’ most damaging exposures and reach highly favorable settlements. We also play the long game from day one, preparing to win at trial and building an evidentiary record to succeed on appeal.

In addition to our deep bench of courtroom veterans, our team features numerous former senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the N.Y. Attorney General’s office and the White House, among others.

Our lawyers have litigated in virtually every forum, from state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to domestic and international arbitral panels and other administrative tribunals. Many of our matters cross borders, making us particularly effective in matters involving multiple jurisdictions. We are also sought out for our sound business counsel and proactive advice on managing litigation and regulatory risk.

Securities Litigation: Paul, Weiss is widely recognized as having the nation’s preeminent securities litigation and regulatory practice. For decades, our lawyers have guided global corporations, financial institutions, boards and individuals through ‘bet-the-company’ securities-related crises, winning trials, prevailing on motions or negotiating favorable resolutions.

White Collar & Regulatory Defense: Government investigations of corporations or individuals pose unique threats and require unique skills. Clients rely on Paul, Weiss to protect their businesses and reputations and to manage the behind-the-scenes interplay among competing regulators and enforcement agencies.

Internal Investigations: Companies turn to us to handle their most sensitive, threatening internal investigations. We have extensive experience conducting investigations on behalf of companies, boards, audit committees and special litigation committees in response to shareholder demands.

Antitrust: We represent many of the world’s largest companies in the full range of U.S. antitrust litigation, counselling and investigations; clearance matters; cartel matters; and advocacy before regulators. With a deep bench of former antitrust officials and first-class trial lawyers, we handle matters involving significant reputational and financial exposure. 

Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation: Led by one of the nation’s preeminent Supreme Court advocates, we handle high-impact appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts, regularly winning appeals in cases of critical national and business interest.

Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation: We are among the leading firms representing clients in high-stakes disputes arising in the transactional context in multiple state and federal courts—including in the Delaware Court of Chancery, where we have won several recent landmark decisions.

Intellectual Property Litigation: Our lawyers are well versed in the advanced scientific and technical aspects of patent law and have successfully represented clients in scores of enterprise-threatening patent litigations. We are also on the front lines helping clients protect and enhance their IP rights.

Class Actions: We have achieved extraordinary results at trial and in settlement negotiations in our clients’ most threatening class actions, including in consumer, employment, insurance, mass torts and product liability disputes. 

Crisis Management: When an adverse incident threatens to cause a full-blown crisis, we provide the multidisciplinary advice needed to stabilize the situation and allow the company to get back to business. We provide comprehensive counsel on all manner of crises, enabling clients to take informed action to mitigate fallout.

Bankruptcy Litigation: We work hand in hand with our preeminent Restructuring Department to ensure the best possible outcomes for clients facing challenging situations in the context of a bankruptcy, out-of-court restructuring or insolvency, whether domestic or foreign.

Cybersecurity & Data Protection: We help clients manage and respond to fast- moving data breach situations, advising them on effective, proactive strategies to reduce business risk and in the defense of related litigation and regulatory enforcement matters.

Cryptocurrency & Blockchain: We leverage a deep familiarity with both the technology and the evolving regulatory climate of digital assets to help clients navigate enforcement challenges and mitigate legal risks, including anti-money laundering, sanctions and other financial crimes risks.

International Arbitration: The world’s largest companies call on us to resolve their most complex and high-stakes arbitrations. We handle an array of international arbitrations in a broad range of arbitral forums.

Civil Rights and Racial Equity Audits: Our practice is among the nation’s first dedicated legal teams focused on conducting racial equity audits and other civil rights audits—proactive, powerful tools that help ensure that companies and investment firms are delivering on their commitments, while mitigating potential legal, reputational and business risk.

Updated Aug 2022