Delaware - Jurisdiction Review | Benchmark Litigation

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann

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.

Saul Ewing

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

Abrams & Bayliss

Firm overview

Abrams & Bayliss LLP is a business litigation and advisory boutique that focuses on high stakes controversies and transactions carrying a high risk of litigation.

The firm’s Litigation Practice primarily involves actions in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the nation’s preeminent corporate and commercial law court, and the Delaware Supreme Court. The firm’s litigators have extensive experience representing public and private companies, stockholders, directors and executives in a wide range of business, corporate and alternative entity litigation matters at the trial and appellate level. The firm regularly litigates actions involving corporate control disputes, rights of equity holders, large public and private company controversies, complex transactions, and significant valuation and appraisal proceedings. Unlike many other firms, Abrams & Bayliss represents plaintiffs and defendants, giving their attorneys an added measure of insight on strategic and tactical issues in transactions and litigation. The firm has a proven track record of offensive and defensive litigation, including successfully pursuing and defeating injunction applications, conducting expedited trials and prosecuting and defending claims for significant monetary, declaratory or equitable relief. In addition to their Delaware practice, Abrams & Bayliss frequently represents clients in other jurisdictions on matters involving Delaware law, corporate or business organization issues or other commercial disputes.

The firm’s Transactional Practice primarily involves matters where there is a high risk of litigation or which raise complex or novel issues of Delaware law, such as contests for corporate control, private equity and portfolio company matters, going-private transactions, recapitalizations, refinancings and stockholder or board level disputes. Abrams & Bayliss also advises business entities and their constituents on Delaware issues relating to all phases of their life cycle, ranging from formation questions to continuing issues involving the payment of dividends and asset sales to end-of-life matters such as dissolution and receiverships. The firm regularly provides advice on the preparation and interpretation of certificates of incorporation and bylaws, whether for newly formed entities, initial public offerings, operating companies with internal disputes, reincorporations, restructurings or corporations seeking to amend their existing governance documents.

Abrams & Bayliss similarly advises business entities, directors, officers and stockholders on contracts relating to their governance structure and commercial relationships, including stockholder rights plans, stockholder agreements, and indemnification or advancement rights.

As a result of the firm’s expertise on fiduciary duty matters, Abrams & Bayliss regularly represents trust beneficiaries in claims against corporate and individual trustees for significant damages, the replacement of trustees and the amendment of trust instruments.

Abrams & Bayliss represents a broad array of clients including national and international corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures, stockholders, directors, equity investors and executives.

All of the firm’s lawyers have distinguished academic records and the firm’s attorneys are regular authors and speakers at national programs regarding Delaware business law matters.

Updated Aug 2022

Labaton Sucharow

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

Review

Dispute resolution

Abrams & Bayliss

Formed in 2005 as Abrams & Laster, Wilmington boutique Abrams & Bayliss has staked a firm claim in the community, placing itself on equal footing with the more historically established shops. In fact, some actually consider the firm to be in an advantageous position to overtake those firms. “There is a generation of lawyers in Delaware that are 20 years senior to those at Abrams & Bayliss that for the past 20 years have dominated Delaware. Well, those people are ready to retire! That puts a firm like Abrams & Bayliss, who has a consistently strong bench of people in their 40s and 50s, ready to take over from those other firms who had one major star and no one else because they didn’t groom the younger partners.” The firm is also said to be “very selective with its associates.” A peer offers in summation, “Abrams & Bayliss is terrific, incredibly plugged into the Delaware space. They don’t do as much in the federal space but in Delaware they are second to none.”
Thompson Bayliss has emerged as the firm’s “leading light” in recent years, enjoying a well-earned ascent in profile due to his raft of commercial Chancery litigation in both the plaintiff and defense capacities. “He just got a $600-something million verdict from Chancellor Laster [a firm founder and former partner, now on the Delaware Court of Chancery.] It’s in this weird niche MLP [master limited partnership] space. It’s on appeal, of course, but if it sticks, Tom could just retire!” This verdict, with an actual amount of $690 million, was secured in November 2021 for former investors of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners who claimed they were short-changed in a July 2018 buyout. Loews, which controlled Boardwalk's general partner, was found to have breached Boardwalk’s partnership agreement in exercising its right to buy out the limited partners, and the Chancery Court found that the buyout did indeed undervalue the limited partners’ stake by 31%, and that they deserved $17.60 per unit instead of the $12.06 they were awarded. The case is currently on appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, but Bayliss’s remarkable triumph for the plaintiff investors – achieved in a solo capacity and not acting as simply Delaware counsel for a larger firm – catapults Bayliss into his debut position in the coveted Top 100 Trial Lawyers list in this edition of Benchmark. Beyond Bayliss, Michael Barlow is said to be increasingly developing a name for himself. “He has such a strong relationship with firms like Quinn Emanuel,” notes a peer, “and they are calling on his services more and more.”

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann

Bernstein Litowitz is an undisputed leader in the securities-focused plaintiff arena. Peers on both the same and opposite sides of the “V” offer plaudits and admiration on a near-unanimous basis. “Bernstein is always at the top,” declares a peer, voicing a general consensus. “They are one of the few firms in this capacity that files the big, meaty securities cases, and they litigate them hard. They’re not just ‘first-to-filers’ trying to get out as quickly as possible with a weak settlement.” Historically a New York-based institution positioned as “an attack dog for Wall Street,” the firm has also attended to a Delaware practice, a stance that the firm cemented when it recently opened an office in Wilmington and installed recruit Greg Varallo to run it. Varallo, long known to the Delaware Chancery community as a defense lawyer at Wilmington institution Richards Layton & Finger, raised eyebrows and had the legal market talking when he “flipped sides.” A local peer confirms, “Greg is well known and well liked by everyone in the Chancery community. He’s got a certain charisma and credibility.” A New York partner familiar with Varallo notes: “Greg did really well in a Gilead case – he got sanctions against the company that refused to produce documents!” The firm’s foray into the Delaware market is viewed as “smart and enormously successful,” in the eyes of peers. “There is a lot of action in Delaware nowadays, and plaintiffs know this, so to bring these actions in Delaware without having your own counsel here…I can’t imagine what the cut would be to hire Delaware counsel but it would be big,” opines one Wilmington peer. “With Bernstein coming in here, they have not only won big within their own confines but have also pretty much put a few of the more historic Delaware plaintiff shops out to pasture.”

While based in the firm’s New York flagship, Mark Lebovitch is also known for a Delaware element to his practice, which frequently involves derivative actions and often finds him teaming up with Varallo. “If you’re a Delaware company, you’re getting hit with a 220 demand,” states a peer, “and Mark ‘The Maestro’ Lebovitch is all over this. He is getting really aggressive, pushing for emails and text messages from company directors. Typically, that is not where discovery happens – it usually has to be on company-related documents – but Mark is saying, ‘Nah, listen – cell phones, personal emails, executives now frequently use these channels to communicate, and I want to see what’s happening on those channels.’ He is getting increasingly successful in convincing judges to allow this!” Lebovitch and Varallo represented the Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund in successfully stopping GCI Liberty’s and Liberty Broadband’s controlling stockholders from using complex financial engineering in a merger of the two companies to consolidate their voting power at the expense of GCI Liberty’s public Class-A stockholders. The litigation caused the controllers to unwind all of the personal benefits they had sought for themselves while securing a $110 million cash settlement for former GCI Liberty stockholders. 

Peers note that the firm’s center of gravity, Max Berger, is “still the king when it comes to standing up and getting the settlements, but others are doing the heavy lifting. Hannah Ross, for one.” Berger and Ross initiated a comprehensive, proprietary investigation in the wake of the collapse of the Allianz Structured Alpha funds during the beginning of the pandemic. The investigation focused on alleged misconduct and breaches of fiduciary and contractual duties in the management of those funds, which had deviated from their stated market-neutral strategy. As a result of this, the Bernstein Litowitz team managed to secure settlements between February and April 2022 totaling nearly $2 billion to the firm’s clients. Sal Graziano, one of the firm’s most active litigators, scored a $175 million settlement in September 2021 on behalf of investors in Luckin Coffee, a Chinese coffee chain that received well-publicized infamy for being fraudulent. Beyond the senior level, more junior partners are making their mark. Newly listed future star Edward Timlin is tipped by peers as one to watch. “Ed trained under [universally revered securities litigator] Adam Hakki and got defense expertise from this development at Shearman [& Sterling.] [He is] definitely worth keeping your eye on.”

Labaton Sucharow

Plaintiff shop Labaton Sucharow historically has been viewed as, and still is primarily known as, a securities boutique. Operating in the financial district of New York as well as in Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, DC, the firm is well poised to feed heartily on a steady diet of corporate disputes arising on Wall Street and in the Delaware Court of Chancery. “Labaton is one of the few plaintiff firms that get the big, meaty securities cases and they litigate them,” confirms a defense-side peer. Another advises, “Look closer – Labaton is getting more into the consumer class-actions space as well, particularly with privacy and data breach work.”

A noticeable change of the guard has transformed the front lines of Labaton’s bench, with a host of younger partners making their mark with lead appointments on some of the firm’s biggest cases of late. Exemplifying this, as well as the observations about the firm taking on more privacy-related work, New York future star, Michael Canty provided co-lead counsel and secured an all-cash $650 million settlement from social media juggernaut Facebook in a case alleging Facebook’s use of facial recognition technology to extract and store user biometric identifiers without consent and as required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. “They were actually working this up for trial against Facebook’s very formidable team of lawyers and it settled,” testifies a peer. Another New York future star, Carol Villegas is lauded for her “grit and talent,” both of which were put on display in several cases in which she provided co-lead counsel. In one such case, she served as lead counsel in a securities class action against data analytics behemoth Nielsen and certain of its executives, that alleges the company misrepresented the strength of its Buy business, the value of its goodwill, and the impact of the EU’s privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation. Villegas argued that the price of Nielsen publicly traded common stock was artificially inflated as a result of Nielsen’s allegedly false and misleading statements and omissions, and that the price declined when the truth was allegedly revealed through a series of partial revelations. The parties settled for $73 million in cash. Villegas also served as lead counsel in a securities class action against World Wrestling Entertainment – the sports entertainment company primarily known for its brand of professional wrestling – and certain of its executives, that alleges the company misrepresented the status of its media rights agreements in the Middle East and North Africa region, once again artificially inflating the company’s common stock, which suffered a precipitous drop following revelations about the stock. James Johnson, a more senior partner in the New York office, lays claim to several key victories of his own. He acted as lead counsel in a securities class action against Canadian cannabis producer CannTrust Holdings following a cross-border exposure of CannTrust’s illicit business practices and related regulatory violations – namely, secretly growing massive amounts of cannabis in unlicensed rooms in violation of Canadian cannabis regulations. Through a mediation process, Johnson and his team was able to settle with all but one of the named defendants, with preliminary approval of a $66.4 million settlement in the US.

One of Labaton’s biggest developments as of late has been the rising profile of the firm’s Delaware practice. This has largely been attributed to the efforts of Ned Weinberger, a partner who has the community talking. “Ned is one of the leaders,” confirms one Wilmington peer. “There are no shortcuts in Delaware – you have to earn your way up through the peers and judiciary. Ned has gotten appointed lead counsel on several cases, important cases, OVER people from several other plaintiff firms that are more established in Delaware!” Another peer adds, “Courts love him, he’s an aggressive litigator who gets results.” Still another peer confirms, “These days, he has very quickly risen up to the position of being my first or second call if I needed to refer a case to a plaintiff. I would choose him over more established plaintiffs in Delaware, who are older and fading.” Weinberger is co-lead counsel in the class action and derivative lawsuit against certain officers, directors, and/or controlling stockholders of Expedia Group arising out of a transaction that allowed Barry Diller, chairman of Expedia’s board of directors and the company’s senior executive, to acquire super voting shares in the company. According to the complaint, Expedia suffers from an extreme separation of ownership and control. A peer offers in summation, “There’s something going on in Wilmington in the plaintiff bar – can’t you just feel it? And that’s Ned – he’s building that out.”

Ross Aronstam & Moritz

Wilmington corporate and commercial litigation boutique Ross Aronstam & Moritz has edged its way into a position at the forefront of the crowded Delaware community, earning “a top seat at the table” among larger, older and more established institutions. “Ross Aronstam has come a long way,” confirms a local peer, “and they did it fast! We are all watching them and respect them equally.” The firm has even earned acclaim from out-of-town firms, several of whom are themselves widely championed brand-name “white shoe” firms who have partnered with Ross Aronstam. “A lot of ‘big law’ firms have this high-handed attitude in Delaware,” elaborates one peer. “They come in and go, ‘I respect your opinion, and I want to hear what you have to say, but ultimately, it’s our case. This is a BIG MISTAKE! Judges in Delaware spot it immediately and hate it. But Ross Aronstam is one firm I have never witnessed this happening to! They get immediate respect, and I don’t just think it’s luck - I think that alone speaks volumes as to their reputation.” Indeed, the firms calling on Ross Aronstam’s services as Delaware counsel read like a “who’s who” of blue-ribbon big law and out-of-town litigation boutiques, and the cases the firm handles illustrate a broad cross section of commercial and Chancery disputes.
All three name partners are namechecked by peers. David Ross is called “the one l would go with for case strategy, if I had to choose only one lawyer in Delaware. He also knows the bench really well.” Ross provides lead counsel to Facebook in several matters. In one, he represents the company and its current and former officers and directors in a purported derivative action seeking to recover based upon alleged issues concerning advertising metrics, competitive practices, and executive compensation. Ross is also co-counsel to Facebook in connection with various litigations arising out of the well publicized Cambridge Analytica privacy breach scandal, including derivative actions and actions seeking to inspect company books and records. In another of his (non-Facebook-related) matters, Ross represents Swipe Acquisition Corporation, the acquirer in action asserting fraud arising out of a substantial indirect acquisition by a fund advised by Platinum Equity Advisors. Bradley Aronstam is attending to novel matters in the rapidly burgeoning SPAC area; in one such matter, he is partnering Weil Gotshal & Manges in representing Churchill Capital Corp III and the former directors of Churchill in consolidated stockholder litigation challenging Churchill’s SPAC acquisition of MultiPlan Corp. Garrett Moritz is attending to a diverse basket of matters straddling several practices. He acts with Cravath in representing the directors of Tesla in stockholder litigation challenging Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity in a stock-for-stock transaction that valued SolarCity at approximately $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion. Shortly before trial, the director defendants other than Elon Musk reached an agreement in principle, subject to court approval, to settle for $60 million to be funded by insurance. Trial was set to proceed in the Court of Chancery in March 2020 with respect to Elon Musk but was delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Trial moved scheduling to July 2021. In a more commercial-related matter, Moritz acts with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in representing Keurig Dr. Pepper affiliate The American Bottling Company in litigation against BA Sports Nutrition, LLC and the Coca-Cola Company for wrongful termination of a distribution contract with The American Bottling Company to distribute the sports drink Bodyarmor in order to wrongfully move distribution to Coca-Cola. ABC’s contract and tortious interference claims seeking to recover hundreds of millions of dollars or more in losses have survived a motion to dismiss. The case is currently in discovery, with a jury trial scheduled for February 2022 in Delaware Superior Court. In a derivative matter concerning corporate governance, Moritz represents McDonald’s in a lawsuit against McDonald’s former CEO Stephen Easterbrook for breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent inducement. The case arises from McDonald’s discovery - after entering into a Separation Agreement with the Easterbrook after learning that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a subordinate - that Easterbrook had lied about the existence of other sexual relationships with other Company employees during an internal investigation, and that Easterbrook had approved an equity grant to one of the employees, in violation of Company policy. In February 2021, the Court of Chancery denied Easterbrook’s motion to dismiss. The case is currently in discovery and trial is expected to be held in mid-2022.