Massachusetts

Firm overview

We are a 900+ lawyer business litigation firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco , New York, Silicon Valley, Tokyo, London, Chicago, Mannheim, Washington, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Brussels, Houston, Seattle, Shanghai, Zurich, Doha, Perth, Stuttgart, Boston, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Austin, Miami, Neuilly la Defense, Riyadh, Berlin, Dallas.

We aggressively litigate a wide variety of business disputes for Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies. We do not simply “handle” cases for years before settling them on the courthouse steps. Our goal is to seize the initiative and resolve them quickly, because it is in our clients’ interests to do so. If a case cannot be resolved short of trial, we have the experienced trial lawyers who can try it. Our business is winning cases—and we do.

Our Lawyers:

Attorneys at our firm have tried over 2,500 cases and won 86%. When we represent defendants, our trial experience gets us better settlements or defense verdicts. When representing plaintiffs, our lawyers have won over $70 billion in judgments and settlements. We have also obtained seven 9-figure jury verdicts, fifty-one 9-figure settlements, and nineteen 10-figure settlements.

Our attorneys include top graduates from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Michigan, Columbia and other distinguished schools. At last count, 221 of our attorneys (or 25%) were law review editors in law school and/or clerked for judges; nineteen have taught law; and many have been or are general counsel for corporations. Over 25 of our attorneys are former Assistant United States Attorneys. Three of our partners have worked in the White House: two for Democrats, one for Republicans.

Trial Lawyers, Not Paper Litigators; Why Trial Lawyers Are Also Best for Settlement:

Trying cases is a key element of our firm culture. Trials are zero sum games – they are no place for beginners. We try more major business cases than any other law firm. At least once each year, we are in a trial or an arbitration pursuing or defending against a claim for over $1 billion in damages. Many of our partners are very highly experienced trial lawyers, having tried dozens of cases to verdict. Seven have taught trial advocacy. We do not believe the same level of jury trial experience can be found at any other business law firm. Our trial experience is an obvious advantage in the courtroom, and is important both for the relatively rare case which must be tried and for the cases which settle. Plaintiffs’ lawyers know we will not hesitate to go to trial and know what we can do in a courtroom. Our well-known ability to try cases diminishes the lawsuit “hold up” factor and causes adversaries to re-think their demands. We believe that our firm can get better settlements because of our credibility as trial lawyers.

Firm overview

Founded in 1982, Berman Tabacco is a national law firm with offices in California and Massachusetts. The firm has devoted its practice to complex litigation, primarily under the securities and antitrust laws, as well as related services requested by and provided to its institutional clients. The firm also has an active whistleblower practice, among others.

Securities Litigation: Berman Tabacco has over 40 years of securities-litigation experience and has represented public pension funds and other institutional investors in that area since 1998. The firm has prosecuted some of the largest securities cases and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors. Indeed, Berman Tabacco appears as one of the firms with the most settlements on the list of the top 100 largest securities class actions in ISS Securities Class Action Services’ published report, Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All Time (as of 12/31/2022). The firm has successfully prosecuted and recovered billions of dollars for defrauded investors in some of the most significant shareholder lawsuits of the last 20 years, having been appointed as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 100 actions. Selected successes include:

• In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Sec. Litigation, No. 1:09-cv-04583 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.). As lead counsel, the firm recovered $346 million on behalf of the class against investment-bank underwriters and officers, which was one of the largest mortgage-backed-securities class action settlements to date and the largest paid by underwriter defendants.
• California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. Moody’s Corp., No. CGC-09-490241 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.). As sole counsel, the firm recovered $255 million from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s entities in this landmark individual action on behalf of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System in this individual action alleging negligent misrepresentations in connection with rating three structured investment vehicles.
• In re BP plc Sec. Litigation, No. 4:10-md-02185 (S.D. Tex.). The firm recovered $175 million on behalf of the class—one of just four mega securities class action settlements in 2017 (settlements of $100 million or more), according to Cornerstone Research— in this hard-fought litigation on behalf of shareholders of BP American Depository Shares arising out of BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion, one of the worst oil spills in history. Class members who submitted claims received approximately 115% of their recoverable losses.
• In re Fannie Mae 2008 Sec. Litigation, No. 08-cv-07831 (PAC) (S.D.N.Y.). Representing co-lead plaintiff Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, the firm resolved claims for $170 million alleging that Fannie Mae failed to disclose (i) growing exposure to high-risk mortgages as well as (ii) problems with the company’s risk controls, both of which led to federal conservatorship in 2008.

Berman Tabacco’s dismissal rate for cases brought under the federal securities laws is less than half the overall dismissal rate for such cases (based on the reported dismissal rate by one authoritative study. Securities Class Action Filings: 2022 Year in Review, pp. 22, 34 (Cornerstone Research 2023). The firm serves as monitoring, evaluation, and/or litigation counsel for over 100 institutional investors, which includes 17 statewide public employee retirement systems with more than $50 billion in assets.

Antitrust Litigation: Berman Tabacco’s antitrust practice also has a national reputation for prosecuting class actions that involve anticompetitive conduct and conspiracies to fix or maintain prices. Over the years, the firm has played a major role in the prosecution of numerous landmark antitrust cases and has been at the forefront of some of the largest antitrust settlements—recovering over a billion dollars for class members and changing business practices of defendant companies. The following are examples of the antitrust group’s efforts:

• In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-md-02420-YGR (N.D. Cal.).
  Berman Tabacco was co-lead counsel for the class of direct purchasers of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in a class action alleging that defendant manufacturers participated in a conspiracy in violation of federal antitrust laws to fix the pricesof lithium-ion rechargeable batteries (which are commonly used in devices such as notebook computers, cell phones, and digital cameras). The firm successfully negotiated settlements totaling $139.3 million, which was approved in May 2018.
• Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303, Nos. CJC-03-004298 and CJC-03-004303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.). Berman Tabacco was lead trial counsel for plaintiffs in a California state court action (and was previously chair of the executive committee for plaintiffs in the federal multidistrict class action, In re New Motor Vehicles Canadian Export Antitrust Litig., No. 03-md-1532 (D. Me.)), against leading automakers for alleged violations of the antitrust laws with regard to the pricing and importation of automobiles from Canada into the United States. In advance of trial and after almost 20 years of litigation, Plaintiffs settled with the final defendant for
  $82 million, which was finally approved by the trial court on October 31, 2022.
• Laydon v. Mizuho Bank, Ltd., No. 1:12-cv-03419 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.) & Sonterra Capital Master Fund, Ltd. v. UBS AG, No. 1:15-cv-05844 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.). Berman Tabacco is counsel for plaintiffs representing two large public pension funds in actions alleging that bank traders and their affiliates colluded in violation of antitrust laws to manipulate the Euroyen TIBOR and Yen LIBOR rates—benchmark rates used to determine interest rates and to price Japanese Yen-based financial instruments.  As of July 2023, partial settlements totaling $329.5 million have been achieved and approved by the court.
• Sullivan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 13-cv-02811 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y.). Berman Tabacco
  represents a public pension fund in a class action that it joined as named plaintiff,
  which alleges that over a dozen major banks colluded in violation of the antitrust laws to manipulate the EURIBOR, a global reference rate used to benchmark and price over $200 trillion of financial products. As of July 2023, partial settlements totaling $651.5 million have been achieved of which $546.5 million has been approved by the court.

Whistleblower Representation: Berman Tabacco’s whistleblower practice group assists individuals wishing to expose fraud perpetrated against the federal government, states, and corporations, working to obtain the compensation and protections afforded by the False Claims Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program, and the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. Berman Tabacco helps whistleblowers engage appropriate government entities to right wrongs—enforced either by those agencies or through separate litigation. In April 2021, the SEC awarded over $50 million to joint whistleblowers represented by the firm. It was the second largest whistleblower award by the SEC when it was made.

Updated Aug 2023

Firm overview

Campbell Conroy & O'Neil have successfully tried hundreds of large value, high-exposure, technically complex cases to verdict. We provide advice, counseling and representation during all stages of a dispute, ranging from the time before the filing of a lawsuit through the final appeal. Our attorneys are well connected throughout the profession offering clients the advantage of an international network of relationships, access to courts across the country, and world-class trial experience. Internal cost controls, efficient staffing models, state-of-the-art technology, strategic office locations, and a stream-lined approach to case management mean we provide world-class trial performance at exceptionally reasonable rates. Our use of cutting edge technology in the preparation and presentation of every case enhances our ability to deliver clear, organized, powerful arguments that win cases.

Founded in 1983, Campbell Conroy & O'Neil gained early success as Campbell Campbell Edwards & Conroy in automotive product liability cases. Over the last several decades, the firm has developed a national reputation defending a wide variety of industries in all types of civil litigation. The firm serves as local, regional and national counsel to a variety of clients including those in the automotive, transportation, pharmaceutical, medical device, chemical, heavy equipment, commercial equipment, consumer products and many other industries. With offices in seven states, we try cases across the country and regularly act as regional or national coordinating counsel for Fortune 500 companies. Our clients also include locally-owned businesses, family-owned enterprises, and individuals.

Accessibility and responsiveness are hallmarks of great client service, and we continually strive for excellence throughout our business relationships. Our attorneys take a personal interest in your business and know that communication is the key to your peace of mind. We are committed to the successful resolution of your case, based on your definition of success. Not every case belongs in court. We are counselors as well as advocates; throughout the course of our representation, we will counsel your team on the relative risks, costs, and benefits of continued litigation versus settlement. Customized reporting and billing, a litigation plan with budgeting options, a willingness to discuss alternative fee arrangements and a focus on our clients’ business objectives inject both flexibility and predictability into the management of legal budgets.

Our attorneys hold memberships and/or leadership roles in: the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the Product Liability Advisory Council, the Defense Research Institute, the American Bar Association, as well as various state bar associations.

We are consistently recognized for our results and are regularly ranked in: Chambers USA, The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, The Best Lawyers in Boston, The Best Lawyers in Philadelphia, The Best Law Firms, Who’s Who Legal, Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell and more.


Updated Sep 2023

Firm overview

Our Litigation Group comprises approximately 600 attorneys throughout the firm’s offices worldwide, and Skadden attorneys are admitted to practice throughout the United States as well as in more than 30 other countries and territories. We have handled some of the largest and most high-profile cases in recent years, earning a reputation as a go-to firm for litigation, and we are responsible for numerous decisions, from the trial courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, that have shaped various areas of law.

We represent clients in all stages of litigation, from applying cutting edge e-discovery capabilities to trials. Indeed, Skadden is recognized as having a leading national trial practice, and our attorneys score groundbreaking precedent-setting trial wins that are highly favorable to our clients’ bottom line. Our trial lawyers often inherit cases from other firms when trial is imminent, and we offer the capabilities to quickly pull together crisis teams to confront challenges wherever our clients face them. Moreover, our attorneys are no strangers to appellate state and federal courts throughout the country.

Our attorneys have significant experience litigating all types of complex commercial claims, including contract disputes; fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and tortious interference claims; non-compete litigation; merger-related litigation and control disputes; joint venture and partnership disputes; bankruptcy and restructuring-related issues; and statutory claims.

Our experience in these and other complex litigation claims spans across numerous industries, including aerospace and defense, banking, energy, financial services, insurance, manufacturing, retail, technology and telecommunications.

In addition to handling some of the largest, most complex litigations, Skadden attorneys represent clients in a wide variety of pro bono matters, from trials to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Updated March 2023