Who We Are: BFKN was founded in 1984 with a vision focused on delivering efficient team-oriented services of the highest quality. The firm has continued to focus on this vision and has grown and evolved into a sophisticated, first-class legal practice with a diverse client roster of national and international clients. We’ve accomplished this by practicing law in a different way. Our strategic vision is to continue growing organically by helping our clients succeed, by constantly evaluating and implementing ways to better serve our clients, and by recruiting the highest caliber of diverse talent. Our growth has been steady and measured and we’ve chartered our own unique path to success which is different than any other firm.
BFKN has more than 120 attorneys in ten practice groups. BFKN regularly serves a wide array of industries, but has particular experience serving: Luxury, Financial Services & Fintech, Manufacturing & Distribution, Motor Vehicle, Private Equity & Venture Capital, and Real Estate.
BFKN represents a wide array of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 50 corporations across all industries. Our clients are sophisticated and located across the globe, from the Midwest to the East and West coasts to Europe and Asia. Our firm is lucky to have nurtured several generational client relationships, where we have served as outside counsel to those clients for many decades and have grown with them through changes, challenges, and triumphs. We also have a mix of new generation clients that appreciate our creative and customized approach to representation.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: BFKN is committed to the establishment, maintenance, and growth of a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are respected and intentionally valued by implementing initiatives and programs that will foster collaboration and accountability. We strive to attract the most qualified professionals from all backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities and to create a rewarding and fulfilling environment in which our people feel valued and appreciated and can grow and advance their careers. BFKN’s DEI Committee oversees equitable reviews of the firm’s policies and procedures, its accreditation into and implementation of the Midsized Mansfield Rule program, diversity, equity and inclusion training, and holistic recruiting procedures on an ongoing and forward-looking basis.
BFKN is proud to have achieved Midsize Mansfield Rule Certification Plus in 2023. The Mansfield Rule, an initiative from Diversity Lab, measures the achievement of certain structural metrics designed to better ensure our paths to leadership – including lateral hiring, client pitch teams, promotions, and appointments – are open and transparent to all qualified attorneys. BFKN remains dedicated to broadening our networks for recruiting highly-qualified candidates from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the legal profession.
Litigation: Our firm has assembled a group of highly skilled trial lawyers – seasoned partners and well-trained associates – who represent clients both forcefully and efficiently. Unlike some litigators, who spend years engaging in expensive discovery only to recommend settlement on the eve of trial, we are always ready to try cases when necessary, but strive to achieve business resolutions early and economically when appropriate.
BFKN is a mid-sized firm that handles many of our clients’ most significant matters. We take pride in our efficient approach to dispute resolution. Even for the biggest matters, our litigation teams are lean, typically comprised of experienced partners and small numbers of associates and paralegals who can manage large amounts of data by leveraging our in-house discovery technology. A litigation team is assembled for each assignment based on the skill and experience required for that engagement.
We represent a diverse group of businesses in resolving these disputes, ranging from the world’s largest luxury goods company to large financial institutions, major telecommunications service providers, REITs, motor vehicle manufacturers, hedge funds, law firms, and consumer goods companies.
Our litigators have extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States, at both the trial and appellate levels. We understand that we are asked to help resolve business problems, and we recognize that a trial is only one potential solution.
Because our clients’ success often rests on our ability to design thoughtful, cost-effective solutions to complex scenarios, a significant part of our time is focused on strategic counseling and alternative dispute resolution.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Members of our group are experienced in a broad range of alternative dispute resolution techniques, including mediations, binding and non-binding arbitrations, mini-trials, and settlement trials with floors and caps.
Counseling: The Litigation Group also has extensive experience in strategic counseling designed to minimize the likelihood of litigation or reduce the exposure to litigation when potential problems arise. For engagements requiring a certain legal or industry focus, we assemble strong interdisciplinary teams designed to leverage the talents of attorneys in other practice areas. BFKN’s Litigation Group is often involved in complex corporate and real estate disputes that benefit from the comprehensive experience of our corporate, real estate, and bankruptcy attorneys. Such a cross-functional approach has proved successful in resolving controversies ranging from dissenting shareholders’ rights disputes to take-over litigation.
History: Pomerantz is the oldest law firm in the world dedicated to championing investor rights. Founded in 1936 by Abraham Pomerantz, the Firm’s work during the Great Depression to hold corporations accountable helped secure the rights of investors to bring class actions and derivative suits. Today the Firm’s global clients include more than 100 of the most influential public pension funds, asset managers, and private institutions. Honoring its founder’s legacy, the Firm continues to fight for defrauded shareholders while expanding the rights of global investors and championing transparent markets and good corporate governance.
Securities Litigation: Over the past eight decades the Firm has recovered billions of dollars for defrauded investors, with many settlements achieving new records. Notable matters include:
A Tradition of Innovation: Pomerantz is a recognized leader in developing novel legal theories to address the evolving juridical, social, and corporate landscape. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank, Ltd (2010) barred investors in foreign securities from using U.S. courts to seek recovery. In the years since, Pomerantz has worked to win back these rights on behalf of investors. In a series of individual cases arising out of the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Pomerantz convinced the court to allow, for the very first time post-Morrison, both U.S. and foreign investors seeking recovery for losses in a foreign company’s foreign-traded securities to do so in a U.S. court. In a securities class action against the global pharmaceutical company Perrigo Co., the Firm’s ground-breaking legal arguments led the U.S. court, for the first time since the Morrison decision, to certify a foreign purchaser class. Both decisions have significant precedential value, expanding the options available for domestic and foreign investors seeking recovery in cases of securities fraud.
Portfolio Monitoring: PomTrack®, the Firm’s proprietary portfolio monitoring system, tracks and evaluates suspicious market activity, as well as securities and antitrust class actions and settlements, covering both domestic and international events. This system empowers investment plan fiduciaries to fulfill their duty to preserve investments by quickly identifying fund losses that may have been caused by financial misconduct. Comprising attorneys, forensic economists, damages analysts, paralegals, and support staff, the PomTrack® team monitors assets valued at over $9 trillion, making it one of the largest systems of its kind in the U.S.
ESG: Pomerantz partners are pioneering securities litigation as a means to address 21st century ESG concerns. The Firm achieved a settlement with Deutsche Bank AG that recoups nearly 50% of estimated damages for investors in a case alleging that the bank failed to adhere to its own due diligence policies for certain high-worth clients, including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Pomerantz also recently won class certification in its case against Wynn Resorts Ltd., which alleges that former CEO Steve Wynn engaged in egregious sexual misconduct against the company’s female employees, while the company and its directors simultaneously covered up his behavior, assuring investors of the company’s commitment to high ethical standards.
Corporate Governance: In addition to addressing corporate governance via securities litigation, the Firm’s Corporate Governance Practice Group has achieved significant corporate governance reform at numerous major corporations through shareholder derivative lawsuits. Areas of interest include workers’ health and safety, environmental compliance, pay and gender equity, excess executive compensation, and addressing corporate transactions that result in an unfair price for shareholders.
Education: Pomerantz partners frequently speak on corporate governance at conferences around the world, and the Firm regularly hosts Corporate Governance Roundtables for institutional investors. The Firm also publishes The Pomerantz Monitor, a bi-monthly journal of attorney-authored articles on securities litigation, corporate governance, and related regulatory and government policies.
Updated Sep 2023
What a Law Firm Should Be: Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 22 offices nationwide. The firm’s litigation practice encompasses business disputes, white collar investigations and enforcement, health care, intellectual property, bankruptcy, data privacy, real estate, financial services, products liability and toxic tort and labor and employment matters. Our reputation for dedicated client service and innovative business solutions is a benchmark for excellence in the legal profession.
Polsinelli approaches litigation The Polsinelli Way – with our clients and their business goals as our primary focus. The Polsinelli Way sees each dispute as unique and our lawyers work hand in hand with our clients to devise a litigation strategy from the outset of the matter that is laser focused on achieving the most efficient and effective resolution. The Polsinelli Way isn’t just a slogan. It’s the way we work on each and every matter entrusted to us by our clients.
Commercial Litigation: Polsinelli’s Commercial Litigation practice is composed of attorneys committed to providing practical, industry-specific business litigation strategies informed by substantive and procedural knowledge, real courtroom experience, and a keen awareness of how legal outcomes impact our clients’ bottom lines.
We focus on real estate litigation, disputes arising out of business relationships and contracts, mergers and acquisitions litigation, and class actions. However, we have a deep bench of litigation expertise with experience handling a broad spectrum of disputes including aviation and transportation, insurance matters, professional liability, retail and hospitality litigation, telecommunications, and manufacturing and distribution. We also have several lawyers who regularly handle statutory claims including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Fair Credit and Reporting Act.
Government Investigations: Polsinelli’s Government Investigations team is highly qualified to quickly and effectively help companies and individuals respond to and defend against civil, criminal and regulatory government actions. Many of our attorneys are former federal prosecutors with specific experience.
Our team takes the guesswork out of navigating investigations involving the government. Clients seek out our team’s counsel at all stages of their interactions with government agencies, whether a client needs help responding to a subpoena or civil investigative demand, a comprehensive internal investigation, preemptive counsel on a compliance program, or a trial lawyer to defend against allegations of white-collar crimes. Our team has experience with governmental entities, including the Department of Justice, SEC, Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, EPA and States’ Attorney General Offices.
Health Care Litigation: Polsinelli Health Care Litigation attorneys combine their in-depth knowledge of the evolving health care industry with clients’ business needs to devise practical litigation strategies. We advise clients in managing risk and resolving complex disputes. When litigation is necessary, we collaborate with clients to effectively and efficiently protect their interests. Our attorneys are experienced in litigating government investigations and health care disputes in different forums, including lawsuits, arbitrations, administrative hearings, audits and investigations.
Our team is well known and respected by judges, regulators, arbitrators, health care industry leaders and the legal community. Members include former Department of Justice attorneys, including Assistant United States Attorneys, former experienced state Medicaid fraud unit attorneys, a former realtor attorney and former in-house counsel to private and publicly traded health care companies.
Intellectual Property Litigation: Polsinelli’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice take creative and strategic approaches to resolving intellectual property disputes for local, regional, national and global companies and individuals. With more than 1,300 intellectual property litigation filings over the past six years, we frequently try high-technology intellectual property cases tied to diverse subject matter including patent litigation, trademark, copyright & branding, anti-counterfeiting and grey markets, restrictive covenants and trade secrets litigation, ITC Section 337, IP litigation funding and design patent litigation.
Labor & Employment Litigation: Our attorneys defend clients before administrative agencies and in trials, mediations, arbitrations, and appeals of lawsuits arising over virtually every conceivable employment-related action including age, religion, gender, pregnancy, race, national origin, disability, harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, FMLA and OSHA violations.
Our Employment Litigation practice group has substantial experience representing management in the administrative charge and litigation phase of cases involving issues such as but not limited to The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), The Equal Pay Act (EPA), Whistleblower claims, work-related torts and wrongful termination.
Products Liability and Toxic and Mass Tort: Polsinelli’s litigators have deep experience defending and protecting our clients against defective design, defective manufacturing, premises liability, catastrophic injury, and toxic exposure claims that oftentimes go to the heart of our clients’ businesses. Our litigators approach each case the Polsinelli Way -- with a laser focus on our clients’ business goals and an eye towards case resolution that prioritizes those business goals.
Our experienced Products Liability and Toxic Tort team assesses cases early, identifying potential risks and working with our client’s legal, business, technical and regulatory teams to craft effective litigation strategies. Our electronic discovery (e-discovery) lawyers and other professionals are adept at coordinating and managing the often-burdensome discovery process that comes with defending these high-stakes cases. Our trial lawyers have the skills and experience to take cases to trial in any courtroom in the country. These trial teams work hand in hand with our certified appellate specialists, who identify appellate issues and represent clients at the appellate level in state and federal courts throughout the United States.
Updated Aug 2023
Clients from global brands and household names to cutting-edge startups and individuals trust Loeb litigators to resolve their thorniest legal disputes, whether that’s litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country; investigations and enforcement actions before government agencies; or mediation, arbitration and regulatory agency proceedings.
Loeb litigators deliver practical and strategic counsel with a consistent focus on our clients’ business objectives and a steady determination not only to achieve the best possible outcome — in or out of the courtroom — but also to minimize risk, protect their brands and secure their competitive advantages in their markets and industries. Our lawyers have deep fluency in the law, courtroom-proven skills and well-earned reputations for effective advocacy based on decades of experience working with — and across the table from — clients, opposing counsel, judges and government regulators.
We approach every case as if trial is inevitable, and we are ready to go when the courtroom is the right answer, as we have in hundreds of cases and arbitrations. We know that this trial-focused approach is the best way to present a formidable case to a judge or jury — and to avoid a costly trial through a favorable settlement or quick disposition.
Our decades of litigation experience also enable us to provide valuable counsel to clients on risk avoidance, and our litigators often work closely with colleagues from practices across the firm to help identify and avoid potential disputes and areas of exposure that could turn contentious down the road.
Loeb litigators handle disputes across a wide range of services, including:
Practices:
Industries:
Updated Aug 2023