New York

Firm overview

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP is recognized worldwide as a leading law firm advising institutional investors on issues related to securities litigation, corporate governance, and shareholder rights. Since its founding in 1983, BLB&G has obtained over $40 billion in recoveries and achieved precedent-setting corporate governance reforms on behalf of its investor clients. A distinguished group of trial-tested litigators, BLB&G has repeatedly and consistently earned high praise from the courts, and the respect of the defense firms and insurance carriers it faces in courts and across negotiating tables.

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
• Over $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
• $1 billion settlement in In re Wells Fargo & Company 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. Additionally, BLB&G has obtained billions of dollars for shareholder 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 $90 million settlement with one of the largest financial recoveries ever obtained in a pure corporate board oversight dispute. It also established the first ever board-level independent watch-dog group, the “Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council,” which is a model for public companies in all industries.
• The firm obtained a $250 million settlement for Allergan investors in a proxy violation of an insider trading scheme by billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. After a three-year legal battle, it created a precedent to prevent similar schemes. 
• BLB&G obtained an unprecedented clawback of approximately $920 million of ill-gotten pay from UnitedHealth’s former officers and directors – the largest recovery of its kind in history.

SPAC Litigation: As part of BLB&G’s mission to protect shareholder interests and police securities markets, the firm is actively prosecuting various 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 directly applies 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 various other business entities while facing down the most powerful and well-funded law firms and defendants in the country. 

Updated Oct 2024

Firm overview

MoloLamken is a law firm focused exclusively on representing clients in complex disputes. It handles civil, criminal, and regulatory matters, as well as appeals, across the United States. The firm’s clients span the globe. MoloLamken is involved in some of the most significant disputes of the day. 

The firm’s founding partners, Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken, developed national reputations based on their courtroom successes while partners at large full-service firms where they held leadership positions. With an abiding belief that complex disputes are most effectively handled by smaller teams comprised of smart, highly experienced lawyers focused on results rather than process, they formed the firm. 

MoloLamken provides experienced advocacy – for claimants as well as defendants – before judges, juries, arbitral forums, and courts of appeals, including the Supreme Court of the United States. The firm also represents clients in regulatory and criminal investigations and conducts internal investigations.

Main Areas of Practice: 

• Appeals
• Arbitration
• Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructuring Litigation
• Complex Business Litigation
• Intellectual Property and Technology
• Internal Investigations
• Regulatory
• Securities Litigation
• Supreme Court
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Firm overview

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a premier firm of more than 1,000 lawyers with diverse backgrounds, personalities, ideas and interests who provide innovative and effective solutions to our clients’ most complex legal and business challenges. With 11 offices across North America, Europe and Asia, and a robust international network, the firm represents many of the world’s largest and most important asset managers, public and private corporations, and financial institutions, as well as clients in need of pro bono assistance. We consistently earn high praise for our collaborative, commercial approach, providing novel and efficient solutions to otherwise intractable situations.

The firm is widely recognized as having market-leading practices in private equity, public company M&A, litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and restructuring. Within these broad practices, we also offer numerous elite specialized practices, including finance, capital markets, investment funds, antitrust, tax and executive compensation, among others.

Litigation:

No other law firm can approach Paul, Weiss’s experience and record of success in the most complex, high-stakes litigation in U.S. federal and state courts. Our renowned trial team is a particularly powerful advantage, both in the courtroom and at the settlement table.

With a deep bench that includes many of the country’s most accomplished trial lawyers and former senior government officials, our Litigation Department is uniquely positioned to handle multifaceted crises, from sprawling cross-border, multi-regulator enforcement actions to parallel private litigation. We are regularly entrusted with fast-moving, franchise-threatening matters because of our ability to develop and execute a winning strategy, no matter the problem or adversary, and to see the matter through to the ultimate resolution, whether at trial or before the Supreme Court.

The Litigation Department includes dozens of former federal prosecutors and senior U.S. government officials, including a former U.S. Attorney General; former U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of California; a former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; former senior leaders in the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division; numerous senior counsel from the SEC, the CFPB, the FTC and other key U.S. regulatory agencies; and former senior members of the White House Counsel’s office.

White Collar & Regulatory Defense:

Clients facing white collar and regulatory enforcement challenges look to Paul, Weiss to protect their businesses and reputations and manage the behind-the-scenes interplay among competing regulatory and enforcement agencies. We have experience handling a vast range of regulatory and enforcement inquiries and internal investigations, including involving multiple jurisdictions. Our lawyers are adept at conducting internal investigations on behalf of companies, boards, audit committees and special litigation committees. Within the litigation and white collar and regulatory defense practices, we are widely recognized for our expertise in many specialized areas, including:

• Antitrust
• Anti-Corruption & Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Anti-Money Laundering
• Artificial Intelligence
• Bankruptcy Litigation
• Congressional Investigations
• Crisis Management
• Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
• Cybersecurity & Data Protection
• DEI Strategic Advisory
• Digital Technology
• E-Discovery
• Employment, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets
• ERISA, Pension & Benefits Litigation
• False Claims Act & Qui Tam Litigation
• Financial Services Litigation & Investigations
• Insurance Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Internal Investigations
• International Arbitration
• Investigations
• Investment Management Litigation
• Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation
• National Security, CFIUS & FARA
• Product Liability & Mass Torts
• Civil Rights & Racial Equity Audits
• Sanctions
• Securities Litigation
• Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation
• Sustainability & ESG Advisory

Updated Sep 2024

Firm overview

King & Spalding helps leading companies advance complex business interests in more than 160 countries. Working across a highly integrated platform of more than 1,300 lawyers in 24 offices globally, we deliver tailored commercial solutions through world-class offerings and an uncompromising approach to quality and service.

Trial and Global Disputes: Our experienced disputes lawyers try and arbitrate high-stakes cases every year across the globe in the most challenging jurisdictions for corporate clients.  Recognized for creativity, meticulous preparation, and top-rate advocacy, our lawyers help clients navigate the litigation lifecycle, working together from day one to identify business objectives, develop a strategy to meet those objectives, and then execute that strategy.  With more than 450 lawyers in 17 offices worldwide, we are uniquely able to staff and manage large and cross-border disputes from filing, to trial, and through appeal.  Our lawyers have a variety of expertise across substantive areas, including Appellate Law, Class Action Defense, Commercial Litigation, Construction & Engineering Disputes, Corporate & Securities Litigation, E-Discovery, Insolvency Litigation, Insurance Coverage & Recovery, Intellectual Property, International Arbitration, Labor & Employment, Product Liability, Professional Liability, and Toxic & Environmental Torts.  Working together—one area of expertise informing another—our disputes lawyers provide clients with seamless and efficient representation in the most complex and sensitive matters.

Capabilities:

• Appellate, Constitutional and Administrative Law 
• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Litigation
• Class Action Defense
• Commercial Litigation
• Construction and Engineering Disputes
• Corporate and Securities Litigation
• E-Discovery
• Insurance Coverage and Recovery
• Intellectual Property, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Litigation
• International Arbitration and Litigation
• Labor and Employment
• Product Liability
• Professional Liability
• Toxic & Environmental Torts

Government Matters: Clients ranging from Fortune Global 50 corporations to high-profile individuals in every region of the world entrust King & Spalding’s Government Matters practice to guide them through rapidly changing regulatory landscapes, complex investigations by U.S. and foreign enforcement authorities, highly sensitive internal investigations and related, often parallel civil proceedings. 

Hundreds of lawyers across the United States, Europe and Asia bring decades of prior government service and industry experience to our regulatory and investigative practices, which serve the financial services, pharmaceutical and medical device, healthcare, energy, automotive and technology sectors in particular. The team includes six U.S. Attorneys, 24 Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and former senior officials from the highest ranks in regulatory and enforcement organizations that are most significant to our clients.

Our experienced team includes former leaders at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Commerce, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Bank of England, the U.K’s Financial Reporting Council and the World Trade Organization.

Capabilities:

• Antitrust
• Data, Privacy and Security
• Environmental, Health and Safety
• FDA and Life Sciences
• Government Advocacy and Public Policy
• Government Contracts
• Healthcare
• International Trade
• National Security and Corporate Espionage
• Securities Enforcement and Regulation
• Special Matters and Government Investigations

Corporate, Finance and Investments: Our Corporate, Finance and Investments team brings a collaborative approach to help clients execute complex, high-value transactions. We have a fully integrated platform with more than 330 lawyers in 17 offices, offering clients the benefit of global specialists with local knowledge and industry expertise. We work side by side with our clients to execute transactions efficiently and effectively—we understand what matters to both our clients and opposite parties and we explain the actual, practical risks to our clients.

Capabilities:

• Activist Defense
• Alternative Capital and Credit Funds
• Capital Markets
• Construction and Procurement
• Corporate Governance
• Emerging Companies and Venture Capital
• Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
• Energy and Infrastructure Projects
• Financial Restructuring
• Investment Funds and Asset Management
• Leveraged Finance
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Middle East and Islamic Finance and Investment
• Private Equity
• Real Estate
• Securitization
• Tax

Updated Sep 2024