Nicole Lavallee is the managing partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and Co-Chair of its Securities Litigation Practice Group. She has exceptional and robust experience prosecuting complex securities actions, having recovered over $1 billion on behalf of clients and class members, and is a trusted advisor to whom clients—many of the largest pension funds and institutional investors in the country—turn (and return) regularly for advice, insight, and guidance. Her work has been an integral part of building the San Francisco office of Berman Tabacco, which has been recognized as a top plaintiffs’ securities litigation firm by Benchmark Litigation, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 and Best Lawyers.
Of note:
- Most recently, Ms. Lavallee was the lead partner in In re Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 18-cv-04993-NRB (S.D.N.Y.). Despite the fact that defendants resided in Greece, the company had filed for bankruptcy protection, and the bankruptcy trustee had attempted to release class members’ claims against defendants under the federal securities laws, the team reached $41,749,999 in total settlements, which included monies paid by one individual defendant directly.
- Ms. Lavallee also oversaw several other recently settled cases (i) Hayden v. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 3:20-cv-00367-VC (N.D. Cal.) (settled for $17.5 million); and (ii) Utah Retirement Systems v. Healthcare Services Group, Inc., No. 2:19-cv-01227-ER (E.D. Pa.) (settled for $16.8 million). Ms. Lavallee was also one of the lead attorneys in In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Sec. Litig., No. 09 Civ. 04583 (S.D.N.Y.), which settled for $346 million—one of the largest private mortgage-backed securities class recoveries, and the largest where the issuer bank was in bankruptcy.
- Over the years, Ms. Lavallee has received judicial praise for cases where she was the lead day-to-day partner. For example. Nicole oversaw the prosecution of the derivative action Oracle Cases, JCCP No. 4180 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Mateo Cty.), which resulted in a $100 million settlement—one of the largest settlements in any derivative action—and she was singled out by the judge for her “excellent” summary judgment brief. In In re International Rectifier Sec. Litig., No. 07-cv-2544 (C.D. Cal.), the Court described plaintiffs’ counsel work in reaching a $90 million settlement with defendants as “excellent,” noting that the work was “intellectually challenging and well done.” And, in KLA-Tencor Corp. Sec. Litig., No. C06-04065 (N.D. Cal.), which settled for $65 million—one of the largest options backdating class settlements—Judge Charles R. Breyer praised plaintiffs’ counsel, stating: “[Y]ou’ve done an outstanding job, and you’ve been entirely reasonable in what you’ve done.”
Ms. Lavallee’s experience has earned her numerous accolades including but not limited to being recognized by: Benchmark Litigation each year since 2019; The Best Lawyers in America® since 2021; and Chambers USA since 2021. Chambers has quoted an opposing counsel as stating that “Nicole is a good adversary, she is smart and puts up a good fight for her clients,” and clients as stating that “Nicole is a terrific, smart and creative plaintiff lawyer;” ”Nicole is great to work with in all ways. She is always knowledgeable, responsive, and respectful;” “It is a pleasure to work with Nicole;” and she is “great in terms of communication and understanding how to bring a case together, produce a strategy and make a path for a way forward.” In 2021 and 2023, Ms. Lavallee was ranked as one of the Top Women Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal and in 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers magazine named her to their lists of the Top 100 attorneys in California and the Top 50 Women attorneys in California.
Ms. Lavallee is active in leadership in the legal and broader community. For example, as a member of the Barrister’s Association’s Steering Committee of the Women’s Impact Network (WIN): No Glass Ceiling 2.0 and member of WIN’s Policy Impact Network, Ms. Lavallee was one of organizers of WIN’s 2020 inaugural Board Balance Conference—a full day event bringing together leading women attorneys, recruiters, and leadership coaches who had created their own paths to the boardroom to share their stories and paths to success. She has co-chaired and been on the steering committee of Cambridge Cross-Border litigation forums for several years and was on the steering committee of Cambridge’s class action forum twice. She is a trustee of the board of a San Francisco independent school and recently completed a two-year term as Co-Chair of the Board. She regularly writes and presents on securities litigation matters.
Updated July 2024
