On March 25, 2025, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed into law sweeping amendments to the State’s corporate code. Given that most public companies are incorporated in Delaware, these changes will have a wide-reaching impact on corporations and shareholders alike.

Supporters of the amendments argue that the reforms are necessary to promote greater predictability and consistency in corporate transactions and to counter mounting criticisms—including from high-profile figures like Elon Musk—that Delaware’s laws and courts have become hostile to business, driving companies to re-incorporate in more business-friendly jurisdictions.

Opponents, however, view the law as a significant rollback of shareholder protections, warning that it shifts Delaware toward a “buyer beware” regime and undermines the state’s longstanding reputation for balancing corporate and shareholder interests.

We sat down with Nathaniel Orenstein, head of Berman Tabacco’s Shareholder Rights and Corporate Governance practice to talk about the changes and the expected impact for the firm’s institutional clients.

BT: Nathaniel, you have been litigating in Delaware Chancery Court for many years, what is your main takeaway from the new amendments?

NATHANIEL ORENSTEIN: The most significant paradigm shift concerns the treatment of related-party transactions—specifically transactions between a company and its controlling stockholder. Historically, the Delaware Court of Chancery exercised its equitable jurisdiction to evaluate these transactions, focusing on whether they were fair and whether they replicated arms-length agreements.

Under the amended law, however, a conflicted transaction “may not be the subject of equitable relief or an award of damages” if it falls within one of several designated safe-harbors. These safe harbors include: approval by a fully informed committee of the board with at least one “independent” member; approval by minority stockholders; or the transaction itself is fair.

This is a major change.

BT:  You put the term “independent” in air quotes.  In many derivative actions you examine board-level decisions, actions, and inactions through the lens of identifying which directors are truly independent from controlling stockholders, founders, or management. Does the new law modify the definition or analysis of “independent” directors?

NATHANIEL ORENSTEIN:     Yes, the recent amendments will significantly reshape how director independence is assessed in Delaware. Historically, the Delaware Court of Chancery examined both formal and informal factors—such as personal relationships, financial interests, and business ties—to determine whether a director was truly independent.

The new law changes that approach dramatically. It establishes a presumption of independence for directors of publicly-listed companies who are not parties to the transaction and who meet the independence standards of the stock exchange on which their company is listed. Overcoming this presumption will now require “substantial, particularized facts” showing that a director either has a material interest in the transaction or a material relationship with someone who does.

Perhaps most strikingly, approval by a single independent director may now be enough to approve or ratify a related-party transaction—a sharp departure from Delaware’s traditionally more cautious scrutiny of conflicts.

BT: Over the past decade, our clients have increasing turned to “Section 220” Books and Records demands to inspect corporate records before deciding on whether to pursue litigation for breach of fiduciary duties. How will the new law impact such Books and Record demands?

NATHANIEL ORENSTEIN: The amendments introduce a significant shift in the scope of documents available through a stockholder’s Section 220 demand under Delaware law. Going forward, stockholders will generally be limited to obtaining formal board materials from the past three years — including meeting minutes, board presentations, and agendas.

Previously, stockholders could often obtain a broader range of documents, including older records and informal communications such as emails and board-level discussions. Under the new law, access to such informal materials will be sharply restricted. Stockholders will now need to demonstrate a “compelling need” with “clear and convincing evidence” to obtain anything beyond formal board materials.

This change raises the bar substantially for stockholders seeking to investigate potential wrongdoing or mismanagement.

BT:  While you spoke of related-party transactions above, what about the unique situation of a publicly-traded company seeking to “go private” in a sale to the current CEO:  does the new law add additional safe-harbor protections to directors contemplating such potentially conflicted transactions?

NATHANIEL ORENSTEIN: This is an interesting category. While the new law creates a safe-harbor for most related-party transactions, it preserves a distinct two-step safe harbor for interested-party going-private transactions. That process requires (a) approval by a fully informed committee of the board with at least one independent director; and (b) approval by a majority of the disinterested stockholders.

 BT: For institutional investors who invest billions of dollars in Delaware registered companies, what are the biggest wins and losses from this new law?

NATHANIEL ORENSTEIN: I’m not seeing any wins for investors under the new law. While the new law takes away stockholder rights generally, limits their ability to investigate wrongdoing, and raises the bar for establishing that a director is not independent, the most profound changes impact stockholder recourse in related-party transactions. Under the new law, controlling stockholders will be able to structure transactions with their controlled companies that benefit themselves—often at the expense of the company— while avoiding meaningful judicial review. Thus, whether a controlling stockholder sells assets to the controlled company at an inflated price, purchases assets at a low price, or otherwise uses their control to benefit themselves at the expense of ordinary stockholders, institutional stockholders will have limited recourse to police these transactions.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome a new associate to the Boston office.

Quentin Morgan joined the firm in February and will focus his practice on securities, corporate governance, and other complex litigation.

Before joining Berman Tabacco in 2025, Quentin served as a prosecutor in New York City, where he led high-profile investigations and prosecutions involving both local and international narcotics, firearms, and money laundering operations. His work resulted in the successful conviction of several of the city’s most violent and notorious traffickers.

Following his tenure as a prosecutor, Mr. Morgan acted as a regulator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he assisted in the enforcement of actions against banks, credit unions, and other financial services businesses.

At Berman Tabacco, Quentin brings his prosecutorial and regulatory experience to bear in litigating complex civil actions. He is dedicated to using the law in innovative and impactful ways to secure financial justice for consumers and investors. His passion for the pursuit of justice continues to drive his commitment to excellence in legal advocacy.

On April 3, 2025, the Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York appointed Berman Tabacco as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action lawsuit against Integral Ad Science Holding Corp. (“IAS” or the “Company”) certain of its executive officers and a controlling shareholder. Judge Kaplan appointed the firm’s client, Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System as Lead Plaintiff. The initial complaint alleges causes of action on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of IAS during the period from March 2, 2023 through February 27, 2024 (the “Class Period”).

IAS is a global software company specializing in digital advertising. IAS offers a suite of digital ad verification and optimization solutions, which help advertisers and publishers optimize their ad spend and better measure consumer engagement. The ad verification and measurement industry is dominated by IAS and its main competitor DoubleVerify, Inc. Indeed, a Truist Securities analyst has referred to this as a “virtual duopoly.” As such, concerns over a potential pricing war with DoubleVerify have led the Company to reassure investors about its ability to defend pricing.

As alleged, IAS repeatedly touted demand for its products and revenue growth, its ability to maintain pricing power, and its ability to close large deals with major customers. These statements were allegedly false and misleading because, unbeknownst to investors, the Company had been engaging in an escalating pricing war with its main competitor. Indeed, management reported this adverse change in the competitive landscape to IAS’s Board of Directors on numerous occasions throughout the Class Period but concealed this adverse information from the public. Instead, the Company’s controlling shareholder, Defendant Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC (“Vista”), and two senior managers were afforded an opportunity to dump $450 million of IAS common stock at inflated stock prices on unsuspecting investors.

On February 27, 2024, IAS stunned the market when it reported lackluster financial results for the fourth quarter (“Q4”) 2023, as well as the Company’s 2024 financial outlook missing analyst estimates. The Company revealed that this was the result of competitive pricing pressures forcing IAS to cut prices to close deals.  This news caused IAS shares collapsed by 41%, wiping out over $1 billion in shareholder value.

“We are grateful for the Court’s prompt leadership order and look forward to litigating this matter on behalf of our client and the class,” commented Boston Partner Patrick T. Egan.

The case is Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Ret. Sys. v Integral Ad Science Holding Corp., et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-847 (S.D.N.Y). The litigation team includes Patrick T. Egan, Steven Buttacavoli, Christina Fitzgerald and Sol Wanstok.

On March 18, 2025, the Honorable Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California appointed Berman Tabacco as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action lawsuit against Outset Medical, Inc. (the “Company”) and certain of its executive officers. Judge Davila appointed two of the firm’s institutional clients as Lead Plaintiffs. The initial complaint alleges causes of action on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of Outset during the period from September 15, 2020 through August 7, 2024 (the “Class Period”).

Outset is a medical technology company whose primary products are devices used in dialysis care, including the Tablo Hemodialysis System (“Tablo”) and its accessory, the TabloCart.

In mid- 2022, the Company received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for the Tablo as “indicated for use in patients with acute and/or chronic renal failure, with or without ultrafiltration, in an acute or chronic care facility” and “in the home.” This approval did not include treatment of continuous renal replacement therapy (“CRRT”).

Then, almost a year later, Outset disclosed that it had received a Warning Letter from the FDA about marketing the Tablo for CRRT. In response, the Company paused shipments of orders and suffered a stock price decline. By October 2023, the Company revealed that revenue growth had been significantly impacted by the FDA’s warning letter, reducing financial guidance for 2023 revenue, and triggering a nearly 50% stock price decline. Eventually, the Company would significantly miss consensus estimates and lower its full year 2024 revenue guidance by $39 million at the midpoint.

The Action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) the Tablo products were marketed for CRRT, which is not one of the indications approved by the FDA; (2) that, as a result, Outset was reasonably likely to submit an additional FDA application for the Tablo products; (3) that there was a substantial risk that the Company would cease sales of the Tablo products pending FDA approval of additional indications; (4) that Outset lacked the sales team and process to execute on the ramp of Tablo sales; (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company’s revenue growth would be adversely impacted; and (6) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

The case is In re Outset Medical, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 5:24-cv-06124-EJD (N.D. Cal.). The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee, Kristin J. Moody and Alex Vahdat.

In a novel case against two PennyMac entities, Berman Tabacco and its co-counsel successfully defeated defendants’ motions to dismiss the complaint. Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief and restitution under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq., from defendants PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust and PNMAC Capital Management, LLC (“PennyMac”) on behalf of a proposed nationwide class consisting of all persons and entities who own or owned two series of PennyMac’s fixed-to-floating rate preferred shares (“Preferred Shares”) at any time between August 25, 2023 and the conclusion of the action.

The “fixed to floating rate” Preferred Shares were structured to initially provide a set fixed-rate dividend, converting at a later date certain to a floating rate dividend tied to the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). LIBOR was a key benchmark interest rate between major global banks, where the value of financial products referencing USD LIBOR is alleged to have been $223 trillion as of the end of 2020.

In late 2017—after the Preferred Shares were issued—the LIBOR panel banks had announced that, because of accusations of manipulation, they would stop publishing LIBOR at the end of 2021 (later extended to June 2023 for USD LIBOR only). Thereafter, the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (the “LIBOR Act”) and the Federal-Reserve-promulgated Regulation ZZ (the “LIBOR Rule”) were created to provide an orderly and sure process for substituting a fair replacement for LIBOR—a replacement called the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”)—into contracts that referenced the LIBOR benchmark without providing any alternative in the event of its cessation.

Plaintiffs allege that PennyMac unlawfully and unfairly replaced the LIBOR-based benchmark with a fixed rate instead of transitioning to SOFR as required by the LIBOR Act and the LIBOR Rule.

On February 26, 2025, the Honorable Michael W. Fitzgerald of the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an order denying defendants’ motions to dismiss in its entirety. The Court found, among other findings, that Plaintiffs’ class action complaint sufficiently pled claims under the UCL

The case is Verthelyi v. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust and PNMAC Capital Management, LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-05028 (C.D. Cal.). The litigation team includes partners Nicole Lavallee and Daniel E. Barenbaum of Berman Tabacco’s San Franciso Office.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome a new associate to the San Francisco office.

Caitlyn M. Barresi joined the firm in January and will focus her practice on securities matters.

Caitlyn is a 2024 graduate of University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. While in law school, Caitlyn interned with the Marin County Public Defender Office as part of the Criminal Practice Clinic. Caitlyn was also a board member of the UC Law San Francisco’s Moot Court program, participating in and coaching competition teams. She continues to serve as an alum coach for intercollegiate moot court competition teams, and as a committee member for the UC Law San Francisco Constitutional Law Moot Court Invitational Competition.

Caitlyn earned a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in theater in 2020 from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected by Benchmark Litigation as one of the finalists for Plaintiff Firm of the Year for its Benchmark Litigation US Awards 2025.  Benchmark Litigation is hosting its annual Benchmark Litigation Awards on March 6, 2025 in New York City.

In 2025, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 9^th consecutive year) and in the top category of Highly Recommended (for the 14^th consecutive year).  In addition, San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum were designated as California Litigation Stars, and Matthew D. Pearson was designated as a California Future Star.  Similarly, Boston partners Norman Berman, Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Leslie R. Stern, and Patrick T. Egan were designated as Massachusetts Litigation Stars, and Nathaniel L. Orenstein and Steven L. Groopman were designated as a Massachusetts Future Litigation Stars.

Berman Tabacco is proud to announce that on December 20, 2024, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery approved the settlement of Ontario Provincial Council of Carpenters’ Pension Trust Fund, et al. v. S. Robson Walton, et al., C.A. No. 2021-0827 (Del. Ch.), for $123 million plus Walmart’s maintenance of certain corporate governance practices for a period of at least five years. This landmark settlement represents the largest cash recovery in a derivative case involving a special litigation committee and is the second largest settlement of a derivative oversight case in Delaware history.

Berman Tabacco represented Norfolk County Retirement System in this matter, ultimately holding Walmart’s controlling shareholders, Board of Directors, and senior management accountable for their alleged breaches of fiduciary duty to Walmart’s shareholders in connection with their decisions relating to, and oversight of, the company’s opioid distribution and dispensing practices. The complaint alleged that these decisions and possible oversight failures led to violations of the Controlled Substances Act, the False Claims Act, as well as state and common laws. The complaint also alleges that Walmart entered into an agreement with the Drug Enforcement Agency that required Walmart to implement wide-ranging opioid diversion controls, but that for more than a decade the Company failed to implement those legally required controls.

In pursuing this case, Berman Tabacco and its co-counsel also drove positive developments in the law of oversight liability. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the complaint was mostly denied in two landmark opinions in April 2023 (2023 WL 2904946 (Del. Ch. Apr. 12, 2023) and 2023 WL 3093500 (Del. Ch. Apr. 26, 2023)).

Berman Tabacco is proud to announce that on October 13, 2024, the parties filed a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, Compromise, and Release (“Stipulation”) with the Delaware Court of Chancery in Ontario Provincial Council of Carpenters’ Pension Trust Fund, et al. v. S. Robson Walton, et al., C.A. No. 2021-0827 (Del. Ch.). The Stipulation, subject to the Court’s approval, provides for the settlement of this derivative action in return for a payment to Walmart of $123,000,000, less Court-awarded attorneys’ fees and expenses and any applicable taxes, and for Walmart to maintain certain corporate governance practices for a period of at least five years.

Links to key case filings can be found below:

• Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, Compromise, and Release
• Exhibit A: Proposed Scheduling Order (granted with modifications)
• Exhibit B: Notice of Pendency of Derivative Action, Proposed Settlement of Derivative Action, Settlement Hearing, and Right to Appear
• Exhibit C: Summary Notice
• Exhibit D: Proposed Final Order and Judgment Approving Derivative Action Settlement
• Exhibit E: Corporate Governance Practices
• Amended Complaint
• Motion to Dismiss Opinion, Laches
• Motion to Dismiss Opinion, Demand Futility

Best Lawyers^® has released its Best Law Firm^® rankings for 2025 (15th edition).  Berman Tabacco has been ranked both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the seventh time), Litigation-Securities (for the sixth time), and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs (for the first time).  The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law-firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer reviews.  According to Best Lawyers, with more than 27,700 votes by lawyers, over 27,000 clients sharing direct feedback, and over 101,000 client and professional reference submissions—only 2,264 firms received a national law firm ranking in this edition.  They state that this reflects “the selectivity of national recognition, with only 0.5% of firms in the U.S. belonging to this select group.”

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®.  Berman Tabacco has four ranked attorneys in the 2025 edition:  partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee have both been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities), Litigation (Antitrust), and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions–Plaintiffs; partner Matthew D. Pearson has been recognized in the area of Litigation (Securities); and of counsel Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Antitrust) and Litigation (Securities).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2025 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S. (based upon more than 13 million peer evaluations) and recognizing attorneys in 150 practice areas.  Best Lawyers^® states that it “is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication company in the legal profession,” that recognition by them “is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by their peers,” and that their rankings of “outstanding lawyers are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.”

Metropolitan San Francisco

• Tier 1 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 1 in Litigation – Securities
• Tier 1 in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs

National Rankings

• Tier 2 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 2 in Litigation – Securities
• Tier 3 in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that nine attorneys from our Boston office—seven partners, one of counsel, and one associate—have been recognized by the 2024 edition of Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.

Boston office Managing Partner Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher; partners Norman Berman, Leslie R. Stern, Patrick T. Egan, Nathaniel L. Orenstein, Steven J. Buttacavoli, and Steven L. Groopman; and of counsel Jay Eng were selected as 2024 Massachusetts Super Lawyers.  And associate Christina Fitzgerald was named, for the first time, as a Massachusetts Rising Star.

Super Lawyers, a part of the Thomson Reuters company, states that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% for Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

Lexology Index (previously known as Who’s Who Legal) has recognized San Francisco partner Todd A. Seaver as a Thought Leader in 2025.  Todd was selected as a Thought Leader in both the USA – Competition – Plaintiff and Competition – Plaintiff categories.  Todd was previously selected as a Thought Leader in Competition – Plaintiff in 2019-2020 and 2022-2024, as well as in USA – Competition – Plaintiff in 2023 and 2024.  He has been recognized by the Who’s Who Legal Competition guide every year since 2017.

Lexology Index is a publication of Lexology.  It represents that it is the “number one global legal intelligence platform for mitigating risk, staying abreast of change, and finding expert counsel, built on insights, forward-looking analysis, and expert guidance from the world’s leading law firms.”  According to Lexology Index, its research process “starts with qualitative analysis” and includes  “more than 25,000 interviews and submissions annually” and “[m]ore than 250,000 recommendations …, [which] are considered as part of [its] in-depth research process.” Thought Leaders are those attorneys “who have performed especially well, around 25-30% of listed practitioners.”

For the 9th consecutive year, Benchmark Litigation has ranked Berman Tabacco as a Top Plaintiffs firm in its 2025 rankings profiling U.S. law firms.  Benchmark Litigation notes that Berman Tabacco has been praised by peers as “one of the premier plaintiff shops” and that the “team at Berman Tabacco are expert litigators.”  The firm was also ranked in the highest category of Highly Recommended—the 14th consecutive year that the firm has received that ranking from Benchmark.

In addition to the firm’s rankings, 11 partners have been recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star.
• Norman Berman was ranked as a Massachusetts Litigation Star.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher was ranked as a Massachusetts Litigation Star.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star.
• Leslie R. Stern was ranked as a Massachusetts Litigation Star.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a California Litigation Star.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Massachusetts Litigation Star.
• Nathaniel L. Orenstein was ranked as a Future Star.
• Matthew D. Pearson was ranked as a Future Star.
• Steven L. Groopman was ranked as a Future Star.

“We are honored that Benchmark Litigation has again recognized Berman Tabacco in its 2025 edition,” said Nicole Lavallee, managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office.  “We work as a cohesive team for the benefit of our clients and the classes they represent.  We are grateful to the team at Benchmark Litigation for continuing to value our dedication, hard work, and results.”

Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of Lexology, has again recognized San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Todd A. Seaver, and of counsel Christopher T. Heffelfinger, as leaders in the antitrust field in the Plaintiff category in the 2024 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Competition.

Mr. Tabacco has been recognized by WWL for the past 11 years, since the creation of the Plaintiff category. This is the eighth consecutive year that Mr. Seaver has been selected and the fourth for Mr. Heffelfinger. Mr. Seaver has also been recognized by WWL as a Thought Leader in Competition (2019-2020, 2022-2024) and a Thought Leader: USA (2023-2024).

“We congratulate our colleagues on their selection by Who’s Who Legal: Competition 2024,” said San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee. “This continued recognition validates their dedication and hard work in their field of practice.”

For the sixth consecutive year, industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco attorneys (seven partners and one Of Counsel) to its list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers. Additionally, named partners Norman Berman and Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. have again been included in Lawdragon’s Hall of Fame (each having been included since 2021), which recognizes “outstanding lawyers who have made remarkable contributions to the legal profession.”

Those selected are partners Norman Berman, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Todd A. Seaver, and Kristin J. Moody, and Of Counsel Christopher T. Heffelfinger.

According to Lawdragon, the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers were selected through Lawdragon’s “time-honed process of submissions, independent research and vetting with friends and foes.” Lawdragon further states that this guide, “underscores the tremendous strength a client gains when they are represented by a handful of firms.”

“We are deeply gratified by Lawdragon’s continued acknowledgment of Berman Tabacco’s work on behalf of our clients and the classes they represent,” said Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, the Managing Partner of the Boston office.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that four Berman Tabacco attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers^® in the 31st edition (2025) of The Best Lawyers in America, which was released on August 15, 2024.

Three partners have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America publication.

• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was selected in the areas of Antitrust Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.
• Nicole Lavallee was selected in the areas of Securities Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.
• Matthew D. Pearson was selected in the area of Securities Litigation.

Additionally, Of Counsel attorney Christopher T. Hefflefinger was recognized in the areas of Antitrust Litigation and Securities Litigation.

“Congratulations to Joe, Nicole, Matt, and Chris on being selected by Best Lawyers,” commented Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. “We are thrilled by their ongoing recognition, which underscores not just their skill, but also their hard work and advocacy on behalf of our clients.”

Best Lawyers states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications and “has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.” For the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers reviewed over 23 million peer evaluations, which resulted in more than 76,270 leading lawyers being included in 150 practice areas.

Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, has again been selected by Benchmark Litigation to appear in the 13th edition of Benchmark Top 250 Women in Litigation. This is the second consecutive year that Nicole has been selected. According to Benchmark, this publication focuses on the leading 250 female litigators from across the United States who have “earned their place by participating in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history as well as by earning the hard-won respect of their peers and clients.” Benchmark notes, “[T]hough they hail from widely different practice areas as well as geography, they all share the distinction of being recognized as top players in their respective fields.”

“We are gratified with Benchmark’s recognition of Nicole’s extraordinary legal talents and leadership, it’s very well deserved.” said San Francisco Name Partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. “We look forward to Nicole’s continued leadership and mentoring in the years ahead.”

A lead partner of the Securities Practice Group, Nicole is a trusted advisor on securities litigation and related matters to many of the nation’s largest pension funds and institutional investors. Nicole has vast, exceptional experience, prosecuting dozens of high-profile complex securities cases for the firm and earning judicial praise for her work.

Berman Tabacco has again been recognized as a leader in plaintiffs’ securities and antitrust litigation by The Legal 500. This is the eighth consecutive year that the firm has been recognized by The Legal 500.

The firm was ranked as a leading firm in both Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff and Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Plaintiff in The Legal 500’s 2024 U.S. edition.

Of note, according to The Legal 500’s client satisfaction survey, which they have been conducting since 2018, the firm achieved a 5-star ranking, the highest ranking awarded.

The Legal 500 shared clients’ praise for the firm and attorneys:

• “Berman Tabacco is an experienced, highly professional firm that is able to put the most qualified practitioners on the field in any matter for which they are hired. Individually and as a group they hold their own against much larger firms and consistently deliver outstanding results.”
• “Joseph Tabacco’s experience, sterling reputation and daunting legal skills provide the expertise at the helm of a very qualified group of attorneys” and he “is the brightest attorney [who has] ever worked for us.”
• “Daniel Barenbaum at Berman Tabacco is super responsive and incredibly competent. If you’ve got a fire drill, Daniel is the lawyer to call, especially because being smaller than mega-firms, they can clear conflicts in a flash.”

The Legal 500 has been analyzing law firms worldwide for the past 33 years and they “highlight the practice area teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice.”  According to The Legal 500, their research is based on “feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers who have unrivalled experience in the legal market.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that ten attorneys from our San Francisco office—seven partners, one of counsel, and two associates—have been recognized by Northern California Super Lawyers 2024 magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.

The attorneys designated as 2024 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.; Nicole Lavallee; Todd A. Seaver; Daniel E. Barenbaum; Kristin Moody; Carl N. Hammarskjold; and Matthew D. Pearson; and of counsel Christopher T. Heffelfinger.  In addition, associates Jeffrey V. Rocha and Christina Sarraf have been designated as 2024 Northern California Rising Stars (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years).

Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to be a sponsor of the Summer Mixer for junior and summer associates hosted by the California Lawyers Association’s Antitrust and Unfair Competition Section.  The event is being held on Thursday, June 20, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Harborview Restaurant & Bar, Four Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111.

According to the CLA, “mixers are designed to connect law students and new lawyers with an interest in antitrust and/or consumer protection law with law firms, public agencies, law departments, or economic consulting firms for potential summer positions or job opportunities.”

For more information click here.

Berman Tabacco has been recognized as a leader in securities litigation by Chambers USA, the U.S.-based arm of Chambers and Partners in its California and USA-Nationwide guides for the fourth consecutive year (under Litigation: Securities Mainly Plaintiff), and for the first time in the Massachusetts guide (under Securities Litigation).  Chambers quoted a number of clients, including clients stating, “I have the highest regard for the attorneys at Berman Tabacco, the team is a pleasure to work with. I continue to be impressed with the team’s breadth of experience and knowledge. They work seamlessly together,” and its attorneys are “some of the sharpest and most competent attorneys I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with” who “can handle virtually any commercial litigation or securities matter.”

Moreover, given the focus we place on client services, we are proud that a client noted that Berman Tabacco is “a client-focused firm with a strong ability to manage complex litigation.”

In addition to the firm, both Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee from the San Francisco office and Leslie R. Stern from the Boston office were individually recognized as among the top U.S. litigators in securities litigation.  This is the 18^th consecutive year that Joe has been ranked for securities litigation, which quoted a client or counsel who noted that Joe “is a brilliant strategist” and ”a great plaintiff lawyer.”  Nicole, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, was recognized for the fourth time for securities litigation.  Chambers quoted clients as stating that Nicole “is great to work with in all ways. She is always knowledgeable, responsive, and respectful” and that she ”is a terrific, smart and creative plaintiff lawyer.”  Leslie R. Stern, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, was ranked in the area of securities litigation.  Of Leslie, Chambers stated she “has a strong track record and substantial expertise representing plaintiffs, including notable retirement systems.”

“We are honored by Chambers’ continued recognition of our firm and attorneys,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s Boston office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.  “Our success is born out of our client-centric focus and vigorous advocacy.  Joe, Nicole, and Leslie’s efforts embody that model of representation.”

Chambers and Partners represents that it is a U.K.-based independent research company operating in over 70 countries and 200 jurisdictions that has been researching and ranking attorneys worldwide for over 30 years.  Chambers notes that they are “the leading independent professional legal research company” focused on “maintaining the highest standards possible” and “ensuring the excellence of the rankings.”  Their “rigorous independent processes” makes “Chambers the gold standard in legal insight.”   For more information about Chambers, please see https://chambers.com/.

Todd A. Seaver, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office, has been appointed to the American Antitrust Institute’s (AAI) Advisory Board.  According to AAI, its volunteer Advisory Board consists of outstanding experts in the fields of antitrust law, economics, and business in the United States and abroad.

“I am honored to be selected to a seat on the AAI Advisory Board” said Seaver.  “The AAI is respected for its vital role in promoting the enforcement and thoughtful development of antitrust law, and I am grateful to join in that mission alongside the AAI’s Board, professional staff, and Advisory Board colleagues.”

According to AAI, “[t]he American Antitrust Institute, founded in 1998, is an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to promoting competition that protects consumers, businesses, and society.  It serves the public through research, education, and advocacy on the benefits of competition and the use of antitrust enforcement as a vital component of national and international competition policy.  It was the first public interest research, education, and advocacy organization to provide a counterpoint to conservative influence in antitrust enforcement and competition policy.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome a new associate to the San Francisco office.

Sean Micah Akchin joined the firm in May and will focus their practice on antitrust matters.*

Prior to joining Berman Tabacco, Sean worked in Manhattan, New York, on matters involving, among other things, antitrust law, Ponzi schemes, and intellectual property disputes.  Sean also maintained an expansive pro-bono practice representing Tibetan refugees, local schools, and national charitable organizations.

Sean is a 2017 graduate of the New York University School of Law. While in law school, Sean worked as a research assistant and teaching assistant for Professor Arthur R. Miller in revising and editing the civil procedure treatise, Wright & Miller’s Federal Practice and Procedure, and also served as a teacher’s assistant in Professor Miller’s introductory course on federal civil procedure.  Additionally, Sean interned at the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University, wherein they helped design and implement a procedure for identifying and assisting students at risk of not graduating high school.  Sean served as a staff editor for the New York University Journal of Legislation & Public Policy.

*  Sean is not admitted in California.

Please join Berman Tabacco at the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems’ Annual Conference & Exhibition from May 19-22 in Seattle, Washington.  Berman Tabacco attorney Michael Stocker Dark will participate in a panel discussion entitled The Secret Language of Share Price Movements on Tuesday, May 21^st, starting at 10:25 a.m.

The discussion will focus on identifying the fingerprints of securities fraud in unusual share price movements, the role that confidential-witness investigations can play in understanding sudden stock downturns, and the role that public pension funds can play in policing the informational integrity of the markets.

For more information click here.

On March 1, 2024, the Honorable Lindsay C. Jenkins of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois appointed Berman Tabacco as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action lawsuit against Veradigm Inc. (the “Company”) and certain of its executive officers.  Judge Jenkins appointed the firm’s client, Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (“ACERA”), as sole Lead Plaintiff.  The initial complaint alleges causes of action on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of Veradigm during the period from February 26, 2021 through December 7, 2023 (the “Class Period”).

Veradigm is a healthcare technology company that offers electronic health records, financial management, population health management, and consumer solutions to hundreds of thousands of healthcare providers.

The current operative complaint alleges materially false and misleading statements during the Class Period regarding Veradigm’s financial results and internal controls, which were claimed to have been prepared in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).  Specifically, that complaint alleges:

• On February 28, 2023, Veradigm announced that, in conjunction with its year-end audit procedures, the Company had “detected certain internal control failures related to revenue recognition that had occurred over the prior six quarters, resulting in a misstatement of reported revenues during those periods.” As a result, the Company estimated that its revenue had been overstated by approximately $20 million from the third quarter of 2021 until the fourth quarter of 2022.
• In a March 22, 2023 press release, Veradigm announced that it had determined that the size and scope of the revenue misstatements were significantly greater than initially estimated and that each of its quarterly filings from fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 could no longer be relied upon and would need to be restated.
• In the months that followed, Veradigm further announced that it had identified additional misstatements dating back to fiscal year 2020, that it was no longer in compliance with the NASDAQ’s listing requirements, and that it expected to receive a delisting notice from the NASDAQ due to its inability to file its belated periodic SEC filings.
• On December 8, 2023, the Company announced that its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer had been forced to resign as a result of the investigation by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors into the accounting proprieties that form the subject of this case.

On February 29, 2024, Veradigm was delisted by NASDAQ after failing to cure identified issues by that NASDAQ-imposed deadline.

The Company has neither restated the identified financial statements nor filed any other financial statements since its initial announcement in early 2023.

The case is Erwin v. Veradigm Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-16205 (N.D. Ill.).  The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee, Daniel Barenbaum, and Jeffrey V. Rocha from the firm’s San Francisco office.

Berman Tabacco successfully defeated Defendants’ motion to dismiss federal securities fraud claims against Inotiv, Inc. (“Inotiv”) and several of its executive officers in a case that alleges Defendants’ concealment of, among other things, pervasive mistreatment of animals that the Court described as “appalling violations of the Animal Welfare Act.”

Berman Tabacco is Lead Counsel representing the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System in this securities class action lawsuit brought on behalf of (1) all persons who acquired Inotiv common stock during the period between September 21, 2021 and May 26, 2022; and/or (2) all persons who held Inotiv common stock as of November 4, 2021 and were entitled to vote at a special meeting of shareholders on matters necessary to approve Inotiv’s acquisition of a leading research animal supply company, Envigo RMS, LLC (“Envigo”).

Inotiv is a contract research organization that provides various drug discovery and development services to customers in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and medical device industries, as well as to academic and governmental research institutions.  The action alleges that Defendants issued materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose the alleged existence of flagrant violations of federal animal welfare regulations at an Envigo dog breeding facility located in Cumberland, Virginia that led the U.S. Department of Justice, with federal and state law enforcement agents, to conduct a search and seizure, which eventually led to the rescue of more than 4,000 animals and shuttering of the Cumberland Facility in June 2022.  The action also alleges that Defendants made material misrepresentations and omissions in Proxy Materials provided to Inotiv investors in advance of the November 4, 2021 shareholder vote concerning the Cumberland Facility, as well as concerning risks to Envigo’s ability to continue importing research primates from Asia.

On March 29, 2024, the Honorable Philip P. Simon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana issued an Opinion and Order denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.  The Court found that Lead Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) sufficiently pled claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with Defendants’ concealment of “what can only be described as appalling violations of the Animal Welfare Act dating back to at least July 2021, when USDA conducted an inspection at [Envigo’s] dog-breeding facility in Cumberland Virginia.”  The Court further found that the FAC sufficiently alleged claims under Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act based on Defendants’ alleged material misrepresentations and omissions concerning the Cumberland Facility and Envigo’s primate importing business.

Boston Partner Steven Buttacavoli stated: “The Court’s ruling is a major step forward for Inotiv investors who were harmed by Defendants’ concealment of material problems with the Envigo businesses acquired in November 2021, including mistreatment of beagles that the court rightly found to be ‘appalling.’  We are looking forward to the discovery stage and litigating this case on behalf of our client and the class.”

The case is In re Inotiv, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 4:22-cv-045-PPS-JEM (N.D. Ind.).  The litigation team includes Patrick T. Egan, Steven J. Buttacavoli, Justin N. Saif, and Christina L. Gregg of Berman Tabacco’s Boston Office.

Please join Berman Tabacco at Western Alliance Bank’s 6^th annual Class Action Law Forum (CALF) held in collaboration with the University of San Diego School of Law.  The event is taking place in person in San Diego (at the University of San Diego School of Law’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, 5998 Alcala Park) and virtually from March 12-14, 2024.  Berman Tabacco partner Todd A. Seaver will participate in a panel discussion entitled Class Certification and Settlement Issues on Wednesday, March 13^th starting at 4:00 p.m. PT.

Proceeds from the CALF event benefit the Western Alliance Bank Scholarship Fund, which supports a law student at University of San Diego School of Law who is in financial need and also participates in CALF.

For more information click here.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected by Benchmark Litigation as one of the finalists for Plaintiff Firm of the Year for its Benchmark Litigation US Awards 2024.  Benchmark Litigation is hosting its annual Benchmark Litigation Awards on March 13, 2024 in New York City.

In 2024, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 8^th time) and in the top category of Highly Recommended (for the 13^th time).  The firm was also selected by Benchmark California as a Tier 1 firm—the highest rank awarded—in its Plaintiff category, with partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as Litigation Stars, and Matthew D. Pearson designated as a Future Star.  Similarly, Boston partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Leslie Stern, and Patrick T. Egan were designated as Massachusetts Litigation Stars, and Nathaniel Orenstein was designated as a Massachusetts Future Litigation Star.

These are illustrative of similar rankings within Benchmark Litigation’s National and State rankings, both for the firm and its attorneys.

Please join Berman Tabacco at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Shareholder Litigation and Securities Enforcement—A Year in Review program on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. The program, presented by the BASF’S Securities Litigation Section, from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at BASF’s offices at 201 Mission Street, Ste. 400 in San Francisco.

Berman Tabacco attorney Michael Stocker Dark will participate in a panel discussion entitled Major SEC/DOJ Enforcement Actions and Crypto Litigation, starting at 11:45 a.m. There will be two earlier panel discussions on the following topics: Developments in Federal Securities Litigation and M&A & Delaware Litigation. For more information click here.

Who’s Who Legal (WWL) has recognized San Francisco partner Todd A. Seaver in two of its Thought Leader publications for 2024.  He was selected a Thought Leader in the USA – Competition – Plaintiff category, issued on October 26, 2023, as well as in the Competition – Plaintiff category, issued November 29, 2023.  Todd was previously selected as a Thought Leader in Competition – Plaintiff in 2019-2020 and 2022-2023, as well as in USA – Competition – Plaintiff in 2023.  He has also been recognized by Global Competition Review in its Who’s Who Legal: Competition guide every year since 2017.

Who’s Who Legal is a co-publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review and Lexology, a “global legal intelligence platform for mitigating risk, staying abreast of change, and finding expert counsel, built on insights, forward-looking analysis, and expert guidance from the world’s leading law firms.”  According to WWL, its “research process is conducted using proprietary digital and in-person qualitative techniques, with 5,000 interviews with leading practitioners occurring annually, and [m]ore than 250,000 third-party recommendations are gathered each year.” Thought Leaders are those attorneys “who have performed especially well, around 25-30% of listed practitioners.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome two new associates to the firm, one in the Boston office and the other in San Francisco.

Brooke Lowell

Brooke joined the firm in November and works out of the Boston office.  Brooke focuses her practice on antitrust litigation.

Brooke is a 2020 graduate of William & Mary Law School. While in law school, Brooke was the executive editor of the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, where her note on birth certificate gender change laws was selected for publication.  She also externed for the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia and William & Mary’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

During law school, Brooke served as Vice President of the Equality Alliance, where she volunteered at the Gender Marker and Name Change Clinic.

Pierce Stanley

Pierce joined the firm in September and works out of the San Francisco office.  Pierce focuses his practice on privacy and antitrust matters.

Pierce is a 2023 graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law. While in law school, Pierce served as Editor-in-Chief of the USF Intellectual Property and Technology Law Journal. He was a privacy extern at Verily Life Sciences and previously served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Andrew Y.S. Cheng of the Complex Litigation Department of the California Superior Court, County of San Francisco.

In law school, among other things, Pierce worked for the Federal Trade Commission and interned for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California’s technology and civil liberties program.  Prior to that, Pierce was a data analyst and researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution, and he further served as an editor of The New Republic magazine.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that eight attorneys from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office have been recognized by the Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Leslie R. Stern, Patrick T. Egan, Nathaniel L. Orenstein, Steven J. Buttacavoli, and Steven L. Groopman, and attorney Jay Eng were selected as 2023 Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers, a part of Thomson Reuters company, states that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% for Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

Interview with Associate Christina Gregg on Her Volunteer Work with the ABA Young Lawyers Division

Christina Gregg, an associate in our Boston office, focuses her practice on securities and complex civil litigation. Since starting at Berman Tabacco, Christina has been a core member of several litigation teams, including becoming an early member of Berman Tabacco’s Data Privacy Litigation team.

Outside of work, among several pursuits, Christina works closely with the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. Recently, she added two new roles to her resume: Associate Editor and Podcast Associate Producer.

Starting in August 2023, Christina joined the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division as an Associate Editor and Podcast Associate Producer. With the first episode of Young Lawyer Rising produced by Christina dropping last month [https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/aba-young-lawyer-rising-podcast/2023/10/be-part-of-legal-history-attorneys-creating-precedents-in-cannabis-law/], we sat down with Christina to learn more about her recent project.

BT: You have commented that this project is a bit of a return to your “media and journalism” days. Can you tell us a little about your pre-law journalism background?

Prior to attending law school, I spent four years working in media and communications, with a focus on political news and communications. That chapter of my career offered me incredible experiences, ranging from managing regional editorial teams with a content startup company to producing national news coverage with a Fortune 500 media brand. Overall, I loved the way that informative, captivating storytelling could break down barriers between everyday people and the institutions that shape their lives. My years working in media and communications taught me to pay attention to what a listener or reader is looking for in a story and left me with writing and oral advocacy skills that I now utilize in my role as an attorney.

BT: What sparked your interest in the ABA Young Lawyers Division?

I think an essential part of learning in the early stages of a career is finding a community that helps you grow. I found myself continually going back to ABA Young Lawyers Division articles for helpful tips and tricks on everything from brief writing to growing your brand as a new attorney. I am a huge proponent of newer attorneys utilizing the vast and varied resources at our disposal for self-directed learning about practice areas and broader career development. Eventually, I realized I would love to apply my passion for building knowledge feedback loops for my fellow junior attorneys with the ABA Young Lawyers Division. I applied and was thrilled to be appointed to these editorial roles.

BT: So, what exactly does an Associate Producer for a podcast do?

As associate producer, I have a number of responsibilities. First, our team plans out the “theme” for each episode. My most recent episode’s theme was partially centered around Hispanic Heritage Month, so we knew we wanted someone who could speak to the importance of their background as a latino/a lawyer. Next, I reach out to potential guests and conduct “pre-interviews.” A pre-interview conversation is essential to podcast production because it provides an episode roadmap for the podcast host, editor, and co-producers. Finally, our team records, edits, and publishes the podcast for listeners across the country.

BT: What stories are you hoping to bring to light through this work?

As we all know, every great story has an element of adversity. That’s why it’s often the stories of those who overcame an obstacle or took a non-linear path to achieve success that leave a lasting imprint. Where the legal industry can at times feel overwhelming and discouraging for newer attorneys just starting out, sometimes the most valuable advice comes from someone sharing the mistakes they made and how they learned from them. As a producer and associate editor, I am always on the lookout for folks who are willing to not only highlight and share their accolades and achievements, but also the human details that tell the story of how they got there. My hope is that listeners, no matter their background, will leave having heard at least one nugget that they can apply to their own practice and career.

BT: So, what are some of your favorite podcasts (legal or otherwise)?

I am a bit of a podcast fanatic. I listen to them while cooking, running, grocery shopping—really whenever I can! My favorite legal podcasts are Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick for all things SCOTUS, Law360’s Pro Say for my weekly updates, and LawNext for great insights on emerging trends in legal technology. When I’m looking to turn my brain off from lawyering, I wind down (and laugh) with episodes of We Can Do Hard Things, the Big Picture, and Hidden Brain.

BT: How can people follow/subscribe to your podcast?

You can find Young Lawyer Rising wherever you get your podcasts (such as through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts).

Best Lawyers^® has released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2024—their first independently published rankings.  They have ranked Berman Tabacco both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the fifth time) and Litigation-Securities (for the fifth time) in the 14^th edition.   The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.  According to Best Lawyers, of the more than 23,000 firms and 97,000 client submissions—the largest participation pool to date–only 2,202 firms received a national law firm ranking in this edition. They state that these “rankings highlight a unique combination of high-quality law practices and the full breadth of legal expertise that has always been differentiated by the credibility and transparent rankings process developed by Best Lawyers.”

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®.  Berman Tabacco has three ranked attorneys:  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Litigation (Securities), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2024 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 13.7 million peer evaluations, and recognizing attorneys in 75 national practice areas.  Best Lawyer’s states that these “rankings highlight a unique combination of high-quality law practices and the full breadth of legal expertise that has always been differentiated by the credibility and transparent rankings process developed by Best Lawyers.”

Metropolitan San Francisco

• Tier 1 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 1 in Litigation – Securities

National Rankings

• Tier 2 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 2 in Litigation – Securities

The leaves are changing color in New England, and the Berman Tabacco team is geared up for another busy fall on the road, but with some local events mixed in for good measure. We always love the opportunity to host clients and friends when they come to town.

So far this year, our team covered many miles, attending events, conferences, and client meetings across several states and Washington, D.C., including Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, California, and Colorado.

As we close out 2023, our dance card remains full.

A few weeks ago, Nicole Lavallee and Matthew Pearson attended the Counsel of Institutional Investors’  Fall Conference in Long Beach, California.

Just last week, Leslie Stern attended the Annual International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) conference in Boston, where Berman Tabacco was proud to co-sponsor a waterfront event for well over 1,000 guests who enjoyed a spectacular view of Boston harbor.  Meanwhile, Nathaniel Orenstein set off to historic Springfield, Mass. for the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement Systems’  fall summer conference.

Later this month, Leslie and Nicole will try their luck in Las Vegas while attending National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems’ (NCPERS) fall conference. And soon after that, Nicole and Matt will start November attending the State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS) conference in Rancho Mirage, California.

“As always, we look forward to seeing our clients and friends on the road,” commented Boston Partner Leslie Stern. “These conferences provide outstanding education on many core issues impacting our clients, but also serve as wonderful face-to-face opportunities to connect and catch up.”

Keep an eye out for us down the road!

San Francisco associate Christina Sarraf has been named the Co-Chair of the Younger Lawyers Division of the Northern District of California Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA). The Younger Lawyers Division is the largest division of the FBA, “with over 4,000 members, and it serves approximately one-fourth of the FBA’s total membership” and “represents the newest additions to the federal bar, composed of members who are 40 years old or younger or have been admitted to practice for less than 10 years.” Christina was elected to the FBA’s Executive Committee earlier this year.

The FBA, founded in 1920, holds itself out as being dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law.  Among other things, the organization advocates making changes to and improving the federal legal system via a network of close to 100 chapters.  The Northern District of California Chapter claims itself to be one of the most active chapters in the country, committed to “serving the needs of federal practitioners, Judges, and courts, as well as the Northern District of California community as a whole.”

Please join Berman Tabacco at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) fifth annual WIN Conference 2023 on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 12:30 pm at BASF’s offices at 201 Mission Street, Ste. 400, San Francisco, presented by the Women’s Impact Network No Glass Ceiling 2.0.  Berman Tabacco is pleased to be a sponsor of this event.  There will be panel discussions on the following topics:

• Dismantling Bias in the Legal Profession
• Path to Solo Practice
• Equality in the Legal Profession
• Authentic Mentorship – Challenges and Rewards
• AI in the Legal Profession

The 2024 edition of Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has issued its rankings profiling U.S. law firms.  For the 8^th consecutive year, Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Plaintiffs firm (in a select group of 12 firms) for its work representing individuals and institutions injured by violations of the securities and antitrust laws.  The firm was also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended—the 13^th consecutive year that the firm has received that ranking from Benchmark.  Benchmark Litigation notes that Berman Tabacco has been referred to by peers as “one of the premier plaintiff shops.”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, ten partners have been recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Norman Berman was ranked as a Local Litigation Star.
• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher was ranked as a Local Litigation Star.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star.
• Leslie R. Stern was ranked as a Local Litigation Star.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star.
• Nathaniel L. Orenstein was ranked as a Future Star.
• Matthew D. Pearson was ranked as a Future Star.

“We thank Benchmark Litigation for recognizing Berman Tabacco for its 2024 edition,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, managing partner of the firm’s Boston office.  “It is a true team effort, and we are honored to have our dedication and hard work, together with the results we achieve for our clients, recognized.”

For the second consecutive year, Benchmark Litigation has selected Boston-based partner Steven L. Groopman to appear in its Benchmark Litigation—40 & Under List for 2023 (8th ed.) in the Plaintiff Class Action practice area.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, notes that the 40 & Under List is a “Guide to the nation’s most notable up and coming litigation attorneys in the US” and that they set “out to identify the best and brightest litigators.”

Steve’s diverse practice sees him representing the firm’s clients in multiple practice areas. “Berman Tabacco congratulates Steve on this well-deserved recognition by Benchmark Litigation,” said Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Boston’s Managing Partner, “which reflects his tenacity and dedication to representing the firm’s clients.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review, has once again recognized San Francisco Partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Todd A. Seaver, and Christopher T. Heffelfinger as leaders in the antitrust field in the Plaintiff category in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Competition. Mr. Tabacco has been included in this publication for the past 10 years, since the creation of the Plaintiff category. This is the seventh consecutive year that Mr. Seaver has been selected and the third for Mr. Heffelfinger. Mr. Seaver has also been recognized by WWL as a Thought Leader in Competition (2019-2020, 2022-2023) and a Thought Leader: USA (2023).

“We congratulate Joe, Todd, and Chris on being selected by Who’s Who Legal: Competition as leaders in the plaintiff antitrust practice,” said San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee. “It serves as validation for their hard work and recognition of the esteem in which they are held on both sides of the aisle.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that four Berman Tabacco attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in their 30th edition (2024), which was released on August 17, 2023.

Three partners have been recognized by the The Best Lawyers in America publication. Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Christopher T. Heffelfinger were selected in the areas of both Antitrust and Securities Litigation, and Mr. Tabacco was further designated in the area of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs. Nicole Lavallee was selected in the areas of Securities Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

Additionally, of counsel attorney Kristie LaSalle was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in the areas of Antitrust Law, Antitrust Litigation, and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

“We congratulate our colleagues for this well-deserved honor,” commented Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. “We are grateful to Best Lawyers for continuing to recognize the work we do on behalf of our clients and the classes they represent.”

Best Lawyers states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications and “has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.” For the 2024 edition, Best Lawyers reviewed over 16 million peer evaluations, which resulted in more than 76,270 leading lawyers being included in 149 practice areas.

Boston Managing Partner Kathleen Donovan-Maher has been selected as a 2023 Top Rated Lawyer in New England and was featured in a special section of The National Law Journal highlighting New England’s Top-Rated Lawyers. This is the sixth consecutive year Kathleen has been selected.

“We are grateful to The National Law Journal for recognizing Kathleen and thrilled for her that she is repeatedly recognized for her value as a leader, partner, and colleague,” said Boston partner Leslie R. Stern.

The 2023 Top Rated Lawyer in New England special section features attorneys who have achieved the AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Martindale-Hubbell describes its Peer Review Ratings as having recognized lawyers for their professional excellence and high ethical standards for more than a century, long setting the standard for lawyer ratings.

For the fifth consecutive year, industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco partners to its 2023 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.  Selected are: Norman Berman, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Todd A. Seaver, and Kristin Moody.  Additionally, Norman Berman and Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. were included in their Hall of Fame.

“We are honored by the ongoing recognition by Lawdragon and its validation of the work we do on behalf of our clients and injured shareholders,” said San Francisco Office Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee.

According to Lawdragon, the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers were selected “through Lawdragon’s well-honed methodology combining journalistic research, robust nominations and vetting with experts.”  Lawdragon further states that, “this remarkable group of lawyers puts it all on the line with courage and clout that matches their defense counterparts in securities and other financial litigation; the booming antitrust field; whistleblowing claims; data privacy and so much more.”

Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, has been selected by Benchmark Litigation to appear in the 12^th edition of Benchmark Top 250 Women in Litigation.  According to Benchmark, this publication focuses on the leading Top 250 female litigators from across the United States who have “earned their place by participating in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history, as well as by earning the hard-won respect of their peers and clients as top players in their respective fields.”

“We are delighted with Benchmark’s recognition of Nicole’s longtime achievements as an extraordinary lawyer,” said San Francisco Name Partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.

A lead partner of the Securities Practice Group, Nicole is a trusted advisor on securities litigation and related matters to many of the nation’s largest pension funds and institutional investors.  Nicole has vast, exceptional experience and has prosecuted dozens of high-profile complex securities cases for the firm, earning judicial praise for her work.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected by ALM|Law.com and The National Law Journal, an ALM publication, as one of seven finalists in the Antitrust category for its 2023 Elite Trial Lawyer awards.  The 2023 annual awards ceremony will be held on July 13, 2023 at The St. Regis in New York City.

The firm was recognized for its work in the In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.), which settled just weeks before trial (and after 20 years of vigorous litigation) with the last remaining defendant Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited.  The case alleged that several of the world’s largest automakers—including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—conspired to keep discounted new cars and trucks from Canada from entering the U.S. market, which allegedly kept car prices higher for consumers in California and across the United States.  Relatedly, named partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was recognized as a Trailblazer by the The National Law Journal in its 2023 list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers earlier this year for the same case.

The National Law Journal states that Elite Trial Lawyers recognizes firms that “have performed exemplary and cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs” and that the “2023 awards will maintain the same prestige as they’ve always had, spotlighting industry-leading plaintiffs lawyers and firms.”  They further state that “[o]ut of hundreds of submissions,” that only “a small percentage are selected as finalists.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that nine attorneys from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office—eight partners and one associate—have been selected for recognition by Northern California Super Lawyers 2023 magazine, published by Thomson Reuters. 

The attorneys designated as 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.; Nicole Lavallee; Todd A. Seaver; Daniel E. Barenbaum; Kristin Moody; Carl N. Hammarskjold; Matthew D. Pearson, and Christopher T. Heffelfinger.  In addition, associate Jeffrey V. Rocha has been designated as a 2023 Northern California Rising Star (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years). 

Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, has been named a Top Women Lawyer in California by the Daily Journal in 2023 for the second time, having previously been selected in 2020.  The list, compiled from nominations submitted statewide, honors leading women practitioners highlighting the victories of women lawyers in the courtroom and the advancements of women in law.

Nicole has vast, exceptional experience and has prosecuted dozens of high-profile complex securities cases for the firm, earning judicial praise for her work.  She focuses on financial justice through asset recovery for investors and is a lead partner of the Securities Practice Group.

For the third consecutive year, Berman Tabacco has been recognized as a leader in securities litigation in both the California (Litigation) and USA-Nationwide (Securities Litigation) guides published by Chambers USA, the U.S.-based arm of Chambers and Partners.  Chambers released its 2023 rankings on June 1^st.  Chambers quotes a client or counsel who praised Berman Tabacco, noting that it is “a great firm with great trained lawyers. They’re well versed in negotiating as complex a securities case as you can have.”

In addition to the firm, both Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee were individually recognized as among the top U.S. litigators in securities litigation.  This is the 17^th consecutive year that Joe has been ranked by Chambers in securities litigation, which quoted a client or counsel who noted that Joe “has extremely great contacts in [the] industry. He can cut through nonsense and find resolutions that are economic and practical.”  Nicole, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, was recognized for the third time by Chambers in securities litigation, which quoted a client or counsel who stated that Nicole 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.”

“We are gratified by Chambers’ recognition of our firm,” said Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office.  “Our success is born out of our client-centric focus, and Chambers’ ongoing recognition is a testament to the diligent counseling and robust advocacy our attorneys and staff put in representing our clients’ interests.”

Chambers and Partners represents that it is a U.K.-based independent research company operating in 200 jurisdictions that has been researching and ranking attorneys worldwide for over 30 years.  Chambers notes that the “independent rankings” it provides are “central” to everything they do and is “why our research is the industry leader.”  Its “rigorous independent processes” make “Chambers the gold standard in legal insight.”   For more information about Chambers, please see https://chambers.com/.

San Francisco-based Berman Tabacco named partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was recognized as a Trailblazer in The National Law Journal’s 2023 list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers.  Joe, lead counsel for plaintiffs, was recognized, after almost 20 years, for bringing to conclusion In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.), via settlement just weeks before trial with the last remaining defendant Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited.  The case alleged that several of the world’s largest automakers—including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—conspired to keep discounted new cars and trucks from Canada from entering the U.S. market, which allegedly kept car prices higher for consumers in California and across the United States.

According to The National Law Journal, this is a special supplement that spotlights “professionals who are agents of change in their respective practice areas” and this list showcases those “who continue to make their mark in various aspects of legal work on the Plaintiffs’ side.”  This is the seventh annual list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers and it is available here:  2023 National Law Journal Plaintiff’s Lawyers Trailblazers.

Please join Berman Tabacco at the Equal Rights Advocates’ (ERA) annual luncheon Friday, June 9, 2023 at 12:00 pm at The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square. Berman Tabacco is proud to be a sponsor of this event.

This year, the event’s theme is State by State: Building Power for Gender Justice, honoring changemakers from across the country who are advancing rights for women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Click here for more about this year’s event.

ERA is comprised of a team of lawyers and advocates fighting for gender justice since 1974 through impact litigation, policy reform, and community outreach. Click here to learn more about ERA.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected by Benchmark Litigation as one of eight finalists in the Plaintiff Firm of the Year category for its Benchmark Litigation US Awards 2023.  Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, is hosting its annual Benchmark Litigation Awards on March 15, 2023 in New York City.

In 2023, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 7^th time) and in the top category of Highly Recommended (for the 12^th time).  The firm was also selected by Benchmark California as a Tier 1 firm—the highest rank awarded—in its Plaintiff Work category, with partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as Litigation Stars.

These are illustrative of similar rankings within Benchmark Litigation’s National and California rankings, both for the firm and its attorneys. Boston partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Leslie Stern, and Patrick T. Egan were designated as Massachusetts Litigation Stars, and Nathaniel Orenstein was designated as a Massachusetts Future Litigation Star.  In California regional rankings, the firm was recognized as a Tier 1 firm in the San Francisco region, with San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Daniel E. Barenbaum, and Todd A. Seaver designated as both California State Litigation Stars and Local Litigation Stars.

Institutional Shareholder Services’ Securities Class Action Services (ISS SCAS) has published its The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All-Time (as of December 31, 2022), which, as reported by ISS SCAS, is an annual report that identifies the largest U.S. securities class action settlements filed after the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The cases reported are ranked by the total value of the settlement fund.  According to the report, ISS SCAS verified 141 approved monetary class action settlements in the United States in 2022, with a combined total value of $4.77 billion.  This was the largest dollar value of settlements since 2018 and the highest number of settlements since 2017.

For the sixth consecutive year, Berman Tabacco was listed among the firms with the most settlements on the Top 100 list, with five settlements totaling $1,975,900,000.

After three years of vigorous litigation, Berman Tabacco is proud to announce the final approval of a $17.5 million settlement in litigation against Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Portola”).  On March 6, 2023, the Honorable Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California granted final approval to the settlement.  Berman Tabacco is the sole Lead Counsel representing Lead Plaintiff Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (“ACERA”) in a securities class action suit against Portola, certain former officers and directors, and the underwriters for the company’s secondary public offering.  ACERA was joined in prosecuting this action by additional plaintiff Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System.

Portola developed and commercialized treatments for thrombosis and other hematologic diseases.  Portola’s primary product was Andexxa, a reversal drug for apixaban- and rivaroxaban-treated patients with life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding.  The action alleged that defendants issued materially false and misleading statements related to the sales of Andexxa in its public statements, including secondary public offering materials.  First, the complaint alleged that the company misrepresented that it complied with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), where it recognized revenue in violation of relatively new GAAP rule ASC-606 and thus materially under-reserved for returns.  Second, the complaint alleged that the company misrepresented customer demand for and utilization of Andexxa for those that purchased it (e.g., hospitals and hospital-system pharmacies), both as to depth (regularity of usage) and breadth (types of bleeds prescribed for).

“Under ACERA’s active leadership, we are happy to have achieved this result following hard-fought litigation,” commented San Francisco Partner Daniel Barenbaum.  “This outcome underscores the crucial role that large public funds play in protecting our markets when they commit to acting as lead plaintiff in securities litigation.”

The $17.5 million settlement will provide relief to a class of investors who purchased Portola common stock from January 8, 2019 through February 28, 2020.

The case is Hayden v. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 3:20-cv-00367-VC (N.D. Cal.).  The Berman Tabacco litigation team included Nicole Lavallee, Daniel E. Barenbaum, Patrick T. Egan, Jeffrey V. Rocha, Christina M. Sarraf, Mackline Bastien, and Berna M. Lee.

Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Law Business Research Ltd., an independent London-based publishing group, has recognized San Francisco partner Todd A. Seaver in two of its Thought Leader publications for 2023.  He has been selected for the WWL Thought Leaders: Competition – Plaintiff (2023) as well as the WWL Thought Leaders: USA (Competition – Plaintiff) (2023) (the inaugural edition).  According to WWL, these are a highly selective guides that features only “the very best in the world in their field, without exception” and states that these individuals “are worthy of special mention owing not only to their vast expertise and experience advising on some of the world’s most significant and cutting-edge legal matters, but also their ability to innovate, inspire, and go above and beyond to deliver for their clients.”  Todd was previously selected for Thought Leader: Competition – Plaintiff honors in 2019-2020 and 2022, and he has also been recognized by Global Competition Review in its Who’s Who Legal: Competition guide each year since 2017.

The Northern District of California Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) has appointed its 2023 Officers.  Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Associates Danielle Smith and Christina M. Sarraf have been appointed to the Executive Committee.  As members of the Executive Committee, Danielle and Christina will work closely with the N.D. Cal. federal judges to coordinate educational opportunities for the local bar.

The FBA, founded in 1920, holds itself out as being dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law.  Among other things, the organization advocates making changes to and improving the federal legal system via a network of close to 100 chapters.  The Northern District of California Chapter claims itself to be one of the most active chapters in the country, committed to “serving the needs of federal practitioners, Judges, and courts, as well as the Northern District of California community as a whole.”

After nearly 20 years of litigation and just three weeks prior to the start of trial, Berman Tabacco, as lead counsel in an antitrust case against several leading automakers, successfully negotiated an $82 million settlement with the last remaining automaker defendant, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited (“Ford Canada”). The longstanding class action, pending before Judge Anne-Christine Massullo in San Francisco Superior Court and captioned In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298, 4303, was originally filed in early 2003 on behalf of new car buyers in California. The case alleged that several of the world’s largest automakers—including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—conspired to keep discounted new cars and trucks from Canada from entering the U.S. market, which allegedly kept car prices higher for consumers in California and across the United States.

The California action was one of several actions brought that involved similar allegations—including multiple state court actions and a large federal multidistrict litigation. Berman Tabacco, representing plaintiff car buyers, served as lead counsel in the federal multidistrict litigation and as lead trial counsel in the California action.

The recent settlement with Ford Canada came about after over a decade of hard-fought litigation in the California state trial court and appellate practice in the California Court of Appeal. Twice during this period, the trial court granted judgment in favor of Ford Canada; and each time, Berman Tabacco succeeded in convincing the California Court of Appeal to reverse and reinstate the claims. In particular, in 2016, the California Court of Appeal found that plaintiffs had produced sufficient evidence of an unlawful antitrust conspiracy to have their claims against Ford Canada be presented to a jury. See In re Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, 1 Cal. App. 5th 127 (2016).

Ultimately, after intensive preparation for a jury trial, the parties settled on the proverbial eve of trial. The settlement, which is now final, provides $82 million in cash for the benefit of California consumers who purchased new cars in California from January 1, 2001 to April 30, 2003. With prior settlements that plaintiffs achieved in various related cases, this settlement with Ford Canada brings the total recovery for car buyers to nearly $138 million.

San Francisco partner Joe Tabacco, who first launched the investigation into the alleged conspiracy back in 2002, remarked: “This truly marathon case would not have concluded successfully without the sustained efforts of many fine lawyers—including partners Todd Seaver and Matt Pearson—who toiled for years to get the case across the finish line. The perseverance paid off, and the settlement represents an excellent result for car buyers in the class.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome Michael Stocker Dark as Of Counsel in its San Francisco office.  Mike joined the firm in 2023 after serving as Deputy Inspector General for the County of Los Angeles and as a principal litigator and case developer for a leading plaintiff class action firm in New York City, representing U.S. and European institutional investors.

In his 25-year career in investor and consumer protection and government oversight, Michael has played a leading role in developing and litigating cases. Relying on his background in complex financial investigation and analysis, he has pursued cases on behalf of consumers and institutional investors stemming from scandals at major investment banks, anticompetitive practices at leading drug manufacturers, and manipulation of market indexes. He worked on the litigation teams pursuing some of the most significant securities class action recoveries in history, from defendants including Bear Stearns, insurance giant AIG, and Wellcare Health Plans, Inc.

This work has seen him repeatedly recognized as a leading litigator in the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List and in Benchmark Litigation’s California edition under Securities. In 2016 Michael was elected to the American Law Institute for his legal work and extensive writing and commentary on securities, business, and consumer protection issues. He is an emeritus board member of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.

San Francisco-based named partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was recognized as a Top Antitrust Lawyer in the Daily Journal’s 2022 list of Top Antitrust Lawyers in California.  This is the second time Joe has received this honor.  The list, compiled from nominations submitted statewide, honors leading antitrust practitioners for their work in plaintiffs, defense, and government antitrust work.

Joe has long been recognized by clients and lawyers on both sides of the bench as a leading plaintiffs’ antitrust and securities class action attorney.  He has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors, businesses, and consumers prosecuting and, in some instances, trying antitrust and securities cases.

The Daily Journal highlighted two of Joe’s cases for recognition.  The first is Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.), where, after two decades of hard-fought litigation in related cases in both federal and state court, including multiple appeals, Joe and the firm obtained an $82 million dollar settlement from the last remaining defendant, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited.  Together with the prior settlements in the related federal action, the firm recovered $137.85 million for class members.  These companion cases alleged that major automakers unlawfully conspired to stop the export of less expensive new Canadian vehicles from entering the United States.

The second action, In re California Gasoline Spot Market Antitrust, No. 3:20-cv-03131-JSC (N.D. Cal.), is ongoing, and alleges an unlawful scheme by gasoline trading companies in Houston and Hong Kong where traders are alleged to have manipulated the spot market for gasoline, leading California consumers to pay billions of dollars more at the pump for gasoline than they would have absent such conduct.

“We are thrilled for Joe and grateful to the Daily Journal for its continued recognition of his important contributions to and leadership within the California antitrust bar,” said Berman Tabacco partner Daniel E. Barenbaum.

For the second consecutive year, Boston Office Managing Partner Kathleen Donovan-Maher has been selected as one of the Top Lawyers by Boston Magazine in its second annual list of the “region’s best and brightest legal minds.”  The list was compiled through a two-step peer-review process (in partnership with DataJoe Research) across several practice areas.  The process included (i) peer voting and (ii) a further review by an “an advisory board of select lawyers.”  The recipients were ultimately “chosen for their credentials and the high number of votes they received.”

Kathleen focuses her practice on litigating complex class actions, including in the practice areas of securities, RICO, and consumer litigation, in addition to serving as Managing Partner of the Boston office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

“Once again, we congratulate Kathleen on being recognized as a Top Lawyer by her peers and Boston Magazine,” commented Boston Partner Leslie R. Stern.  “It is gratifying to have Kathleen’s dedication, hard work, and successes on behalf of her clients recognized year after year.”

Boston Magazine is a publication that has focused for over 40 years on the Boston area.  It has “been named among the three best city magazines in the nation seven times by the City and Regional Magazine Association.”

As a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), Berman Tabacco Partner Nicole Lavallee is pleased to announce that Berman Tabacco is a sponsor for the BASF’s Women’s Impact Network: No Glass Ceiling 2.0 Fourth Annual Legal Trailblazers Conference to be held between 1:00-4:45 p.m. on Thursday, November 17, 2022 at Golden Gate University, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco.

The conference will cover the following topics:

• Women in Law: Discovering the True Meaning of Success
  Panel speakers are Pat Gillette, JAMS Mediator and Author; Michelle Banks, Senior Advisor, Barker Gilmore; Maja Larson, Adjunct Law Professor, University of Seattle Law & Consultant and Board Advisor; and Zeynep Goral, Attorney and Writer;
• Advocating for Women’s Reproductive Rights
  Panel speakers are Gilda Gonzalez, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood; Teresa L. Johnson, Partner, Arnold & Porter; and
• Law Firm Equity
  Panel speakers are Joanna Storey, BASF’s Vice-Chair of the Legal Ethics Committee, Klinedinst Law; Lindsey Mignano, Barristers Board President & Attorney for Startups & Small Businesses, SSM; Kayla Delgado Grundy, Employment Law, Orrick.

A reception will follow the program from 4:45-6:00 p.m.  For further information, see here.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that seven attorneys from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office have been recognized by the Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Patrick T. Egan, Nathaniel L. Orenstein, and Steven J. Buttacavoli, and attorney Jay Eng were selected as 2022 Super Lawyers and Partner Steven L. Groopman was selected as a 2022 Rising Star.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters company, states that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% for Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

The 2023 edition of Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has issued its rankings profiling U.S. law firms.  Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Plaintiffs firm (in a select group of 12 firms) for the 7^th consecutive year for its work representing individuals and institutions injured by violations of the securities and antitrust laws.  The firm was also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended – the 12^th consecutive year that the firm has received the Highly Recommended ranking from Benchmark Litigation.  The firm was also ranked as one of the top firms in California in the Plaintiff category (one of the top 5) and the Securities practice area, and it was also listed among the top dispute resolution firms in San Francisco.  Benchmark Litigation notes that Berman Tabacco has been referred to by peers as “one of the premier plaintiff shops.”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, nine partners have been recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Norman Berman was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in the Securities practice area.
• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Competition/Antitrust and Securities practice areas.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/Antitrust practice areas.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Leslie R. Stern was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in the Securities practice area.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in the Plaintiff Class Action and Securities practice areas.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/Antitrust practice areas.
• Nathaniel L. Orenstein was ranked as a Future Star.

“Berman Tabacco is deeply honored that Benchmark Litigation has again recognized the firm in its 2023 edition,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, managing partner of the firm’s Boston office, “it is very rewarding to have our hard work and achievements on behalf of our clients acknowledged year-after-year.”

Today, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2023.  They have ranked Berman Tabacco both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the fifth time) and Litigation-Securities (for the fourth time).   The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.  According to U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, of the more than 22,000 firms, only 2,071 firms received a national law firm ranking in this edition.

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®.  Berman Tabacco has three ranked attorneys:  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Litigation (Securities), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2023 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 12.2 million peer evaluations, and recognizing attorneys in 75 national practice areas.  “The legal community views ‘Best Law Firms’ rankings as the top marker of excellence for the reason that our methodology is comprehensive, rigorous and historically proven,” says CEO of Best Lawyers Phillip Greer. “Our extensive process guarantees this designation is bestowed upon only the best legal practices.”

Metropolitan San Francisco

• Tier 1 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 1 in Litigation – Securities

National Rankings

• Tier 2 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 2 in Litigation – Securities

On September 12, 2022, the Honorable Philip P. Simon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana appointed Berman Tabacco as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action lawsuit against Inotiv, Inc. and certain of its executive officers.  The action was brought on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of Inotiv during the period September 21, 2021 and June 13, 2022.  The Order further appointed Berman Tabacco’s client, Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System, as Lead Plaintiff.

The complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or material omissions concerning the company’s business, operations, and regulatory compliance policies, specifically related to its acquisition of Envigo RMS, LLC and the existence of widespread violations of federal animal welfare regulations at an Envigo dog breeding facility located in Cumberland, Virginia that led the U.S. Department of Justice to take action to rescue more than 4,000 animals and led to the shuttering of the facility.

The case is: In re Inotiv, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 4:22-cv-00045-PPS-JEM (N.D. Ind.).  The litigation team includes Patrick T. Egan, Steven J. Buttacavoli, and Christina L. Gregg from the Boston office.

Industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco partners to its 2022 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers for the fourth consecutive year.  They are: Norman Berman, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Todd A. Seaver, and Kristin Moody.

“We are grateful for Lawdragon’s continued recognition of our colleagues and the critical work they do on behalf of our clients and those injured by corporate misconduct,” said Daniel E. Barenbaum, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office.

The 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers list includes lawyers who represent “plaintiffs in securities and other business litigation, antitrust, whistleblower claims and increasingly complex financial litigation and data privacy invasions.”  According to Lawdragon, the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers are chosen based on Lawdragon’s editorial research “through submissions, journalistic research and editorial vetting from a board of [] peers.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that five Berman Tabacco attorneys have again been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in their 29th edition (2023 ed.), which was released on August 18, 2022.

Three partners have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America publication.  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Christopher T. Heffelfinger have been recognized in the areas of both Antitrust Litigation and Securities Litigation.  Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Securities Litigation.

Additionally, partner Carl Hammarskjold and associate Colleen Cleary and have been recognized for the third consecutive time in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for their work in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

“We thank Best Lawyers for its continuing recognition of Berman Tabacco’s attorneys and work they do on behalf of our clients, and we congratulate our colleagues for this honor,” commented Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Best Lawyers states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications and “has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.”  For the 2023 edition, over 13 million peer evaluations, which resulted in more than 144,573 leading lawyers being included in 150 practice areas.

Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review and Law Business Research, has recognized San Francisco partner Todd A. Seaver in its publication WWL Thought Leaders: Competition.  According to WWL, this is a highly selective guide that features only those “scoring most highly” in their field and “are those individuals who have performed exceptionally well … with only a small proportion of those considered selected.”  Todd was previously selected for this honor in 2019 and 2020, and he has also been recognized by Global Competition Review in its Who’s Who Legal: Competition guides each year since 2017.

Christopher T. Heffelfinger, a long-time board member of Legal Aid at Work-Employment Law Center (LAW-ELC), was given a Meritorious Service Award in recognition of his long-standing support and work for the organization.  According to Legal Aid at Work, the Meritorious Service Award is given to current or former board members who “consistently and meaningfully” contribute their time and efforts to advancing the cause of Legal Aid at Work; it “recognizes those many contributions necessary to the continued success of the organization, including, by way of example, litigation and litigation support, finance, marketing, fundraising, operations, technology consulting, legal advice, and the provision of continuing education to staff members.”

Chris has been a LAW-ELC board member since 2010 and was Chair of the Development Committee and a member of the Executive Committee from 2015 to 2020.  He also taught a course on deposition taking to LAW-ELC staff attorneys.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, issued its 2022 edition of its 40 & Under list, which identifies “the best and brightest … emerging talent in litigation … across the US and Canada.”  Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Steven L. Groopman was named to Benchmark’s 40 & Under list for 2022 in the Plaintiff Class Action practice area.

Steve started with the firm in 2015 and is a Partner in the Boston Office.  He has represented the firm’s clients in multiple practices areas.  “The entire Berman Tabacco team congratulates Steve on this well-deserved recognition,” said Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Boston’s Managing Partner

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome new associate Christina Gregg to its Boston office. Christina focuses her practice on securities and complex civil litigation.

Christina is a 2021 graduate of Suffolk University Law School. While in law school, Christina interned with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in the Environmental Protection Division, where she assisted in both regulatory enforcement and consumer protection actions against ExxonMobil and Bayer AG. She also served as a legal intern for the Honorable David A. Lowy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

In law school, Christina served as managing editor of the Suffolk Law Journal of Trial & Appellate Advocacy and president of the Environmental Law Society. She also participated in a number of moot court competitions, including the Irving R. Kaufman Securities Law Moot Court Competition (semifinalist, 2021) and Hon. Walter H. McLaughlin Appellate Advocacy Competition (finalist, 2019).

Christina is passionate about social justice and community involvement. During law school, she served as a student attorney with the Suffolk Law Prosecutor’s Program, working in the Juvenile Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. She also served as a teaching fellow with the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project in a Boston public school.  In 2021, Christina received Suffolk University Law School’s Inaugural Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Award, awarded to a graduating law student whose community and pro bono contributions have supported equal justice under the law in the spirit of the late Chief Justice.

Christina earned a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that ten attorneys from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office—seven partners and three associates—have been selected for recognition by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  The attorneys designated as 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.; Nicole Lavallee; Todd A. Seaver; Daniel E. Barenbaum; Kristin Moody; Christopher T. Heffelfinger; and Matthew D. Pearson.  In addition, associates A. Chowning Poppler, Colleen Cleary, and Jeffrey V. Rocha have been designated as 2022 Northern California Rising Stars (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years).

Further, San Francisco office founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has once again been named to the Top 100 lawyers list, an honor he has received for the past 4 years.  Mr. Tabacco has long been recognized by Super Lawyers, having been selected as a top-rated antitrust litigation attorney each year since 2004.

Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Berman Tabacco has again been recognized as a leader in plaintiffs’ securities and antitrust litigation by The Legal 500.  This is the sixth consecutive year that the firm has been recognized by The Legal 500.

The firm was ranked as a leading firm in both Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff and Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Plaintiff in The Legal 500’s 2022 U.S. edition.  The Legal 500 analysis notes that the securities practice group “handles a broad range of complex litigation” and the “team punches above its weight in handling high-value cases.”

The Legal 500 has been analyzing law firms worldwide for the past 33 years and they “highlight the practice area teams who are providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice.”  According to The Legal 500, their research is based on “feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of researchers who have unrivalled experience in the legal market.”

Berman Tabacco has once again been recognized as a leader in securities litigation in both the California (Litigation) and USA-Nationwide (Securities Litigation) guides published by Chambers USA, the U.S.-based arm of Chambers and Partners.  Chambers released its 2022 rankings on June 1st, stating that the firm “always has a strong understanding of the case” and the team is “very responsive and efficient,” and further that “[t]hey’re a longstanding, respected plaintiffs’ firm.”  In addition to the firm, both Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee were individually recognized as among the top U.S. litigators in securities litigation in California.

This is the 16^th consecutive year that Joe has been ranked by Chambers in securities litigation, which quoted a client or counsel who noted that Joe is “an outstanding plaintiff’s lawyer” and “a very strong and strategic plaintiffs’ attorney.”  Nicole, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, was recognized for the second time by Chambers in securities litigation, which quoted a client or counsel who stated that Nicole is “a really terrific plaintiff lawyer and a real advocate in the community.”

“We are deeply honored that Chambers USA once again recognized the firm in its 2022 rankings and highlighted Joe and Nicole for the work they do on behalf of the firm’s clients,” said Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office.  “This recognition is particularly gratifying as it is indicative of the exemplary work and tireless dedication that each of our attorneys delivers to our clients every day.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome two new associate attorneys to the firm in its San Francisco office.

Christina M. Sarraf

Christina focuses her practice on securities ligation. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as an associate in the San Francisco office of the nation’s largest injury firm where she represented consumers in class action litigation in both state and federal court. Christina played an important role in a variety of high-profile privacy, automotive, and other consumer product cases against large tech companies and automobile manufacturers. She has also advised Silicon Valley startups on corporate compliance and intellectual property protection. Christina earned her J.D. at the University of New Mexico School of Law. While in law school, she externed at the Sixth District Court of Appeal for the State of California and clerked at Bay Area Legal Aid in San Francisco and various private firms in New Mexico.

Alex Vahdat

Alex focuses his practice on complex securities and antitrust litigation.  Prior to joining the firm, he focused his practice on commercial and employment matters. He also represented whistleblowers in qui tam actions under the False Claims Act.  Alex is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, where he earned his J.D. from the School of Law in 2012 and his B.A. in Political Science in 2007.  While in law school, Alex interned for the U.C. Davis School of Law Civil Rights Clinic, where he represented indigent clients alleging civil rights abuses. Alex was also an editor for the UC Davis Business Law Journal and participated in moot court competitions.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that the San Francisco office has moved effective May 1, 2022.  Our telephone and fax numbers remain the same.  Our new address is:

Berman Tabacco
425 California Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94104

Institutional Shareholder Services’ Securities Class Action Services (ISS SCAS) has published The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All-Time (as of December 31, 2021), which, as reported by ISS SCAS, is an annual report that identifies the largest securities class action settlements filed after the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The cases reported are ranked by the total value of the settlement fund.  According to the report, in 2021 ISS SCAS recorded 116 approved monetary securities class action settlements in the United States with a combined value of $3.51 billion.

Berman Tabacco was once again listed as one of the firms with the most settlements on the Top 100 list, with six settlements totaling $2,150,900,000.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected by Benchmark Litigation as one of four finalists in the California Plaintiff Firm of the Year category for its Benchmark Litigation Awards 2022.  This is the fourth consecutive year that Berman Tabacco has received this honor.  In addition, name partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been selected for the second consecutive year as one of five finalists in the Plaintiff Litigator of the Year category.  Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, is hosting its tenth annual Benchmark Litigation Awards on April 7, 2022 at the JW Marriott in San Francisco.

In 2022, the firm was selected by Benchmark California as a Tier 1 firm—the highest rank awarded— in its Plaintiff Work  category, with partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as Litigation Stars.  Nationally, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 6^th time) and in the top category of Highly Recommended (for the 11^th time).

These are illustrative of similar rankings within Benchmark Litigation’s National and California rankings, both for the firm and its attorneys. Boston partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Leslie Stern, and Patrick T. Egan were designated as Massachusetts Litigation Stars, and Nathaniel Orenstein was designated as a Massachusetts Future Litigation Star.  In California regional rankings, the firm was recognized as a Tier 1 firm in the San Francisco region, with San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as both California State Litigation Stars and San Francisco Local Litigation Stars.

“We appreciate Benchmark Litigation’s continued recognition of our firm’s and attorneys’ work on behalf of our clients,” said Boston partner Patrick Egan.  “Recognition of the firm is a testament to the extraordinary efforts made by every member of our team to provide our clients with the best possible counsel.”

On January 12, 2022, the Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted final approval to a $16.8 million settlement of a securities fraud class action brought by Berman Tabacco on behalf of its client against Healthcare Services Group Inc. (“HCSG”) and certain of its current and former officers. Berman Tabacco is sole Lead Counsel representing a state public pension fund in the class action suit.

HCSG is one of the largest providers of housekeeping, laundry, and dietary services to hospitals and other healthcare organizations.  The action alleged that, during the class period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose “earnings management” practices that allowed HCSG to consistently meet or beat earnings per share (“EPS”) estimates, which, in turn, caused the price of the company’s stock to be artificially inflated.  In addition, the action alleges that HCSG and defendants failed to disclose the existence of an ongoing SEC investigation into the Company’s EPS practices.

In a 33-page Memorandum approving all aspects of the settlement, Judge Robreno concluded that it was “clear” that each of the Rule 23(e) factors governing class action settlements supported approval of the settlement and that additional considerations established by the Third Circuit further favored approval of the settlement.  The Court also found that the overall fairness of the settlement was underscored by the fact that, as Lead Counsel, Berman Tabacco had satisfied a “heightened standard … designed to ensure that class counsel has demonstrated sustained advocacy throughout the course of the proceedings and has protected the interests of all class members.”

The settlement will provide relief to a class of investors that purchased HCSG common stock from April 14, 2014 through February 9, 2021.  For more information on the settlement or claims process, please see HCSGSecuritiesLitigation.com.

“We are very happy that the Court approved the settlement of this hard-fought litigation and we are proud to have worked alongside our client to obtain this result for them and other HCSG investors,” commented Berman Tabacco partner Patrick T. Egan.

The case is Utah Retirement Systems v. Healthcare Services Group, Inc., et al., No. 2:19-CV-01227-ER (E.D. Pa.).  The litigation team includes Patrick T. Egan and Steven J. Buttacavoli from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office and Nicole Lavallee and Jeffrey V. Rocha from the firm’s San Francisco office.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome Danielle Smith as an associate attorney in its San Francisco office.  Prior to joining the firm in 2022, Danielle focused her practice on complex civil litigation in the area of securities fraud, particularly claims arising under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933. She has also previously advised public entities in municipal law and labor and employment matters.  Danielle is a 2012 graduate of Harvard Law School. Before studying law, Danielle earned a B.A. in History from Columbia University.

Berman Tabacco is proud to announce that Steven Groopman has been elevated to the position of Partner effective January 1, 2022.

Steve started with the firm in 2015 and has represented the firm’s clients in a host of cases, spanning many practices areas.  From securities litigation and stockholder derivative suits to ERISA healthcare litigation and consumer protection class actions, Steve has excelled at strategic and creative thinking in complex, cutting-edge matters, obtaining hard fought victories for our clients and the classes they represent.

Recently, Steve was a key member of the litigation team that secured a $186.5 million settlement on behalf of a class of individuals who took out high interest rate loans from American Web Loan (“AWL”).  AWL is an online lender alleged to have circumvented state and federal law, including RICO, usury laws and other laws against high-interest lending to make loans of between $300 and $2,500 that carry annual interest rates as high as 726%.  The $186.5 million settlement provided $86 million in cash recovery for the class, cancellation of $100.5 million worth of outstanding class period loans and other significant non-monetary and injunctive relief.

Currently, Steve is litigating two significant derivative actions.  First, Steve is pursuing claims to hold vaccine manufacturer Emergent BioSolution’s board and top executives responsible for the Company’s alleged failure to implement safety and sterility measures, which resulted in the destruction of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines.  Second, Steve is litigating a derivative action concerning Walmart’s role in the opioid crisis, having allegedly sold massive amounts of controlled substances without the necessary compliance systems mandated by the Drug Enforcement Agency pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act.

“We congratulate Steve on his new role as Partner,” said Boston Managing Partner  Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher .  “Steve’s expertise, quick legal mind and passion for helping others have been a tremendous asset to our firm.  We look forward to his continued success.”

Partner Nathaniel Orenstein added, “Steve instantly recognizes ways in which our clients are impacted by corporate malfeasance, identifies creative and effective ways for our clients to protect their rights, and works tirelessly on their behalf.”

Prior to joining Berman Tabacco, Steve served as a law clerk to the Hon. Dickinson R. Debevoise on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.  Earlier in his career, Steve worked as an associate at a litigation and white-collar defense boutique law firm in New York.

Steve was named a Rising Star by New England Super Lawyers magazine (2017-2021).

The December issue of San Francisco Magazine features its annual list of Top Women Attorneys of Northern California based on Super Lawyers’ rankings.  Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that four attorneys from the San Francisco office—two partners and two associates—have been featured in this list.

San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee has been designated a Super Lawyer in the Securities Litigation category for the fifth consecutive year (2017-2021) and partner Kristin J. Moody has been selected for the same honor for the second consecutive year (2020-2021).  In addition, Ms. Lavallee was featured in the Top 50 Women in Northern California, a list of the women lawyers who ranked “top of the list.”

Associates A. Chowning Poppler and Colleen Cleary have been designated as 2021 Northern California Rising Stars (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years).  Ms. Poppler has been recognized as a Rising Star for the past five years, this year in Civil Litigation: Plaintiff (2017-2021) and Ms. Cleary has been recognized as a Rising Star in Antitrust Litigation (2021).

Boston Managing Partner Kathleen Donovan-Maher has been selected as one of the Top Lawyers of 2021 by Boston Magazine in its inaugural list of the “best lawyers in the region.”  The list was compiled through a two-step peer-review process across several practices areas, including voting and a further review by an “an advisory board of select lawyers, chosen for their credentials and the high number of votes they received.”

Kathleen focuses her practice on litigating complex class actions including securities, RICO, and consumer litigation, in addition to serving as Managing Partner of the Boston office and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.  Recently, Kathleen led a consumer class action brought on behalf of individuals who took out high interest rate loans from American Web Loan AWL, an online lender alleged to have circumvented state and federal law, including RICO, usury laws and other laws against high-interest lending to make loans of between $300 and $2,500 that carry annual interest rates as high as 726%.  Earlier this year, the Court granted final approval of the $186.5 million settlement, which provides for an $86 million cash recovery for the class, cancellation of $100.5 million worth of outstanding class period loans and other significant non-monetary and injunctive relief.

“We congratulate Kathleen on being selected a ‘Top Lawyer’ by Boston Magazine and her peers,” commented Boston Partner Leslie R. Stern, “it is well earned in light of Kathleen’s decades of successes representing shareholders and consumers.”

Boston Magazine is a publication that has focused on the Boston area for more than 40 years and has “been named among the three best city magazines in the nation seven times by the City and Regional Magazine Association.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that eight attorneys from Berman Tabacco‘s Boston office—five partners and three associates—have been recognized by the New England Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Nathaniel L. Orenstein, Steven J. Buttacavoli, and Bryan A. Wood were selected as 2021 New England Super Lawyers (this is the sixteenth time that Norman Berman has been recognized) and associates Lindsey Silver, Steven L. Groopman, and M. Dalton Rodriguez were selected as 2021 New England Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters company, states that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% for Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® have released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2022.  They have ranked Berman Tabacco both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the fourth time) and Litigation-Securities (for the third time).   The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.  According to U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, of the more than 22,000 firms reviewed, only about 2,000 received a national law firm ranking in this edition.

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of Best Lawyers^®.  Berman Tabacco has three ranked attorneys:  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Litigation (Securities), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2022 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 8.3 million peer evaluations, and recognizing attorneys in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan practice areas.  Phil Greer, the CEO of Best Lawyers said, “We are proud that Best Law Firms rankings continuously act as a top marker of distinction throughout the legal industry.  The evaluation process for the 2022 Best Law Firms publication has remained just as rigorous and discerning as it was when we created the publication 12 years ago.”

Metropolitan San Francisco

• Tier 1 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 1 in Litigation – Securities

National Rankings

• Tier 2 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 3 in Litigation – Securities

On September 23, 2021, the Honorable Judith E. Levy of the Eastern District of Michigan granted final approval to a $12.5 million settlement of a securities fraud class action brought by Berman Tabacco on behalf of its client against Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (“Sterling”). Berman Tabacco is sole Lead Counsel representing Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System in the class action suit against Sterling, certain of its current and former officers and directors, and the underwriters for the company’s initial public offering (“IPO”). The $12.5 million settlement represents over 20% of the maximum damages had plaintiffs prevailed on all claims.

Sterling, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, is the unitary thrift holding company of Sterling Bank and Trust. The company specializes in residential mortgages. This case focused on the rapid rise and dramatic fall of Sterling’s core loan program, the Advantage Loan Program or ALP, which represented more than 70% of the Company’s revenue and assets. As alleged, Sterling and the ALP operated in a highly regulated environment and were subject to residential lending regulations and strict Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws (“BSA/AML”). These laws required that Sterling maintain robust, sophisticated, and effective underwriting, internal controls, and due diligence systems as well as documentation and procedures to verify borrowers’ identity, income, ability to repay, and sources of funds. In this heightened regulatory environment, Defendants repeatedly touted its “disciplined” and “conservative” underwriting, risk management, and internal controls.

As alleged in the complaint, however, underwriting, internal controls, and risk management for the ALP were practically non-existent; Sterling was not in compliance with BSA/AML and residential lending laws, there was almost no documentation required to verify ALP borrowers’ identity, employment, or sources of cash they used to obtain the mortgages, and the ALP loans were riddled with red flags of money laundering. Ultimately, Sterling was forced to shut down the ALP due to widespread issues with its loan origination process; numerous employees were terminated or abruptly resigned, including all three Officer Defendants and other top management; and Sterling and the ALP’s lending practices were subject to an internal review and are currently under a criminal DOJ investigation and a formal OCC investigation.

The settlement will provide relief to a class of investors that purchased Sterling common stock from November 17, 2017 through March 17, 2020.

“Balancing the strength of our allegations, with ongoing civil and criminal investigations into the company, we are pleased with both the timing and results of this settlement—for our client and the class,” commented Berman Tabacco partner Kristin J. Moody.

The case is Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System v. Sterling Bancorp, Inc, et al., No. 5:20-cv-10490-JEL-EAS (E.D. Mich.). The litigation team includes partners Kristin J. Moody from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and Patrick T. Egan from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has issued its 2022 rankings profiling U.S. law firms.  Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Ten Plaintiffs firm for the sixth consecutive year for its work “on behalf of individuals and institutions who have suffered financial harm due to violations of securities or antitrust laws.”  The firm also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended 2022 – the eleventh time the firm has received the Highly Recommended ranking from Benchmark Litigation.  In California, the firm was ranked as one of the top firms in the Plaintiff category (one of the top 5) and the Securities practice area, and it was also listed among the top plaintiff firms in San Francisco.  Benchmark Litigation notes that Berman Tabacco has been referred to by peers as ‘one of the premier plaintiff shops.’”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, ten of the firm’s partners were recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Norman Berman was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in the Securities practice areas.
• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Competition/Antitrust and Securities practice areas.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/Antitrust practice areas.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Leslie R. Stern was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in the Securities practice area.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in the Plaintiff Class Action and Securities practice areas.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/Antitrust practice areas.
• Bryan A. Wood was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/Antitrust practice areas.
• Nathaniel L. Orenstein was ranked as a Future Star.

“We are honored that Benchmark Litigation has recognized Berman Tabacco in its 2022 rankings for the firm’s tireless dedication to achieving great results for our clients,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, managing partner of the firm’s Boston office.

For the third consecutive year, industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco partners to its 2021 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers:

• Norman Berman
• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher
• Nicole Lavallee
• Leslie R. Stern
• Christopher T. Heffelfinger
• Todd A. Seaver
• Kristin Moody.

The list includes lawyers who represent “plaintiffs in securities and other business litigation, antitrust, whistleblower claims and increasingly complex financial litigation and data privacy invasions.”  According to Lawdragon, The 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers are chosen based on Lawdragon’s editorial research “through submissions, journalistic research and editorial vetting from a board of [] peers.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that San Francisco founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been selected as Lawyer of Year in Securities Litigation by The Best Lawyers in America® in their 28th edition (2022), which was released on August 19, 2021.According to Best Lawyers, the “Lawyer of the Year honors are awarded to only one lawyer per practice area in each region with extremely high overall feedback from their peers, making it an exceptional distinguishment.”  Joe was recognized by Best Lawyers in the areas of Securities and Antitrust Litigation, along with San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee, who was recognized in the area of Securities Litigation, and partner Christopher T. Heffelfinger, who was recognized in the area of Antitrust Litigation.  This is the fifth consecutive year that Berman Tabacco attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers.

Additionally, one partner—Carl Hammarskjold—and two associates—Colleen Cleary and A. Chowning Poppler—have been recognized for the second consecutive year by The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for their work in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

“We are thrilled for Joe’s well-deserved recognition and appreciate Best Lawyers’ acknowledgement of Berman Tabacco attorneys and their dedicated efforts on behalf of our clients,” commented Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Best Lawyer states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications and has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.  For the 2022 edition, more than 10.8 million evaluations were analyzed, which resulted in more than 66,000 leading lawyers being included in 147 practice areas which, they state, results in the recognition of approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice across the country.

Berman Tabacco and several of its partners continue to be recognized as leaders in their areas of practice by some of the legal industry’s leading publications, including The Legal 500.  This is the fifth consecutive year that the firm has been recognized by The Legal 500.

The firm was recently ranked as a leading firm in both Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff and Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Plaintiff in The Legal 500’s 2021 U.S. edition.  The ranking highlights client testimonials including that the “lawyers at Berman Tabacco prioritize client involvement in key decision making and work hard to ensure that the client understands the implications of each phase of litigation” and that it “matters to them that they are working to achieve results for the benefit of each member of the pension fund, most of whom will never know about the litigation.”  Five of the firm’s partners received recognition from the publication.  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Todd Seaver, and Patrick Egan were recommended under the category Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff.  And Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, and Leslie Stern were recommended under the category Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff.

Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced awards totaling nearly $1.6 million to two whistleblowers who “provided valuable information that assisted the staff in an existing investigation,” noting that the “whistleblowers not only stepped forward to report suspicious conduct, but also continued to provide critical additional assistance.”  Berman Tabacco partner, Bryan A. Wood, represented one of the whistleblowers, an outside analyst.

In announcing the awards, the SEC noted that “[w]histleblowers can provide a wealth of information and ongoing assistance that helps the SEC bring enforcement actions quicker and more efficiently.” The SEC awarded one whistleblower approximately $1,000,000, while granting a $525,000 award to Berman Tabacco’s client. The SEC praised both whistleblowers for providing “valuable information that assisted the staff in an existing investigation,” adding that the “independent analysis” provided by Berman Tabacco’s client “was helpful to the staff by narrowing the investigation’s focus” and “assisted the staff and informed the final charges brought by the Commission.”

“We are very pleased at this outcome,” commented Mr. Wood. “Today’s announcement reaffirms the SEC’s commitment to reward the work of outside analysts for the critical information and insight they provide to the launch and advancement of regulatory enforcement actions.”

Generally, the SEC does not disclose details about its whistleblower awards and, in this matter, the whistleblower has chosen to remain anonymous.  Since its inception, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower has paid out approximately $950 million to 193 individuals.

“Not only do we applaud the tireless efforts of our client to identify this fraud from afar and explain its mechanics to regulators, but also the SEC itself for recognizing that outside analysts serve a vital function in enforcing our federal securities laws,” noted Mr. Wood. “It is our sincere hope that the SEC continues to compensate this important class of whistleblowers for the immeasurable contributions they provide in the ongoing fight against securities fraud.”

Berman Tabacco is one of the country’s highly ranked class action law firms representing institutions and individuals in lawsuits, seeking to recoup losses caused by corporate and board misconduct and violations of the securities and antitrust laws.  Since 2011, the firm’s whistleblower department has represented clients before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, we assist whistleblowers in rooting out fraud against the government through litigation brought pursuant to federal and state false claims acts, commonly known as qui tam cases. If you are considering submitting a whistleblower tip to the SEC, we urge you to contact us for a free consultation.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that twelve attorneys from Berman Tabacco‘s San Francisco office—eight partners and four associates—have been selected for recognition by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  The attorneys designated as 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.; Christopher T. Heffelfinger; Nicole C. Lavallee; Todd A. Seaver; Daniel E. Barenbaum; Kristin Moody; Matthew D. Pearson; and Carl N. Hammarskjold.  In addition, associates A. Chowning Poppler, Colleen Cleary, Jeffrey Miles, and Jeffrey V. Rocha have been designated as 2021 Northern California Rising Stars (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years).

In addition, Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of the San Francisco Office, has been named to two of Super Lawyers’ “Top Lists”―Top 50 Women and Top 100 lawyers.  San Francisco office founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has once again been named to the Top 100 lawyers in 2021.  Mr. Tabacco has long been recognized by Super Lawyers, having been selected as a top-rated antitrust litigation attorney each year since 2004.

Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review, has once again recognized San Francisco Partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Todd A. Seaver, and Christopher T. Heffelfinger as leaders in their field in the 2021 edition (published in June 2021) of Who’s Who Legal: Competition in the Plaintiff category.

Mr. Tabacco has been included in this publication for the past eight years, since the creation of the Plaintiff category.  This is the fifth consecutive year that Mr. Seaver has been selected and the second consecutive for Mr. Heffelfinger.  Mr. Seaver has also been recognized by WWL as a Thought Leader in Competition (2019-2020).

Berman Tabacco has been recognized as a leader in securities litigation for both California and Nationwide by Chambers USA, the U.S.-based arm of Chambers and Partners.  Chambers released its 2021 rankings today, stating that that the firm is “super responsive, cooperative and easy to work with,” and further that the “team works collaboratively and understands our needs.”  In addition to the firm, both Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee were individually recognized as among the top U.S. litigators in securities litigation.  Chambers and Partners states that it is a U.K.-based independent research company that has been researching and ranking attorneys worldwide for over 30 years.

This is the 15^th consecutive year that Joe has been ranked by Chambers, this year quoting a client or counsel as noting that Joe “has a strong reputation for securities litigation.”  Nicole, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, was recognized for the first time this year by Chambers, quoting a client or opposing counsel who stated that Nicole is “a good adversary, she is smart and puts up a good fight for her clients.”

“We are honored that Chambers has recognized the firm in its 2021 rankings and are pleased that it highlighted Joe’s and Nicole’s efforts on behalf of the firm’s clients,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s Boston office.  “Their tireless dedication exemplifies the focused, conscientious representation that each of our attorneys provides to our clients.”

Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an award of over $50 million to joint whistleblowers who provided “exemplary assistance” during the course of an investigation into “highly complex transactions” that resulted in the return of “tens of millions of dollars to harmed investors.” Represented by Berman Tabacco partner Bryan A. Wood, the whistleblowers will share the second largest award in the history of the SEC’s whistleblower program.

In announcing the award, the SEC noted that the “joint whistleblowers provided exemplary assistance to the SEC staff during the investigation, including meeting with staff numerous times and providing voluminous detailed documents.” Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, noted: “Today’s award is the second largest in the history of the program, reflecting the tremendous contribution of these joint whistleblowers to our ability to recover funds for harmed investors.”

“This is a tremendous result for these courageous whistleblowers,” commented Mr. Wood. “They dedicated countless hours to working closely with the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice to provide critical information into this very complex fraud.”

Generally, the SEC does not disclose details about its whistleblower awards and, in this matter, the whistleblowers have chosen to remain anonymous. Since its inception, the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower has paid out approximately $812 million to 151 individuals.

“Not only is this a great result for our clients, but it also serves as a testament to the perseverance and dedication of the SEC’s enforcement division, which was vigilant in pursuing this fraud,” noted Mr. Wood. “In addition, it is a triumph for the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, which really appears to be hitting its stride in serving courageous whistleblowers like our clients.”

Berman Tabacco is one of the country’s highly ranked class action law firms representing institutions and individuals in lawsuits, seeking to recoup losses caused by corporate and board misconduct and violations of the securities and antitrust laws. Since 2011, the firm’s whistleblower department has represented clients before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). In addition, we assist whistleblowers in rooting out fraud against the government through litigation brought pursuant to federal and state false claims acts, commonly known as qui tam cases. If you are considering submitting a whistleblower tip to the SEC, we urge you to contact us for a free consultation.

Berman Tabacco is proud to announce that Carl Hammarskjold has been elevated to the position of Partner effective January 1, 2021.

“We congratulate Carl on his new role as Partner,” said San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee.  “Carl’s expertise in antitrust matters has been a tremendous asset to our firm.  We look forward to his continued success.”

Partner Todd Seaver added, “Carl’s promotion to Partner reflects his outstanding work and tireless efforts on behalf of our clients, as well as his strong skills as a litigator.”

Carl is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. He represents the firm’s clients and class plaintiffs in several financial market manipulation and antitrust class actions on behalf of investors alleging that major banks colluded to fix the prices of bonds and derivatives. These cases include Australian Dollar (Dennis, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., et al., No. 16-cv-06496 (S.D.N.Y)); Euribor (Sullivan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 13-cv-2811 (S.D.N.Y.)); Yen Libor (Sonterra Capital Master Fund, LTD. v. UBS AG, et al., No. 15-cv-5844 (S.D.N.Y.)); In re Mexican Government Bonds Antitrust Litigation, No. 18-cv-02830 (S.D.N.Y); and GSE Bonds (In re GSE Bonds Antitrust Litigation, No. 19-cv-01704 (S.D.N.Y.)). Plaintiffs in GSE Bonds reached settlements with all defendants totaling $386.5 million. To date, partial settlements have also been reached in the Euribor and Yen Libor actions in the amounts of $491.5 million and $307 million, respectively. Carl also represented the firm’s client and class plaintiffs in a nationwide antitrust class action—In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-md-02420-YGR (N.D. Cal.)—on behalf of direct purchasers of lithium ion rechargeable batteries that resulted in settlements totaling $139.3 million.

Prior to joining Berman Tabacco in 2018, Carl worked for a San Francisco-based plaintiffs’ law firm specializing in antitrust class actions and other complex, multidistrict litigation in federal court.  He was also a business litigator at a large, national law firm.

Carl is rated AV Preeminent^® by Martindale-Hubbell^® and was selected by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star in 2016-2020.  In 2021, Carl was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® under Ones To Watch for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs (2021) and Northern California Best Lawyers under Ones To Watch for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected for the third consecutive year by Benchmark Litigation as one of four finalists in the California Plaintiff Firm of the Year category for its Benchmark Litigation Awards 2021.   In addition, name partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been selected as one of five finalists in the Plaintiff Litigator of the Year category.  Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, is virtually hosting its ninth annual Benchmark Litigation Awards on March 31, 2021.

In 2021, the firm was selected by Benchmark California as a Tier 1 firm—the highest rank awarded— in its Plaintiff Work category, with partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as Litigation Stars.  Nationally, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 5^th time) and in the top category of Highly Recommended (for the 10^th time).

These are illustrative of similar rankings within Benchmark Litigation’s National and California rankings, both for the firm and its attorneys. Boston partners Norman Berman, Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Leslie Stern, Patrick T. Egan, and Bryan Wood were designated as Massachusetts Litigation Stars, and Nathaniel Orenstein was designated as a Massachusetts Future Litigation Star.  In California regional rankings, the firm was recognized as a Tier 1 firm in the San Francisco region, with San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as both California State Litigation Stars and San Francisco Local Litigation Stars, and Todd A. Seaver was designated as a California Future Litigation Star.

“We are honored that Benchmark Litigation continues to acknowledge our firm for its steady, strong advocacy on behalf of our clients,” said San Francisco partner Daniel Barenbaum.  “Recognition of the firm is recognition of the extraordinary efforts made by each and every member of the Berman Tabacco team to provide those clients with the best possible counsel and representation.”

On November 20, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted final approval of the settlement in the Sinclair Broadcast Group derivative action.  The settlement provides far-reaching corporate governance benefits to Sinclair and its shareholders, including substantial controls over how the Company interacts with its regulators and oversight over related-party transactions.  The settlement requires the Company to create two new Board committees and hire a Chief Compliance Officer.  The settlement further provides in excess of $25 million in recovery for the Company, a significant portion of which will come from executive chairman David D. Smith repaying $4.36 million in stock awards.

Berman Tabacco was Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel representing Norfolk County Retirement System in this shareholder derivative action against Sinclair Broadcast Group’s (“Sinclair”) controlling shareholders and Board of Directors in federal court in Maryland.  Plaintiffs alleged that Sinclair’s controlling shareholders and Board breached their fiduciary duties by knowingly and intentionally misleading the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in connection with a proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company (“Tribune”).  Specifically, Sinclair and its controlling shareholder attempted to divest certain assets to companies with undisclosed relationships with Sinclair’s controlling shareholder.  This allegedly resulted in the cancellation of the merger, as well as Sinclair paying $60 million in damages to Tribune and paying $48 million in civil penalties to the FCC.

In approving the settlement, the Court was very complimentary of the plaintiffs, including the Norfolk County Retirement System, noting that “[w]ithout the participation of these sophisticated institutional plaintiffs, it is not likely that a significant recovery benefitting all of Sinclair’s shareholders would have materialized.”  Likewise, the Court recognized Berman Tabacco’s “substantial experience” and “skilled” representation in prosecuting this action.

“The excellent results achieved in this case demonstrate how sophisticated clients and skilled counsel can work together to hold corporate officers and directors accountable,” commented Berman Tabacco partner Nathaniel L. Orenstein.  “We are proud and grateful for the opportunity to represent the Norfolk County Retirement System and shareholders from across the country in this important work.”

The cases are Fire and Police Retiree Health Care Fund, San Antonio v. Smith, et al., No. 1:18-cv-03670-CCB (D. Md.) and Norfolk County Retirement System v. Smith, No. 18-cv-03952 (D. Md.) (Sinclair Broadcast Group Derivative Actions).  The litigation team includes Leslie Stern and Nathaniel L. Orenstein from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office.

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® Ranks Berman Tabacco in its Eleventh Edition of “Best Law Firms”

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® have released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2021.  They have ranked Berman Tabacco both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the third time) and Litigation-Securities (for the second time).   The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.  According to U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, of the more than 15,500 firms reviewed, only about 2,100 received a national law firm ranking in this edition.

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of Best Lawyers^®.  Berman Tabacco has three ranked attorneys:  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Litigation (Securities), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2021 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 8.3 million peer evaluations, and recognizing attorneys in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan practice areas. Phil Greer, the CEO of Best Lawyers said, “For the 2021 Best Law Firms publication, the evaluation process has remained just as rigorous and discerning as it did when we first started 11 years ago.”

Metropolitan San Francisco

• Tier 1 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 2 in Litigation – Securities

National Rankings

• Tier 2 in Litigation – Antitrust
• Tier 3 in Litigation – Securities

Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, has been named a Top Women Lawyer in California by the Daily Journal.  The list, compiled from nominations submitted statewide, honors leading women practitioners highlighting the victories of women lawyers in the courtroom and the advancements of women in law.

Nicole has vast, exceptional experience and has prosecuted dozens of high-profile complex securities cases for the firm, earning judicial praise for her work.  She focuses on financial justice through asset recovery for investors and is a lead partner of the Securities Practice Group.

Seven attorneys from Berman Tabacco‘s Boston office have been recognized by the New England Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Norman Berman was designated a 2020 New England Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation for the fifteenth time.  Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Nathaniel L. Orenstein, and Bryan A. Wood were also designated as 2020 New England Super Lawyers. Nicole Maruzzi, Steven L. Groopman, and Corey W. Silva were designated as 2020 New England Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters company, states it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has issued its 2021 rankings profiling U.S. law firms.  Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Ten Plaintiffs firm for the fifth consecutive year for its work “on behalf of individuals and institutions who have suffered financial harm due to violations of securities or antitrust laws.”  The firm also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended 2021 – the tenth time the firm has received the Highly Recommended ranking from Benchmark Litigation.  In California, the firm was ranked as one of the top firms in the Plaintiff (in the top 5) and Securities practice areas and was among the top firms in San Francisco (Tier 1).  A firm client remarked to Benchmark Litigation that “[a]mong plaintiffs’ securities firms, Berman Tabacco is top-flight” and a peer noted the firm was “one of the premier plaintiff shops.”  And an attorney from a defense firm noted:  “They have been ‘swinging for the fences,’ so to speak, and that’s a good thing. Plaintiff firms need to bring cases they believe in in order for people like us to take them seriously.  Berman Tabacco has been doing well with that.”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, ten of the firm’s partners were recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Norman Berman was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in the Securities and FCPA practice areas.
• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Competition/antitrust and Securities practice areas.
• Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/antitrust practice areas.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Leslie R. Stern was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities practice area.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a Future Star.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/antitrust practice areas.
• Bryan A. Wood was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition/antitrust practice areas.
• Nathaniel L. Orenstein was ranked as a Future Star.

“We are honored that Benchmark Litigation continues to recognize Berman Tabacco for its dedication to achieving great results for its clients,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Boston managing partner.

Berman Tabacco Partner Nicole Lavallee is honored to be involved in The Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) inaugural Board Balance Conference, a diversity program and networking event sponsored by the Women’s Impact Network of BASF, to be held virtually from 2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on November 19, 2019.

As a member of the Steering Committee of BASF’ Women’s Impact Network, Nicole Lavallee has helped organize the Board Balance Conference.  The conference brings together leading women attorneys, recruiters and leadership coaches who have created their own paths to the boardroom who will share their stories and paths to success.  It will provide education about board membership, including practical advice on how to identify opportunities, and offer networking opportunities with board insiders.  The conference will address topics including:

• Networking and building leadership and board skills during a crisis
• Tackling racial inequality on boards
• The unique contribution women can make to a board’s role in promoting socially desirable goals

For more information and a list of presenters, please see BASF calendar and printable flyer.  This program is eligible for one hour of MCLE in Legal Ethics (MCLE registration starts at 1:30 p.m.) (see flyer for more information).  The program is free.

The conference live link will be sent to all attendees 24 hours prior to the program start. This link will be included in the confirmation email.

For the second consecutive year, industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco partners to its 2020 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers: Norman Berman, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher, Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Todd A. Seaver, and Kristin Moody.

The list includes lawyers who “specialize in representing plaintiffs in securities and other business litigation, antitrust, and whistleblower claims” and “the heart and soul of this list takes on the plight of plaintiffs who often can’t afford to go to court for the wrong they’ve been done” and in many cases “these firms will shoulder the risk and take the cases on contingency.”  The 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers are chosen based on Lawdragon’s editorial research of “top verdicts and settlements” combined with extensive peer discussions nationwide regarding “whom they admire and would hire to seek justice for a claim.”

Berman Tabacco recently secured a favorable ruling permitting a shareholder derivative suit to proceed against the directors and officers of pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company AmerisourceBergen Corporation (“Amerisource” or “the “Company”).

The action alleges that, for nearly thirteen years, Amerisource, through a subsidiary headed by the Company’s current Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, operated an illegal pre-filled syringe program that created, packaged, and shipped millions of single-dose syringes containing cancer medications to oncology centers, hospitals, and physicians, exposing vulnerable cancer patients to potential harm.  The Company allegedly profited by creating pre-filled syringes from excess drug product leftover in vials provided by drug manufacturers to help with accurate dosage.  By pooling the overfill from multiple drug vials, Amerisource was able to create more doses than it bought from the drug manufacturers.  This practice allegedly violated federal and state drug safety laws and regulations.  Additionally, the pre-filled syringes of oncology drugs were allegedly prepared under unsterile and unclean conditions, exposing cancer patients with weakened immune systems to hazardous contaminants.

San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund, represented by Berman Tabacco, as well as other institutional investors alleged in an action on behalf of the Company’s shareholders that the directors and officers of Amerisource acted in bad faith and breached their fiduciary duties by failing to establish and implement an adequate reporting system to ensure that the Company and its subsidiaries operated in compliance with the law and by failing to act on red flags involving the pre-filled syringes program when they were raised.  They allege that the Board’s failure allowed the Company to engage in illegal conduct for years and caused the Company’s subsidiary to enter a criminal guilty plea, pay a $208 million criminal fine, a $52 million criminal forfeiture, and an additional $625 million civil settlement.

On August 24, 2020, Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Chancery court denied the Company’s motion to dismiss.  Vice Chancellor Glasscock noted in his decision that the alleged facts indicate that Amerisource “operated a criminal enterprise” and that the complaint adequately alleged that the Company’s directors “permitted a woefully inadequate reporting system” with respect to its subsidiary and consciously disregarded evidence of corporate misconduct.  He further noted that the allegations brought in the action are a “prime example” of a company “flouting laws meant to ensure the safety and purity of drugs destined for patients suffering from cancer.”

According to Boston Partner Nathaniel L. Orenstein, “We are pleased by this ruling and hope that we can hold individuals accountable for their role in Amerisource’s conduct that led to the guilty plea.”

The case is Teamsters Local 443 Health Services & Insurance Plan, et al. v. John Chou, et al., C.A. No. 2019-0816-SG (Del. Ch.).  Berman Tabacco’s litigation team includes Nathaniel Orenstein, and Berna Lee from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office and Nicole Lavallee of the firm’s San Francisco office.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that six Berman Tabacco Attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America^® in its 2021 edition, released on August 20, 2020.

Three partners have been recognized the primary The Best Lawyers in America publication.  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Securities and Antitrust Litigation, Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area of Antitrust Litigation, and Nicole Lavallee has been recognized in the area of Securities Litigation.

Additionally, three associates—Colleen Cleary, A. Chowning Poppler and Carl Hammarskjold—have been recognized in the inaugural 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for their work in Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.

“We are gratified by Best Lawyers’ expanding recognition of Berman Tabacco attorneys and their extraordinary efforts on behalf of our clients, and we congratulate our hard-working colleagues,” commented Daniel Barenbaum, a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Best Lawyers states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications and “has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.”  For the 2021 edition, 9.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 67,000 leading lawyers being included in 148 practice areas.

Berman Tabacco is Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel representing Norfolk County Retirement System in a shareholder derivative action against Sinclair Broadcast Group’s controlling shareholders and Board of Directors in federal court in Maryland.  Plaintiffs allege that Sinclair’s controlling shareholders and Board breached their fiduciary duties by knowingly and intentionally misleading the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in connection with certain related party transactions involved in a proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company (“Tribune”).  This allegedly resulted in the cancellation of the merger, as well as Sinclair paying $60 million in damages to Tribune and paying $48 million in civil penalties to the FCC.

The case has settled and provides far-reaching corporate governance benefits to Sinclair and its shareholders, including substantial controls over how the Company interacts with its regulators and oversight over related-party transactions.  The settlement requires the Company to create two new Board committees and hire a Chief Compliance Officer.  The settlement further provides in excess of $25 million in recovery for the Company, a significant portion of which will come from executive chairman David D. Smith repaying $4.36 million in stock awards.  Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of the settlement was filed on July 23, 2020.

“This settlement is important because it implements very robust corporate governance reforms and holds an alleged wrongdoer personally accountable for injury to the Company,” commented Berman Tabacco partner Nathaniel L. Orenstein,  “this settlement will help ensure the company follows the rules and protects minority shareholders.”

The cases are Fire and Police Retiree Health Care Fund, San Antonio v. Smith, et al., No. 1:18-cv-03670-CCB (D. Md.) and Norfolk County Retirement System v. Smith, No. 18-cv-03952 (D. Md.) (Sinclair Broadcast Group Derivative Actions).  The litigation team includes Leslie Stern and Nathaniel L. Orenstein from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office.

For more information about the settlement, please read the following:

• July 20, 2020 – Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, Compromise and Release dated July 20, 2020
• August 6, 2020 – Preliminary Approval Order
• August 6, 2020 – Proposed Final Order
• August 10, 2020 – Court Approved Notice to Stockholders

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome two new associates to the Boston office, Lindsey Silver, who joined the firm in June, and M. Dalton Rodriguez, who joined the firm in July.

Lindsey Silver

Lindsey focuses her practice on securities litigation, including cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers.  She is currently a member of the litigation team pursuing claims against Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its top executives for allegedly misleading the market about sales of its primary drug, Andexxa.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Silver worked as an associate for over seven years at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Boston, where she focused primarily on securities litigation, regulatory investigations, and appeals, as well as other complex business litigation. She played a critical role in a variety of high-profile cases on behalf of clients in the financial, pharmaceutical, and biotechnological industries in both state and federal court. She has significant experience in drafting dispositive and non-dispositive motions, defending depositions, and managing document discovery.

During law school, Ms. Silver interned with the Hon. Nancy Gertner on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and in the Trial Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Before law school, Ms. Silver worked as a paralegal at a labor and employment law firm in Boston.

M. Dalton Rodriguez

M. Dalton Rodriguez focuses his practice on securities litigation. He is currently a member of the litigation team pursing a derivative action on behalf of investors of Sinclair Broadcast Corporation, Inc. In that action, Berman Tabacco’s client alleges that Sinclair’s controlling shareholder and Board breached their fiduciary duties by knowingly and intentionally misleading the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Federal Communications Commission in their review of the proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company. This allegedly resulted in the cancellation of the merger, which has cost Sinclair hundreds of millions of dollars to date.

Prior to joining the firm, Dalton worked as an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston for more than four years, where he focused on bankruptcy and other complex business litigation, internal investigations related to legal and regulatory compliance, and proceedings before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also maintained a substantial pro bono practice focused on issues affecting the LGBTQ community and immigrant rights.

While in law school, Dalton was an editor for the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Stanford Journal of Complex Litigation. He also served as an accounting instructor for Project ReMADE and as social chair for Stanford OutLaw.

On April 30, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) decided that consumers may pursue the bulk of their antitrust and consumer protection claims against American Express for barring merchants from steering customers to lower-cost payment alternatives.  The decision is a key procedural victory for the class action plaintiffs and paves the way for this class action on behalf of consumers who do not have an American Express card to proceed with the prosecution of the action.

Within the highly concentrated market for credit card services, American Express is the second-largest competitor in terms of market share.  According to the complaint, American Express’s behavior has unlawfully restrained trade since at least 2010, resulting in higher prices for credit card transactions and higher retail prices on goods and services across the board.  The class action seeks damages from American Express for the overcharges inflicted on consumers caused by its anti-steering rules imposed on merchants.

Earlier this summer, the court appointed Berman Tabacco Co-Lead Counsel.

“This is an important case that is at the cutting edge of competition in the payments industry,” says Berman Tabacco partner Todd A. Seaver.  “We allege that American Express uses its market power to inflict what amounts to a tax on everyone who buys goods or services from U.S. merchants.  In so doing, we argue that American Express has effectively caused all of us to pay higher prices at the cash register so that it can shower rewards and perks on the wealthiest American Express cardholders. ”

The case is captioned Oliver, et al. v. American Express Co., et al., No. 1:19-cv-00566-NGG-SMG (E.D.N.Y.).  The litigation team includes Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Todd A. Seaver and Colleen Cleary from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office.

San Francisco-based founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was named a Top Antitrust Lawyer in the Daily Journal’s inaugural list of Top Antitrust Lawyers in California for 2020.  The list, compiled from hundreds of nominations submitted statewide, honors leading antitrust practitioners for their work in plaintiffs, defense, and government antitrust work.

Joe Tabacco has long been recognized by clients and lawyers on both sides of the bench as a leading plaintiffs antitrust and securities class action attorney.  He has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors, business, and consumers and the classes that they represent prosecuting and, in some instances, trying antitrust and securities cases.

The Daily Journal highlighted two of Joe’s cases—one is one of the newest antitrust class action cases that he filed, and the other is one of the oldest that is still active.  The new case—Bogard Construction Inc. v. Vitol Inc., et al. No. 3:20-cv-03267-JSC (N.D. Cal.)—alleges an unlawful scheme by gasoline trading companies in Houston and Hong Kong in which traders are alleged to have manipulated the spot market for gasoline, leading California consumers to pay billions of dollars more at the pump for gasoline absent such conduct.  The other case—Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.)—is a long-standing antitrust class action against automobile manufacturers alleging that they unlawfully conspired to stop the export of cheaper new Canadian vehicles to the United States.  It could be set for trial as early as the end of this year.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that nine attorneys from Berman Tabacco‘s San Francisco office—six partners and three associates—have been selected for recognition by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  The attorneys designated as 2020 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Nicole C. Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, Daniel E. Barenbaum, and Kristin Moody.  In addition, associates A. Chowning Poppler, Carl N. Hammarskjold, and Jeffrey V. Rocha have been designated as 2020 Northern California Rising Stars (a designation for attorneys under 40 or who have been in practice for less than 10 years).

San Francisco office founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has once again been selected as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in 2020.  Joe has long been recognized by Super Lawyers, having been selected as a top-rated antitrust litigation attorney each year since 2004.

Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

On April 22, 2020, Berman Tabacco was appointed Lead Counsel representing the sole Lead Plaintiff Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association in this class action, brought on behalf of investors in Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Portola”), a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes treatments for thrombosis and other hematologic diseases.  Portola’s primary product is Andexxa, a reversal drug for apixaban- and rivaroxaban-treated patients with life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding.  The action currently alleges that, between January 8, 2019 and February 26, 2020, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements related to the sales of Andexxa.

Lead Plaintiff filed its consolidated amended complaint on May 20, 2020, alleging violations of Sections 10(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933.  Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants’ positive statements about the company’s business, operations, and prospects were material misrepresentations of fact and/or lacked a reasonable basis.  The company is alleged to have misrepresented (1) customer demand (from hospital and hospital-system pharmacies); (2) customer utilization of Andexxa for those that purchased it, both as to depth (regularity of usage) and breadth (types of bleeds prescribed for); and (3) Portola’s financial reporting regarding reserve for product returns (including that Portola had not established adequate reserve for returns of prior shipments of short-dated or previous-generation product).

The case is Hayden v. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 3:20-cv-00367-VC (N.D. Cal.).  The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee, Daniel Barenbaum, and Jeffrey Rocha from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office, and Jay Eng and Lindsey Silver from the firm’s Boston office.

On February 12, 2020, Essex County Superior Court Judge Lang granted final approval of Plaintiffs’ $143 million settlement agreement with Columbia Gas that will be used to compensate individuals and businesses within the class who were impacted by the natural gas explosions that occurred on September 13, 2018.

Berman Tabacco serves on the Executive Committee and Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in this consolidated class action lawsuit against Bay State Gas Company (doing business as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts) and NiSource, Inc. (collectively “Columbia Gas”) and certain Columbia Gas contractors, for their alleged failure to properly maintain natural gas pipelines servicing parts of the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts.  As alleged, due to this failure, the Massachusetts towns of Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence suffered a series of natural gas explosions on September 13, 2018 caused by a sudden spike in pressure within the gas pipelines that created ruptures in them and filled homes and businesses with large amounts of natural gas that ultimately ignited.

As reported, there were at least 60 explosions in the three towns affected by the disaster.  One death and several injuries have been reported and 12 homes were destroyed.  In addition, more than 8,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of the dangers posed by the ruptured gas lines.  A local fire chief described the scene as “Armageddon.”

The cases are Accomando v. Bay State Gas Company, No. 18-77CV01355B (Mass. Super. Ct. Essex County), and In re: Columbia Gas Cases, No. 18-77CV01343G (Mass. Super. Ct. Essex County).  The litigation team includes Bryan A. Wood and Nathaniel L. Orenstein from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office.

On May 1, 2020, Berman Tabacco was appointed interim Lead Counsel representing sole Lead Plaintiff Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System in Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System v. Sterling Bancorp, Inc., et al., No. 2:20-cv-10490 (E.D. Mich.).  The case is a securities fraud class action lawsuit against Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (“Sterling” or the “Company”), certain of its current and former officers and directors, and the underwriters for the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), brought on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Sterling common stock from November 17, 2017 through and including December 8, 2019 (the “Class Period”), and investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Sterling common stock in or traceable to the Company’s IPO.

Sterling, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, is the unitary thrift holding company of Sterling Bank and Trust.  The Company specializes in residential mortgages but offers a broad suite of products to the residential and commercial markets as well as retail banking services.  Throughout the Class Period, the Company’s largest lending product was its Advantage Loan Program, constituting the majority of the Company’s loans.  On December 9, 2019, the Company disclosed that it “voluntarily and temporarily suspended its Advantage Loan Program in connection with an ongoing internal review of the program’s documentation.”  On that same day, shares of Sterling common stock fell $2.16 per share to close at $7.29 per share, a decline of nearly 23%.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made untrue statements of material fact and omitted other facts necessary to make the statements not misleading and further failed to disclose material facts concerning, inter alia, the Company’s loan underwriting, risk management, and internal controls, including repeatedly touting its strict underwriting, asset quality, and the Advantage Loan Program.

The litigation team includes Kristin J. Moody and Carl N. Hammarskjold from Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and Patrick T. Egan and Nicole Maruzzi from the firm’s Boston office.

Berman Tabacco has prevailed over a motion to dismiss securities fraud claims against Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (“HCSG”) and several of its executive officers.  Berman Tabacco is Lead Counsel representing a state public pension fund in this securities fraud class action lawsuit brought on behalf of all persons who acquired HSCG common stock during the period between April 8, 2014 and March 4, 2019.

HCSG is one of the largest providers of housekeeping and laundry services to hospitals and other healthcare service organizations.  The action alleges that, during the class period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose “earnings management” practices that allowed HCSG to consistently meet or beat earnings per share estimates, which, in turn, caused the price of the company’s stock to be artificially inflated.  In addition, the action alleges that HCSG and defendants failed to disclose the existence of an ongoing SEC investigation.

On April 24, 2020, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued an Order that denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.  The Court found that Lead Plaintiff’s “Amended Complaint sufficiently plead[] facts which satisfy the elements of a [Securities Exchange Act] section 10(b) violation, and the control necessary for a section 20(a) violation.”

Boston Partner Patrick T. Egan, stated, “We are encouraged by the Court’s ruling and look forward to litigating this case on behalf of our client and the proposed class.”

The case is Koch v. Healthcare Services Group, Inc., et al., No. 2:19-CV-01227-ER (E.D. Pa.).  The litigation team includes Patrick T. Egan and Steven J. Buttacavoli from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office and Nicole Lavallee and Victor S. Elias from the firm’s San Francisco office.

Chambers USA released its 2020 rankings on April 23, 2020. Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was again recognized—for the 14th consecutive year—as among the top securities litigators in the United States. Chambers noted that Joe “is a highly regarded plaintiff[s’] lawyer who regularly advises on high-stakes class actions and derivative suits.” They further stated that a client characterized Joe as “an organized multi-tasker,” with “vast experience and knowledge.”

All of us at Berman Tabacco hope you and your families are healthy and safe during these unprecedented times.

While the ebb and flow of daily life has changed dramatically for all of us in response to this COVID-19 pandemic, rest assured that the counsel and service our firm provides remains uninterrupted.  For the health and well-being of our Berman Tabacco family and the community at large, our physical offices remain closed.  Our virtual offices, however, are open and thriving.

We are completely operational.  With the help of our excellent IT staff, we continue to provide our clients with the same level of legal service we always have:  advising clients on sensitive and important matters; taking on new cases and representations; drafting complaints, briefs and other submissions; negotiating discovery and settlement agreements; and much more.  As a national practice with physical locations in Boston and San Francisco, Berman Tabacco has always had the technical infrastructure to deliver full service remotely.  Our attorneys and staff have full access to their work computer desktops and files, and they can be reached directly on their office telephones as though nothing has changed.

While we can no longer walk down the hall to speak to with our colleagues in their offices, the lack of physical space has in many ways brought us closer together.  We stay connected by phone and video, from one-on-one conversations to office gatherings.  We pick up our work extensions and speak regularly to one another. And we have Berman Tabacco tele- and video- conference lines available for impromptu or scheduled meetings.  In short, while life has changed in the short term, it is business as usual for Berman Tabacco.

Please do not hesitate to reach out—whether with questions or concerns, or just to talk.  We want to hear from you, and we stand ready to provide full and complete service.  We appreciate your faith in us, and we do not take it for granted.

Institutional Shareholder Services’ Securities Class Action Services (ISS SCAS) has published The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All-Time (as of December 31, 2019), which, as reported by ISS SCAS, is an annual report that identifies the largest securities class action settlements filed after the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The cases reported are ranked by the total value of the settlement fund.  According to the report, although in 2019 ISS SCAS recorded 101 approved securities class action settlements in the United States with a combined value of $3.17 billion, only two were large enough to qualify for this list (one for $389.6 million and another for $250 million).

For the fourth consecutive year, Berman Tabacco was listed as one of the firms with the most settlements on the Top 100 list, with seven settlements totaling $2,320,900,000.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, is hosting its second annual West-Coast US Awards Dinner 2020 on March 5th at The Saint Regis in San Francisco. Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected, for the second year in a row, as one of four finalists in the California Plaintiff Firm of the Year category.

In the Benchmark California magazine, the firm was selected as a Tier 1 firm—the highest ranking awarded—in the Plaintiff Work and Securities/White-Collar Crime practice areas, with partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Todd A. Seaver, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as Litigation Stars.

This is illustrative of similar rankings on other lists within Benchmark Litigation’s National and California rankings, both for the firm and certain of its attorneys. Nationally, the firm was recognized as a Top 10 Plaintiffs firm (for the 4^th time) and Highly Recommended (for the 9^th time).  Boston partners Norman Berman and Patrick T. Egan were designated Massachusetts State Litigation Stars in Securities, Competition, FCPA and Enforcement, and General Commercial.  In California regional rankings, the firm was recognized as a Tier 1 firm in the San Francisco region, with San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, and Daniel E. Barenbaum designated as both California Litigation Stars and San Francisco Litigation Stars, in the Securities, Plaintiff, Antitrust, and Intellectual Property practice areas.

“We are humbled by Benchmark Litigation’s continued recognition of our firm and its attorneys for the hard work that we do each day advocating on behalf of our clients,” said San Francisco partner Daniel Barenbaum.

SAN FRANCISCO  — On February 26, 2020, Berman Tabacco filed a class action lawsuit for violations of the federal securities laws against Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (“Sterling” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SBT), certain of its current and former officers and directors, and the underwriters for the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Sterling common stock from November 17, 2017 through and including December 8, 2019, (the “Class Period”) and investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Sterling common stock in or traceable to the Company’s IPO.

Berman Tabacco filed this action in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of its client, Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System.  The case is captioned Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System v. Sterling Bancorp, Inc, et al., No. 2:20-cv-10490.  A copy of the complaint is available on the firm’s website [here].

Sterling, headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, is the unitary thrift holding company of Sterling Bank and Trust.  The Company specializes in residential mortgages but offers a broad suite of products to the residential and commercial markets as well as retail banking services.  Throughout the Class Period, the Company’s largest lending product was its Advantage Loan Program, constituting the majority of the Company’s loans.

On December 9, 2019, the Company disclosed that it “voluntarily and temporarily suspended its Advantage Loan program in connection with an ongoing internal review of the program’s documentation.”  On that same day, shares of Sterling common stock fell $2.16 per share to close at $7.29 per share, a decline of nearly 23%.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made untrue statements of material fact and omitted other facts necessary to make the statements not misleading and failed to disclose material facts concerning, inter alia, the Company’s loan underwriting, risk management and internal controls, including repeatedly touting its strict underwriting, asset quality and the Advantage Loan Program.

If you wish to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class, you must file a motion with the Court no later than Monday, April 27, 2020.  Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed Class.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Berman Tabacco Attorneys A. Chowning Poppler or Nicole A. Maruzzi at (800) 516-9926 or via email at cpoppler@bermantabacco.com or nmaruzzi@bermantabacco.com.

You may also submit information through our website at: https://www.bermantabacco.com/case/sterling/.

Contacts
A. Chowning Poppler
cpoppler@bermantabacco.com
(800) 516-9926

Nicole A. Maruzzi
nmaruzzi@bermantabacco.com
(800) 516-9926

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Carl Hammarskjold has been appointment to the Executive Committee of the Antitrust and Business Regulation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF).  According to BASF, the Antitrust and Business Regulation Section educates practitioners and helps solve problems in the field of antitrust law.   It also sponsors educational programs and proposes changes to applicable statutes and regulations.  “I’m delighted to join the Antitrust Executive Committee,” says Carl.  “The antitrust bar in Northern California is special, both in terms of collegiality and quality of lawyering.  I’m thrilled to be able to contribute to the Section and help shape its events.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Sarah Khorasanee McGrath has been elected President of the Northern District of California Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) for 2020—its centennial term.  Sarah has a long history of commitment to and advocacy on behalf of the FBA, having previously held the following positions: President-Elect (2019), Treasurer (2018), Vice President (2016-2017) and Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Division (2013-2015).

“I am honored to lead the FBA during FBA’s 100^th anniversary term,” said Sarah. “I am eager to work with our team to support and grow our membership and continue to solidify our relationship with and celebrate our excellent Northern California federal judges.”

“Sarah’s elevation to President of the FBA puts the organization in good hands and speaks to her dedication and continued excellent service,” said San Francisco Partner Joe Tabacco, “We are proud of her and honored to have her representing Berman Tabacco.”

The FBA, founded in 1920, holds itself out as being dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law.  Among other things, the organization advocates making changes to and improving the federal legal system via a network of close to 100 chapters.  The Northern District of California Chapter claims to be one of the most active chapters in the country, committed to “serving the needs of federal practitioners, judges, and courts, as well as the Northern District of California community as a whole.”

Berman Tabacco is honored to announce that San Francisco Partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Todd A. Seaver have again been recognized by Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review, as leaders in their field in the 2019 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Competition in the Plaintiff category.  Mr. Tabacco has been included in this publication for the past six years, since the creation of the Plaintiff category.  This is the third consecutive year for Mr. Seaver.  Mr. Seaver has also been recently recognized as a Thought Leader in Competition by WWL (2019-2020).

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that Forbes, known for it “Lists,” has named the firm to its 2019 inaugural list of America’s Top Corporate Law Firms. Forbes, in partnership with market research company Statista, created their first list of the top U.S. corporate law firms, in which they selected 243 firms based on survey responses from 2,500 lawyers.

Forbes reports that the American Bar Association states that there are more than 1.3 million lawyers practicing in over 40,000 firms in the United States.  Forbes Media holds itself out as a global media, branding and technology company, with a focus on news and information about business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership and affluent lifestyles.

Berman Tabacco recently secured a positive ruling permitting two shareholder derivative suits to proceed against Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Berman Tabacco represents Norfolk County Retirement System in a derivative action on behalf of Sinclair alleging that Sinclair’s controlling shareholders and Board breached their fiduciary duties by knowingly and intentionally misleading the DOJ and FCC in their review of a proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company, breaching the terms of a merger agreement with Tribune Media Company.  This allegedly resulted in the cancellation of the merger, which has already cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

Norfolk’s lawsuit seeks reforms to Sinclair’s corporate governance and internal procedures, restitution and disgorgement from Sinclair’s officers and directors, declaratory and equitable relief, and damages for Sinclair, as well as other forms of relief.

On December 9, 2019, Judge Catherine C. Blake of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or Stay without prejudice, permitting limited discovery on the issue of the formation and membership of Sinclair’s special litigation committee and its scope of authority at different points in the investigation.  In so ruling, the Court noted that the “unresolved questions surrounding the composition and scope of authority of the [special litigation committee] certainly do not ‘instill confidence.’”

According to Boston Partner Nathaniel L. Orenstein, the Sinclair team lead for Berman Tabacco, “We are very encouraged by the Court’s ruling and share the Court’s concerns about Sinclair’s supposed special litigation committee.”

The case is Norfolk County Retirement System v. Smith (Sinclair Broadcast Group Derivative Action), No. 18-cv-03952 (D. Md.).  The litigation team includes Leslie R. Stern and Nathaniel L. Orenstein from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office and A. Chowning Poppler of the firm’s San Francisco office.

Berman Tabacco announces a $6.5 million settlement in a False Claims Act case brought against eight former executives and employees of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Aegerion” or the “Company”) by three former employees.  The current settlement resolves claims alleging that defendants defrauded Medicare by causing the submission of payment claims for the prescription drug Juxtapid after promoting it for unapproved uses.  The Company previously reached a civil false claims settlement with the United States and certain individual states for $28.8 million and agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture of $7.2 million, bringing the total recovery to the United States and certain individual states in this matter to $42.5 million.

The three whistleblowers or “Relators” were former sales representatives at Aegerion, each with decades of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and health care industries.  They were each drawn to Aegerion by the promise of helping patients with a rare genetic disorder obtain potentially life-saving drug therapy.

Juxtapid is an orphan drug approved by the FDA to treat patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (“HoFH”), an extremely rare genetic disorder with low life expectancy.  In July 2013, shortly after the FDA approved Juxtapid, the whistleblowers brought their action alleging that the defendants aggressively promoted and distributed Juxtapid by targeting patients who did not suffer from HoFH.  For example, the whistleblowers alleged that Aegerion made false and misleading statements to doctors in order to have them prescribe Juxtapid more widely, notwithstanding the FDA’s efficacy and safety concerns that had prompted it to limit Juxtapid’s use to the treatment of HoFH.

In 2017, the United States intervened in the whistleblowers’ action for purposes of settling claims with Aegerion under an arrangement where Aegerion agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges.  The United States declined to intervene in the whistleblowers’ claims against Aegerion’s senior management and other individual defendants.  Since 2017, whistleblowers have self-litigated the action against these individuals and defeated multiple motions to dismiss the case.   Following a mediation, the parties agreed to a settlement whereby defendants collectively will pay $6.5 million to the United States, of which the whistleblowers will share approximately $1,787,500.  Defendants deny liability.

“This settlement draws to an end six years of litigation and represents a significant recovery for the United States,” commented Berman Tabacco partner Patrick Egan, lead attorney on the case.  “By self-litigating against the senior executives at Aegerion, the whistleblowers demonstrated their commitment and courage to take on the alleged architects of the scheme.”

“We are very proud of our clients.  Not only did they alert the government to what they witnessed firsthand, but they continued to fight on even after Aegerion had settled,” commented Rory Delaney, one of whistleblowers’ counsel from the outset.

The whistleblowers are represented by the attorneys of Berman Tabacco’s Boston office, including Patrick T. Egan, Bryan A. Wood, Stephen Ryan, Jr., and Nicole Maruzzi, alongside attorneys from Delaney Kester LLP, including Royston H. Delaney and Ilyas J. Rona of Boston, Massachusetts; and Charles F. Kester of Los Angeles, California.

Berman Tabacco is a national law firm representing whistleblowers nationwide in actions filed under the False Claims Act, as well as before the SEC, CFTC, IRS and state regulators in connection with their enforcement of federal and state laws.  The firm also represents institutions and individuals in lawsuits seeking to recoup losses caused by corporate board misconduct and violations of securities and antitrust laws.  The firm has 37 lawyers in Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California.

Contact:

Patrick T. Egan

pegan@bermantabacco.com

(617) 542-8300

The December issue of San Francisco Magazine­—The Power Issue—features the annual list of Top Women Lawyers of Northern California based on Super Lawyers’ rankings.  Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that three attorneys from the San Francisco office have been included on this list.

San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee has been selected as a member of the Top Women Attorneys list in the Securities Litigation category for the third consecutive year (2017-2019).  Of Counsel Sarah K. McGrath (Vice President of the Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California Chapter) was selected as a Rising Star in the Antitrust category for the sixth time (2013-2015, 2017-2019).  And Associate A. Chowning Poppler was selected as a Rising Star for Consumer Law for the third consecutive year (2017-2019).

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® have released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2020.  They have ranked Berman Tabacco both nationally and in the San Francisco metropolitan area as leaders in the areas of Litigation-Antitrust (for the second time) and Litigation-Securities.  The Best Law Firms rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.  According to U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, of the almost 15,000 firms reviewed, only about 2,100 received a national law firm ranking in this edition.

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of Best Lawyers^®.  Berman Tabacco has two ranked attorneys:  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust).  Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2020 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 11 million peer evaluations, and recognizing more than 98,460 attorneys in 146 practice areas.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has published its 2020 Edition profiling U.S. law firms.  Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Ten Plaintiffs firm for the fourth consecutive year for its work “on behalf of individuals and institutions who have suffered financial harm due to violations of securities or antitrust laws.”  The firm also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended 2020 – the ninth time the firm has received the Highly Recommended ranking from Benchmark Litigation.  In California, the firm was ranked as one of the top firms in the Plaintiff (in the top 5) and Securities practice areas and was among the top firms in San Francisco.  A firm client remarked to Benchmark Litigation that “[a]mong plaintiffs’ securities firms, Berman Tabacco is top-flight.”  And an attorney from a defense firm noted:  “They have been ‘swinging for the fences,’ so to speak, and that’s a good thing. Plaintiff firms need to bring cases they believe in order for people like us to take them seriously. Berman Tabacco has been doing well with that.”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, six of the firm’s partners were recognized by Benchmark Litigation:

• Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Antitrust, Securities, and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Norman Berman was ranked in the Securities practice area.
• Nicole Lavallee was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Todd A. Seaver was ranked as a Local Litigation Star and Future Star in the Plaintiff and Securities practice areas.
• Daniel E. Barenbaum was ranked as a California Litigation Star and Local Litigation Star in Securities and Plaintiff practice areas.
• Patrick T. Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star in Securities and Competition practice areas.

“We are honored that Benchmark Litigation continues to recognize Berman Tabacco for its dedication to achieving great results for its clients,” said Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Boston managing partner.

Five lawyers from Berman Tabacco‘s Boston office have been recognized by the New England Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Norman Berman has been designated a 2019 New England Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation for the fourteenth time.  Stephen Ryan, Jr., Steven L. Groopman, Corey W. Silva, and Nicole Maruzzi have been designated as 2019 New England Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers states that it recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Respected industry observer Lawdragon has named eight Berman Tabacco partners to its 2019 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers: Norman Berman, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Todd A. Seaver, and Kristin Moody.

The list is a “curated look at the best of the U.S. plaintiff bar who specialize in representing individual investors and shareholders, … harmed by corporate misconduct or other failures.”  The 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers are chosen based on Lawdragon’s editorial research of “top verdicts and settlements” combined with extensive peer discussions nationwide regarding “whom they admire and would hire to seek justice for a claim.”

Berman Tabacco Partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Nicole Lavallee are honored to be involved in The Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Women’s Impact Network: No Glass Ceiling 2.0 Second Annual Conference to be held between 3:00-6:00 p.m. (program), 6:00-8:00 p.m. (reception) on November 21, 2019 at the BASF Conference Center, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111.

As a member of the Steering Committee of BASF’ Women’s Impact Network, Nicole Lavallee has helped organize the panel titled “Own Your Path to a Seat in the Boardroom.”  The panel will introduce the “Board Balance” program to promote the representation of women on corporate boards.  The goal of Board Balance is to increase awareness of the value and need for female representation on boards and to encourage women attorneys to seek board positions by highlighting success stories and descriptions of pathways to readiness.  The panel includes Elona Baum, Managing Director of DEFTA partners, Magan Ray, shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, and Berman Tabacco partner, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., who is a director on the board of the publicly traded company, Overstock.com.   For more information, please see BASF calendar and printable flyer.

On September 24, 2019, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced S. 2529, the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act of 2019.  Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have signed on as co-sponsors.  Bryan Wood of Berman Tabacco, along with fellow members of Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (“TAFEF”), provided key advice and counsel in connection with the legislation.

If passed in its current form, the bill would:

• Legislatively overrule the Supreme Court’s decision in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, 138 S. Ct. 767 (2018) and extend the protections of the SEC and CFTC programs to whistleblowers who report allegations of wrongdoing internally but not to the Commissions;
• Make modest improvements toward the timely processing of claims and prompt payment of awards under the SEC and CFTC programs;
• Increase the amount the CFTC may hold in its Consumer Protection Fund from $100 million to $150 million; and
• Bring the dispute resolution provisions of the SEC program into line with those contained in the CFTC statute, under which conditions of employment and contracts with individual employees, including mandatory arbitration agreements, are deemed invalid and unenforceable if they conflict or interfere with whistleblower protections.

“If enacted, this legislation will greatly improve the SEC’s whistleblower program, mostly importantly by enhancing retaliation protections and imposing certainty on the timing of award determinations,” said Wood.  “I am pleased to have worked with the TAFEF team to provide the whistleblower’s perspective on this important issue on behalf of our clients.”

The text of the bill as introduced can be found here.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that two of its San Francisco partners have again been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and are included in their 2020 Edition.  Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Securities and Antitrust Litigation, and  Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area of Antitrust Litigation.  “Once again, Joe and Chris have been recognized for their work, leadership and reputation.  We could not be prouder of the work they do for our clients,” commented Nicole Lavallee, Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco Office.  Best Lawyers©  states that it is one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2020 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 8.3 million peer evaluations, and recognizing more than 62,000 attorneys in 146 practice areas.

The Boston Office of Berman Tabacco participated in the 2019 Lawyers Have Heart 5k in Boston, which is sponsored by the American Heart Association.  For nearly 100 years, the American Heart Association has been fighting heart disease and striving to save and improve lives.  The Lawyers Have Heart 5k helps serve these goals by gathering together thousands of legal professionals to run/walk to promote better heart health in Greater Boston.

This year’s race marks the first time Berman Tabacco participated in the Lawyers Have Heart 5k. The 5k is just one part of the firm’s community service efforts.

In total, race participants raised over $500,000 for the American Heart Association. Boston Team Berman is proud to support the American Heart Association in its mission! More information about the organization is available at https://www.heart.org/en.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that San Francisco office founding partner Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been selected as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in 2019 by the Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine.  Joe has long been recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine, having been selected as a top-rated antitrust litigation attorney each year since 2004.

Super Lawyers, published by Thomson Reuters, positions itself as “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome Jeffrey V. Rocha as an associate attorney in its San Francisco office. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Jeff focused his practice on commercial litigation in the areas of fraud and unfair business practices, as well as professional liability, consumer protection, transportation, and employment and labor. Jeff is a 2014 graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law. Jeff was named a “Rising Star” by Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine in 2018 and 2019.

Before studying law, Jeff earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Corporate Finance from California State University, Fresno. After completing his undergraduate studies, Jeff worked for a national brokerage firm as a series 7 and 63 licensed senior broker.

Seven attorneys from Berman Tabacco‘s San Francisco office have been again recognized by the Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Super Lawyers notes that it is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  The publication states that it recognizes no more than the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

The attorneys from our San Francisco office who have been designated 2019 Northern California Super Lawyers are partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Nicole C. Lavallee, and Todd A. Seaver.  In addition, associates A. Chowning Poppler and Carl N. Hammarskjold and of counsel attorney Sarah Khorasanee McGrath have been designated as 2019 Northern California Rising Stars.

On June 17, 2019, the Honorable Eduardo C. Robreno of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania appointed Berman Tabacco as Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in the securities class action lawsuit against Healthcare Services Group, Inc. and its chief executive officer.  The action was brought on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of the Company during the Class Period of April 11, 2017 and March 4, 2019.  The Order further appointed as Lead Plaintiff Berman Tabacco’s client, a state public pension fund.

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. purports to be one of the largest providers of housekeeping and laundry services to hospitals and other healthcare service organizations.  The action currently alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose “earnings management” practices that allowed the Company to consistently meet or beat earnings per share estimates that, in turn, caused the price of the company’s stock to be artificially inflated.  The firm’s investigation is ongoing and plaintiffs anticipate filing an amended complaint in the coming months.

“We look forward to vigorously prosecuting this action on our client’s behalf,” commented Boston Partner Patrick T. Egan.

The case is: Koch v. Healthcare Services Group, Inc., et al., No. 1:19-cv-01227-ER (E.D. Pa). The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee from the firm’s San Francisco office, and Patrick T. Egan and Steven J. Buttacavoli from the Boston office.

For the second consecutive year, Boston Managing Partner Kathleen Donovan-Maher has been selected as a Top Rated Lawyer in New England and was featured in a special section of The National Law Journal highlighting New England’s Top-Rated Lawyers.  This special section features attorneys who have achieved the AV^® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell^®. Martindale-Hubbell describes its Peer Review Ratings as having recognized lawyers for their professional excellence and high ethical standards for more than a century, long setting the standard for lawyer ratings.

Berman Tabacco and several of its partners continue to be recognized as leaders in their areas of practice by some of the legal industry’s leading publications.

The Legal 500 recently ranked the firm as a leading firm in both Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff and Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Plaintiff in its 2019 U.S. edition, noting that the firm is known for its “soup-to-nuts excellence, from legal analysis [through] trial preparation and trial,” and that clients had noted that the firm makes a “very comprehensive effort, with no stone left unturned.”  Eight of the firm’s partners received the same designation from the publication. Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Todd A. Seaver, and Patrick T. Egan were recommended under the category Antitrust-Civil Litigation/Class Action: Plaintiff.  And Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Leslie R. Stern, Daniel E. Barenbaum, Patrick T. Egan, and Steven J. Buttacavoli were recommended under the category Dispute Resolution-Securities Litigation: Plaintiff.

This is the firms third consecutive year being recognized by The Legal 500.  San Francisco managing partner Nicole Lavallee commented, “We are honored to once again be recognized by The Legal 500 for the work we do on behalf of our clients—a recognition that is particularly gratifying where there is a straight line between our clients’ praise and the publication’s recommendations.”

BOSTON – In a long-awaited opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today ruled that borrowers who took out loans from the Native American-affiliated online lender Plain Green can proceed with their nationwide RICO class action in Vermont federal court. The Second Circuit affirmed a May 2016 ruling by District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford and comes nearly two years after oral argument on Defendants’ appeals. Berman Tabacco and Gravel & Shea PC are Lead Counsel in the case, Gingras, et al. v. Rosette, et al., No. 5:15-cv-00101-gwc (D. Vt.).

In affirming borrowers claims, the Second Circuit rejected the Plain Green directors’ and officers’ argument that they are immune from suit based on Plain Green’s status as an arm of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation. According to the Second Circuit, because “Plain Green is a payday lending entity cleverly designed to enable[] Defendants to skirt federal and state consumer protection laws under the cloak of tribal sovereign immunity,” the Tribe and its officers “are not free to operate outside of Indian lands without conforming their conduct in these areas to federal and state law.”

The Second Circuit also ruled that the “agreements here are both unenforceable and unconscionable” and Defendants could not rely on forced arbitration and purported choice of tribal law provisions in Plain Green’s loan documents to deny borrowers their right to pursue federal claims in federal courts. The Court affirmed Judge Crawford’s ruling that the arbitration provisions “effectively insulate Defendants from claims that they have violated federal and state law.” In so doing, the Second Circuit joined the Fourth and Seventh Circuits in refusing to enforce arbitration provisions that would have borrowers disclaim their rights under federal and state law, agreeing with the Fourth Circuit’s characterization of the arbitration component of Defendants’ scheme as a “farce.”

The Second Circuit case is captioned Gingras, et al. v. Think Finance, Inc., et al., No. 16-2019 (2d Cir. Apr. 24, 2019). The case is being prosecuted from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office by Kathleen Donovan-Maher, Steven Buttacavoli, and Steven Groopman, and Matthew Byrne of Gravel & Shea PC.

Berman Tabacco and Gravel & Shea PC also serve as Lead Counsel in similar tribal lending cases, Solomon v. American Web Loan, et al., No. 4:17-cv-00145-HCM-RJK (E.D. Va.), and Granger v. Great Plains Lending, et al., No. 1:18-cv-00112-WO-JLW (M.D.N.C.), and are representing the interests of Plain Green and Great Plains Lending borrowers in bankruptcy proceedings involving a key player in those schemes, Think Finance, In re: Think Finance, LLC, et al., No. 17-33964-hdh11 (Bankr. N.D. Tex.). Berman Tabacco continues to investigate other online lending schemes, including Golden Valley Lending, Silver Cloud Financial, Mountain Summit Financial, and Majestic Lake Financial.

For many years, Berman Tabacco partner Chris Heffelfinger and his family have strived to provide children in Nepal with education, housing and medical care through their work with the Nepal Youth Foundation. The Foundation and the Heffelfingers’ connection to the Foundation were recently spotlighted by ABC News.

The Nepal Youth Foundation is dedicated to addressing humanitarian issues acutely experienced by Nepali youth by providing them with vital healthcare, education and a safe home. The Foundation’s programs include granting scholarships to Nepali youth from kindergarten through college; building homes to shelter them from homelessness; establishing Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes that resolve severe malnutrition; and creating the Indentured Daughters Program to stop impoverished families from selling their daughters into bonded servitude. That program has been so successful that it quadrupled in size from the first year to the next, and since then more than 12,000 girls have been saved by the program. Olga Murray, a close friend of Chris’s parents, Totton (“Tot”) and Joanne Heffelfinger, founded the Nepal Youth Foundation in 1990. The Heffelfinger family has been involved with the Foundation from its inception, with Tot serving as a founding board member. It was through the Heffelfingers’ friendship with Olga and their deep commitment to the Foundation’s goals that they eventually welcomed a nine-year-old Nepali girl, Durga Thapa, into their home.

Durga was eight-years-old when Olga met her in a Kathmandu hospital. Durga had been badly burned in an accident as an infant. Due to the severity of her injuries, Durga needed extensive plastic surgery that local doctors were not trained to perform and that her family could not afford. After meeting Durga, Olga and the Nepal Youth Foundation brought her to the United States so that she could receive treatment. But Durga needed a home in the United States — a place where she could be supported through the numerous surgeries that would take place over the next decade.

The Heffelfingers provided Durga with that home, enveloping Durga into their lives and welcoming her as their seventh child. Tot and Joanne cared for Durga through all of her operations and supported her schooling, which eventually led to Durga attending college at Mount Holyoke. Durga now lives in Solano County, California with her husband and young son.

Chris has continued his family’s commitment to the Nepal Youth Foundation, serving as a member of its board since 2014 and recently participating in a trip to Nepal to see the Foundation’s work first-hand. “It has been a privilege for me to carry on the love and commitment to the Foundation inspired by my parents and by Olga, and I am fortunate to have met many of the dedicated staff members and beneficiaries of these programs and to have forged new friendships,” commented Chris. To read more about Durga’s return trip to Nepal, please visit https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/durga/. Information about the Foundation is available at https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org.

Berman Tabacco recently defeated a set of motions to dismiss a federal False Claims Act action against former pharmaceutical executives and sales managers stemming from their alleged off-label promotion of the orphan drug Juxtapid, a $300,000 drug used to treat an exceedingly rare cholesterol disorder. The company itself has already settled with the government and the whistleblowers and pleaded guilty to criminal charges for misbranding.

Following settlement with the company, the whistleblowers (or, Relators, as they are technically known) continued with their litigation against the senior executives and sales managers allegedly involved in directing the wide-ranging off-label marketing scheme. As alleged, Juxtapid was approved by the FDA to treat an extremely limited population, but the defendants orchestrated a scheme to aggressively promote Juxtapid beyond that population through an aggressive misinformation campaign directed at doctors and other improper sales and marketing tactics. As a result, Relators allege that the federal government was defrauded into paying millions of dollars through Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal prescription drug programs for drug coverage for patients who did not have the underlying disorder.

“We are very pleased with this ruling and look forward to continuing the fight,” commented Berman Tabacco associate Stephen Ryan, who argued the motion.

The case, U.S. ex rel. Clarke, et al. v. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 13-cv-11785-IT (D. Mass), is being prosecuted from Berman Tabacco’s Boston office by Patrick Egan and Stephen Ryan.

Reuters quotes from Berman Tabacco attorney Stephen Ryan, Jr.’s argument at the March 20, 2019 hearing on defendants’ motion to dismiss the whistleblower lawsuit U.S. ex rel Clarke, et al. v. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc, et al., No. 13-cv-11785 (D. Mass.). See Nate Raymond, Ex-Aegerion execs, employees seek to escape drug marketing case, Reuters (Mar. 21, 2019), https://www.reuters.com/article/health-aegerion-idUSL1N21809V. The Firm represents the whistleblowers alleging that defendants marketed the cholesterol drug Juxtapid for off-label purposes and submitted false claims to government agencies such as Medicare and Medicaid in connection with sales of this drug.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, is hosting its 2019 West-Coast Awards Dinner on March 14th at the Saint Regis in San Francisco. Berman Tabacco is honored to have been selected as one of four finalists in the California Plaintiff Firm of the Year category. The award stems from Benchmark Litigation’s inaugural edition of Benchmark California, a California-focused magazine.

In Benchmark California, the firm was selected as a Tier 1 firm—the highest ranking—in the Plaintiff Work practice area, with Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee and Todd A. Seaver designated as Litigation Stars. This is illustrative of similar rankings on other lists within Benchmark’s National and California rankings, both for the firm and certain of its attorneys. In regional rankings, the firm was recognized as a leading firm in the San Francisco region, with Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. designated as both a California Litigation Star and a San Francisco Litigation Star, in the Antitrust, Intellectual Property and Securities practice areas.

“We are honored that our firm and its attorneys are repeatedly recognized by Benchmark,” said San Francisco Partner Daniel Barenbaum. “Our singular focus is on achieving results for our clients, and we are pleased that such a renowned publication has recognized those efforts.”

The December issue of San Francisco Magazine features its annual list of Top Women Attorneys of Northern California based on Super Lawyers’ rankings. Berman Tabacco is proud to announce that three attorneys from the San Francisco office have been included on the list.

San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee has been selected as a member of the Top Women Attorneys list in the Securities Litigation category for the second consecutive year (2017-2018). Of Counsel Sarah K. McGrath (President-Elect of the Federal Bar Association, Northern District of California Chapter) was selected as a Rising Star in the Antitrust category for the fifth time (2013-2015, 2017-2018) and Associate A. Chowing Poppler was selected as a Rising Star for Consumer Law (2017-2018).

Who’s Who Legal (WWL), a publication of U.K.-based Global Competition Review and Law Business Research, recognized San Francisco Partner Todd Seaver in its inaugural edition of WWL Thought Leaders: Competition in the Plaintiffs category.  Todd has previously been recognized by Global Competition Review in its Who’s Who Legal: Competition guides in 2017 and 2018.  According to WWL, only a fraction of individuals considered for inclusion in the 2018 WWL guides were designated as Thought Leaders.

The Northern District of California Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) has elected its 2019 Officers. Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that its own Sarah Khorasanee McGrath has been selected as President-Elect. Sarah has a long history with the FBA and has previously held the following positions: Treasurer (2018), Vice President (2016-2017), Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers Division (2013-2015).

The FBA, founded in 1920, holds itself out as being dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law. Among other things, the organization advocates making changes to and improving the federal legal system via a network of close to 100 chapters. The Northern District of California Chapter claims itself to be one of the most active chapters in the country, committed to “serving the needs of federal practitioners, Judges, and courts, as well as the Northern District of California community as a whole.”

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers^® have released their Best Law Firm rankings for 2019. They have ranked Berman Tabacco as a 2019 Tier 1 Best Law Firm for Litigation-Antitrust in San Francisco and Tier 3 Best Law Firm for Litigation – Antitrust nationwide. The Best Law Firm rankings are based on a combination of client feedback, information provided on law firm surveys, and Best Lawyers^® peer review.

To be eligible for consideration as a Best Law Firm, a firm must have at least one attorney ranked in the current edition of Best Lawyers^®.  Berman Tabacco has two ranked attorneys: Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger was recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust). Best Lawyers^® holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2019 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 7.8 million peer evaluations, and recognizing more than 60,000 attorneys in 145 practice areas.

On November 13, 2018, the United States Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari filed by the CEO of PHC, Inc., Bruce A. Shear. Mr. Shear sought to appeal a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which, earlier this year, affirmed a judgment ordering him to disgorge over $3 million to PHC’s shareholders. In affirming the judgment, the First Circuit found that the shareholder class had demonstrated at trial that the CEO “dominated PHC and had pervasive control over its affairs,” and that he used this control to negotiate an unfair cash payment for himself as part of a merger agreement. Accordingly, the appellate court found that disgorgement of the CEO’s “inflated portion [of the payment] gained through his breach of fiduciary duty” was “suitably tailored to redress [his] inequitable conduct.”

The appellate court noted that the questions presented in the appeal were “intricate, entangled and in some instances novel,” and complimented counsel for their “unusually good arguments.”

Read more about this victory for investors here.

The case is: In re PHC, Inc. Shareholder Litigation (MAZ Partners, LP v. Bruce A. Shear, et al.), No. 1:11-cv-11049-PBS (D. Mass.). Berman Tabacco is co-counsel on behalf of the class.  Norman Berman and Nathaniel Orenstein lead this case for the firm.

Benchmark Litigation, a publication of U.K.-based Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, has published its 2019 Edition profiling U.S. law firms. Berman Tabacco was ranked as a Top Ten Plaintiffs firm for the third consecutive year for its work “on behalf of individuals and institutions who have suffered financial harm due to violations of securities or antitrust laws.” The firm also ranked in the top category of Highly Recommended 2019 – the eighth time the firm has received the Highly Recommended ranking from Benchmark Litigation. A firm client remarked to Benchmark Litigation that “[a]mong plaintiffs’ securities firms, Berman Tabacco is top-flight.”

In addition to the firm’s rankings, three of the firm’s partners were recognized by Benchmark Litigation, Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. was ranked as a Benchmark California Star – 2019 and Local Litigation Star; Norman Berman was ranked in Securities; and Patrick Egan was ranked as a Local Litigation Star.

“We are honored to be repeatedly recognized by Benchmark,” said Nicole Lavallee, San Francisco managing partner. “Our focus always remains on obtaining the best results for our clients, and it is gratifying to be acknowledged by such an esteemed peer publication for client satisfaction and results achieved.”

Berman Tabacco is pleased by the Delaware Supreme Court’s affirmance of its Chancery Court trial win in which UnitedHealth Group Inc. was ordered to turn over books and records to the firm’s client Amalgamated Bank and other UnitedHealth shareholders.

The books and records action relates to UnitedHealth’s alleged practice of knowingly submitting false attestations to the federal government to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars of overpayments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Berman Tabacco’s focus is on whether UnitedHealth’s officers and directors can be held accountable for these practices.

On October 26, 2018, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a trial court judgment ordering UnitedHealth to produce records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporations Code in order to allow plaintiffs to evaluate whether UnitedHealth’s board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to monitor the company’s policies and procedures related to Medicare billing. The failure allegedly resulted in the submission of invalid claims to Medicare in violation of the federal False Claims Act.

The case is: In re UnitedHealth Section 220 Litigation, C.A. No. 0681-TMR (Del. Ch.).  Berman Tabacco is Co-Lead Counsel representing Amalgamated Bank. Boston partner Nathaniel L. Orenstein is leading the charge on the case.

On October 30, 2018, the Honorable Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York appointed Berman Tabacco as Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in the securities class action lawsuit against Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. and two of its executive officers. The action was brought on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of the Company during the period April 28, 2016 and June 4, 2018. The Order further appointed as Lead Plaintiff Berman Tabacco’s client, a state public pension fund.

The case alleges that (i) Aegean improperly accounted for approximately $200 million of accounts receivable as of December 31, 2017; (ii) Aegean failed to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ statements about the Company’s business, operations, prospects and compliance policies were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. The case further alleges that because of defendants’ false statements and omissions, Aegean’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the class period.

The case is: In re Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 18-cv-04993-NRB (S.D.N.Y.). The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee and A. Chowning Poppler from the firm’s San Francisco office, and Steven J. Buttacavoli from the Boston office.

Nicole Lavallee, the Managing Partner of the San Francisco Office, will be a panelist at the National Consumer Law Center’s (NCLC) 19th annual Class Action Symposium being held in Denver, Colorado on October 27-28, 2018.  On Sunday, October 28th, Nicole will be a member of the panel entitled: The Significance of Upcoming Rule 23 Amendments and Proposed rule 30(b)(6) Changes.

Berman Tabacco recently worked with Harry Markopolos in preparing a response to the proposed changes to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC’s”) whistleblower program. Mr. Markopolos is widely recognized and respected throughout the financial community and is especially revered within the whistleblower community for his work on exposing the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

In 2010, the SEC enacted a whistleblower program to incentivize people to report securities fraud. The program was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and Mr. Markopolos’s well-documented efforts to force the government to investigate Madoff. Under the program, the SEC is authorized to make monetary awards to whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information that leads to successful enforcement actions resulting in monetary sanctions over $1,000,000. Currently, a successful whistleblower stands to receive an award of between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected.

On June 28, 2018, the SEC proposed amendments to its whistleblower rules (“Proposed Rules”) and requested comments from the public. Some of the proposed changes would have a significant impact on the SEC’s whistleblower program. In one of the most controversial proposed changes, the SEC would have discretion to cap whistleblower awards on recoveries exceeding $100 million. Another controversial change is the limitation of the definition of “independent analysis” to insight that would not have been reasonably apparent to the SEC based on publicly available information.

Mr. Markopolos’s response points out some of the flaws of the Proposed Rules. First, Mr. Markopolos vehemently disagrees with the SEC’s proposal to grant itself the discretion to limit whistleblower awards, stating that “I strongly disagree with the proposed discretionary cap on awards exceeding $100 million. Although well-intentioned, this provision would be a gift to the major investment banks and other large public companies, as it would deter high-ranking officers at those entities from turning whistleblower.”

In his response, Mr. Markopolos also notes how it would be nearly impossible to apply the SEC’s proposed interpretation of “independent analysis.” Specifically, Mr. Markopolos states that “[u]nder the Proposed Interpretive Guidance, however, my team [on the Madoff case] could not have been certain of recovering a whistleblower award because of the ‘20/20 Hindsight’ nature of the guidance.” Mr. Markopolos reasons that:

Under the proposed rule, it would be far too easy for the commission, in hindsight, to claim that it could have or would have learned of a fraud on its own. Instituting a sensible objective standard would both protect the SEC Whistleblower Program from paying out unearned awards, while also protecting the whistleblower from having a misguided SEC employee say, ‘we would have caught that on our next exam anyway, so why pay the whistleblower?’

Mr. Markopolos’s response has received a positive reception in the press, including in The Wall Street Journal and the National Law Journal.

Berman Tabacco was happy to support Mr. Mr. Markopolos in preparing his comment letter. “We are proud to have assisted Mr. Markopolos with his comment letter and presume his words will have a significant impact on the SEC’s final rule-making decisions,” commented partner Bryan Wood. We look forward to the SEC’s final decision, which we expect to be announced in 2019.

BOSTON, September 19, 2018 – The Boston office of the law firm Berman Tabacco has filed a lawsuit against Bay State Gas Company (doing business as) Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and NiSource, Inc. (collectively “Columbia Gas”) for their alleged failure to properly maintain natural gas pipelines servicing parts of the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts. As alleged, due to this failure, Andover, North Andover and Lawrence suffered a series of natural gas explosions on September 13, 2018. Current reports state that these explosions were caused by a sudden spike in pressure within the gas pipelines, causing them to rupture and fill homes and businesses with large amounts of natural gas that ultimately ignited.

Berman Tabacco Partner Bryan Wood was personally impacted by the natural gas explosions, as he and his family were forced to evacuate his home after his home was affected by pressurized natural gas. “Columbia Gas’s negligence was traumatic for me and my family,” said Mr. Wood. “I am grateful that I am in a position to work with my friends and neighbors to hold these companies responsible.”

As reported, there were at least 60 explosions in the three cities affected by the disaster. One death and several injuries have been reported and 12 homes were fully destroyed. In addition, more than 8,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of the dangers posed by the ruptured gas lines. A local fire chief described the scene as “Armageddon.”

If you have any information relevant to this lawsuit, or if you were affected by this disaster and would like to know your legal rights, please contact attorney Mark Delaney (mdelaney@bermantabacco.com). In addition to email, you can call Berman Tabacco at 617-542-8300 or fill out form below and someone will contact you:

For further details, please visit Columbia Gas Litigation.

Boston Managing Partner Kathleen Donovan-Maher has been selected as a 2018 Top Rated Lawyer in New England and was featured in a special section of The National Law Journal highlighting New England’s Top-Rated Lawyers. This special section features attorneys who have achieved the AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Martindale-Hubbell describes its Peer Review Ratings as having recognized lawyers for their professional excellence and high ethical standards for more than a century, long setting the standard for lawyer ratings.

Berman Tabacco is pleased to announce that two of its San Francisco partners have been included in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. has been recognized in the areas of Litigation (Securities) and Litigation (Antitrust), and Christopher T. Heffelfinger has been recognized in the area Litigation (Antitrust). “We are extremely proud that Joe and Chris have been recognized once again by Best Lawyers,” stated Nicole Lavallee, Managing Partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco Office. Best Lawyers© holds itself out as one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications, with the 2019 edition showcasing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the U.S., based upon more than 7.8 million peer evaluations, and recognizing more than 60,000 attorneys in 145 practice areas.

Berman Tabacco has been appointed liaison counsel and a member of plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Facebook, Inc. Shareholder Derivative Privacy Litigation, No. 4:18-CV-01792-HSG, pending before the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (N.D. Cal.). This is a derivative action brought by Facebook shareholders against certain officers and directors of Facebook, Inc.’s board of directors. Shareholders allege that the officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties and made misrepresentations and omissions related to Facebook’s failure to protect sensitive data for at least 50 million users in violation of state and federal law. More specifically, the complaint claims that the information was shared with Cambridge Analytica, among others, which allegedly weaponized the data to target political advertising and manipulate voters in the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. In this age of social media, shareholders allege that the officers and directors put profits above privacy, resulting in far-reaching consequences for Facebook and our Republic.

“We look forward to seeking justice and corporate reform on behalf of Facebook shareholders in this important lawsuit” said Daniel E. Barenbaum, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office. The litigation team includes Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Daniel E. Barenbaum, and A. Chowning Poppler from the firm’s San Francisco office.

Eight lawyers from Berman Tabacco‘s San Francisco office have been recognized by the Northern California Super Lawyers Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters.  Super Lawyers is “a rating service of outstanding lawyers … who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.”  Super Lawyers recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in each state, as well as the top 2.5% Rising Star attorneys, chosen by their peers and through independent research.

Lawyers from our San Francisco office who have been designated 2018 Northern California Super Lawyers are Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Nicole C. Lavallee, and Todd A. Seaver.  In addition, A. Chowning Poppler, Carl N. Hammarskjold, Victor S. Elias, and Sarah Khorasanee McGrath have been designated 2018 Northern California Rising Stars.

Earlier this month, Berman Tabacco secured an appellate victory, upholding a trial win that required a CEO to disgorge $3 million in ill-gotten gains.

On July 2, 2018, the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Massachusetts District Court’s ruling that Bruce Shear, the Chief Executive Officer and President of PHC, Inc. (“PHC”), disgorge $3 million of his “ill-gotten gains” to a class of former PHC shareholders. The First Circuit ruled that the trial court appropriately found that a shareholder can control a company without being a majority shareholder and disgorgement is an appropriate equitable remedy—even after a jury concluded that there is no economic loss to plaintiffs.

In bringing this case, Berman Tabacco teamed up with another law firm to represent plaintiff MAZ Partners LP in a securities class action arising out of state statutory and common law claims for breach of fiduciary duty, alleging that Shear used his position as PHC’s controlling shareholder to obtain benefits for himself at the expense of PHC’s other shareholders. The case stems from Acadia Healthcare, Inc.’s 2011 acquisition of PHC.

After a two-week trial, the jury returned a special verdict finding that Shear was PHC’s controlling shareholder and that he breached his fiduciary duty to PHC’s minority shareholders, but that the breach of fiduciary duty did not cause damage to the class. Subsequently, after post-trial briefing, the trial court ordered disgorgement so as to deprive Shear of “the fruits of his wrongdoing.”

The First Circuit opinion is significant in that it affirmed the principal that a non-majority shareholder can be a controlling shareholder under Massachusetts law. The First Circuit also opined that the Massachusetts courts would likely follow Delaware law in finding that shareholders cannot ratify a self-interested transaction “because of the coercion inherent in the relationship between a controlling shareholder and the remaining shareholders.” Finally, the Court established that even where a plaintiff is not damaged, “equitable disgorgement can be ordered as a remedy for a breach of fiduciary duty.

The ruling is a victory for investors enforcing their rights and a positive development in Massachusetts fiduciary law. Boston partners Norman Berman and Nathaniel Orenstein worked on this case for the firm.

Berman Tabacco and several of its partners have again been recognized as leaders in their areas of practice by some of the legal industry’s leading publications.

The Legal 500 recently ranked the firm as a leading firm in securities litigation in its 2018 U.S. edition, stating that the firm has “top-notch lawyers with the experience necessary to achieve positive outcomes; they prioritize the client and remain diligent throughout lengthy cases.” Seven of the firm’s partners received the same designation from the publication: Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., Nicole Lavallee, Leslie Stern, Todd A. Seaver, Daniel Barenbaum, Patrick Egan, and Steven Buttacavoli (specifically noting comments from clients that the attorneys are “extremely responsive, smart and wise” and noted for “developing solid and convincing arguments”).

The firm was also recognized recently by Chambers USA 2018 as a leading securities litigation firm. Chambers further recognized Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.—for the 12th consecutive year—as among the top U.S. securities litigators.

Berman Tabacco was recently appointed as co-lead counsel for a proposed nationwide class of purchasers of Apple devices, such as iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs. The case alleges that certain of Apple’s devices are defective because their central processing units are subject to two vulnerabilities—called Spectre and Meltdown—that permit hackers to extract personal information from the devices. The case further alleges that Apple’s efforts to fix the defects have caused significant slowdowns in the performance of the devices. The lawsuit asserts product defect, breach of warranty, and consumer protection claims. “We look forward to litigating this case on behalf of millions of consumers across the country who were affected by the alleged defects in Apple’s processors” said Todd A. Seaver, a partner in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office. The case is: In re Apple Processor Litigation, No. 18-cv-00147-EJD (N.D. Cal.). The litigation team includes Todd A. Seaver and Matthew D. Pearson from the firm’s San Francisco office.

On May 23, 2018, the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order appointing Berman Tabacco as Co-Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in the securities class action lawsuit against Aqua Metals, Inc. The action was brought on behalf of all persons who acquired the common stock of Aqua Metals, Inc. during the period between May 19, 2016 and November 9, 2017. The Order further appointed as Lead Plaintiff Berman Tabacco’s client, Plymouth County Retirement Association, as well as an individual investor and his private investment company.

During the class period, Aqua Metals touted that it had developed a technology called AquaRefining, which had the potential to revolutionize lead recycling and make lead-acid batteries the only truly sustainable battery technology. However, the suit alleges, the Company misled investors about the status of its implementation and operations of its AquaRefining technology.

The case is: In re Aqua Metals, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 4:17-cv-07142-HSG (N.D. Cal.). The litigation team includes Nicole Lavallee, Kristin Moody, and Chowning Poppler from the firm’s San Francisco office, and Leslie Stern from the Boston office.

As the home page opens on Berman Tabacco’s new website, the message could not be more clear: Berman Tabacco delivers justice to those aggrieved.

“The website is not simply a catalog of information,” said name partner Norman Berman. “It is the narrative of who we are and what we sincerely believe. It tells the stories of who we have helped, and how.”

“Our cases are often brought on behalf of those who have carefully built their nest egg,” said name partner Joe Tabacco. “When we expose fraud and hold the wrongdoers accountable, we also recover for the victims.”

Behind this new look is the same firm that has been delivering justice for over 35 years. The firm was named a “Top 10 Plaintiffs’ Firm” in 2017 and 2018 by Benchmark Litigation, and has been ranked in its top tier of “Highly Recommended” for 7 years. The firm was also recognized by Chambers USA as a leading securities litigation firm in 2017. The Legal 500 also recently ranked the firm as “recommended” in securities litigation in its 2017 U.S. edition.

Additionally, Berman Tabacco is in the top 10 of firms on ISS Securities Class Action Services’ (ISS SCAS) list of the top 100 largest securities class actions in its published report, Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All Time (as of 12/31/2017). And, according to ISS SCAS’ Top 50 for 2015 report, the firm was one of only six firms that recovered more than half-a-billion dollars for investors in 2015.

“With our new look and new name, we are invigorated,” said Boston partner Bryan Wood, who heads Berman Tabacco’s Whistleblower Group. “This is an exciting time for our firm and our lawyers.”

Dove-tailing with our fresh look, Berman Tabacco is pleased to welcome three new associates to the firm. In April, Colleen Cleary and Carl Hammarskjold joined as associates in the San Francisco office, while Nicole Maruzzi joined as an associate in the Boston office.

Colleen Cleary

Colleen focuses on representing consumers and businesses in complex multidistrict antitrust class actions. She is currently a member of the litigation team for several of our market manipulation cases, bringing her zeal to prosecuting claims of collusion between major banks to manipulate financial benchmark rates, including the Yen Libor, the Euroyen Tibor, Euribor, Swiss franc LIBOR and the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate.

Prior to joining the firm, Colleen worked as a class action litigator in the Bay Area representing consumers harmed by anticompetitive conduct and defrauded investors in a securities class action. While at the University of San Francisco School of Law, Colleen worked at the Federal Trade Commission investigating anticompetitive civil mergers in the health care industry, and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division assisting in the prosecution of criminal price-fixing conspiracies.

Carl Hammarskjold

Carl is another addition to our antitrust team, helping advance our cases against companies that are alleged to conspire to fix and raise prices. Currently, Carl is a member of the litigation teams on the firm’s market manipulation cases including: Australian Dollar, Canadian Offered Dollar Rate, Euribor, Mexican Bonds, Swiss franc, and Yen-LIBOR/Euroyen TIBOR.

Carl is rated an AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell® and was selected by Super Lawyers as a Northern California Rising Star in 2016 and 2017. Before joining Berman Tabacco, Carl practiced at a San Francisco-based plaintiffs’ firm specializing in antitrust class actions and other complex, multidistrict litigation in federal court. He was also a business litigator at a large, national law firm. During law school at the University of San Francisco School of Law, Carl served as an extern for the Honorable William H. Alsup at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Nicole Maruzzi

Nicole focuses her practice on complex securities and consumer litigation. Currently, Nicole is a member of the team bringing a “books and records” action against UnitedHealth Group, Inc., seeking to compel the inspection of records to evaluate whether UnitedHealth’s board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to monitor the company’s policies and procedures with regard to Medicare billing. That failure is alleged to have resulted in the submission of invalid claims to Medicare in violation of the federal False Claims Act.

Prior to joining the firm, Nicole represented clients in civil rights and employment discrimination litigation. Nicole’s prior practice provided a myriad of courtroom opportunities, strengthening her skills as a litigator. Prior to that, Nicole worked as a law clerk at a mid-sized law firm representing doctors in medical malpractice litigation while also obtaining her law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

“We are very excited to have Colleen, Carl and Nicole join the firm,” commented Boston Managing Partner Kathleen M. Donovan-Maher. “They each bring a unique skillset and devotion to justice.We are proud to have them on our team.”

“These are great attorneys who will help us expand both our securities, consumer and antitrust practices,” added San Francisco Managing Partner Nicole Lavallee.

Securities Class Action Services (SCAS) recently published its annual report, SCAS-Top-100-Settlements-of-All-Time-2017-12-31. Berman Tabacco is among those firms with the most cases on the list of largest securities class actions settlements since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). With a total combined recovery of over $2.32 billion, the report highlights seven of the firm’s cases:

1. Xerox Corp. ($750 million);
2. IndyMac MBS ($346 million);
3. Bristol-Myers Squibb ($300 million);
4. Bear Stearns ($294.9 million);
5. El Paso Corp. ($285 million);
6. BP p.l.c. ($175 million); and
7. Fannie Mae ($170 million).