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Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Eric T. Chaffin Becomes Partner at Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is pleased to announce that Eric T. Chaffin became a member of the Firm on April 1, 2008. Mr. Chaffin's practice will focus on securities litigation and pharmaceutical and health care-related litigation on behalf of the Firm's individual and health and welfare fund clients.
Mr. Chaffin is a former federal prosecutor in the Business and Securities Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, New York, where he tried multiple cases and argued various appeals before the Second Circuit. Some of Mr. Chaffin's more notable white collar cases included the highly publicized Computer Associates International and Symbol Technologies accounting and securities fraud prosecutions (over $1.2 billion and $200 million respectively). Mr. Chaffin was also lead trial counsel in numerous criminal trials, including a successful securities fraud manipulation trial involving over $20 million in investor losses.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Chaffin was a litigator with Reed Smith LLP, where he represented Fortune 500 companies in a variety of individual and class actions. There, he also tried various arbitrations and administrative hearings and second chaired the successful defense of an age discrimination case to verdict. Mr. Chaffin was also a lead attorney on a habeas corpus petition that resulted in the reversal of a death sentence for a Pennsylvania death row inmate. In 1997, Mr. Chaffin took leave from Reed Smith to clerk for the Honorable D. Brooks Smith of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, who was since appointed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2003, Mr. Chaffin joined Seeger Weiss LLP, where as a Partner his practice focused on individual and class securities fraud actions, consumer protection litigation and mass torts.
Graham Handyside, VP of Global Operations at WG Security Products, which is one of Mr. Chaffin's clients, stated, "Bernstein Liebhard is fortunate to have such a dynamic trial attorney joining the firm. I know first-hand that Eric is exceptional when it comes to putting together a case and he has the compassion, tenacity and skills as a litigator to battle the largest corporations and win."
Mr. Chaffin received his B.A. from West Virginia University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and was both an Arts & Sciences Scholar and a University Honors Scholar. He received his J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law, graduating cum laude. At Washington & Lee, Mr. Chaffin was a Staff Writer for the W&L Environmental Law Digest, was Chairman of the Davis Moot Court Board and tried three significant federal criminal cases to verdict with the Western District of Virginia U.S. Attorney's Office.
Mr. Chaffin served as an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School in 2002, where he taught in the areas of federal prosecutions and trial advocacy. He has also authored various articles, including: "De-escalating the Expert Discovery Wars," AAJ Trial Magazine (June 2008); "Higher Education Law: The Relationship with the Faculty," The Law of Higher Education, Pa. Bar. Inst. (1997); "Review of Third Circuit Antitrust Cases (May 1993-May 1995)," 1001 Antitrust Challenges in the 90's: Enforcement Reaches New Heights, Pa. Bar. Inst. (1995).
