The NLJ Plaintiffs' Hot List is based on the NLJ’s survey of the litigation scene over the 12 months leading up to the announcement of the list. The NLJ asks its readers (primarily attorneys) to nominate plaintiffs’ firms with at least one significant win within the period, plus an impressive record of victories over the preceding five years, which means "prevailing in a bench or jury trial worth lots of money or testing a legal theory with the potential to shape future litigation."  Based on this criteria, the NLJ has named Bernstein Liebhard LLP to its annual Hot List for the past seven years—a recognition that only one other law firm has achieved.

In 2009, Bernstein Liebhard LLP was named for the third consecutive year to The Legal 500, a guide to the best commercial law firms in the United States. The Legal 500 is an independent guide to commercial law firms, can be found online here, and is the largest legal referral site on the internet. Quoting Firm clients, The Legal 500 states that “[c]lients are ‘impressed by the responsiveness of the firm’, as well as by its ‘willingness to answer all our questions, and accommodate all our needs.’” One client noted that the firm always provided drafts of documents with sufficient time for pre-filing review, “‘even when pleadings were required on short notice.’”

The respected legal guide, Martindale-Hubbell, has given Bernstein Liebhard its highest ratings for legal ability (A) and ethical standards (V). 

          The Firm was recognized in 2009 by RiskMetrics Group in its annual Securities Class Action Services list as one of the top plaintiffs’ securities class action firms in the country, as measured by annual settlement amounts, for the second consecutive year.  The Firm achieved the highest average settlement amount among all plaintiffs’ law firms, averaging $254 million in settlements – a noted indicator that the Firm consistently brings and settles high-impact cases.

          The legal publication Law360 named the Firm to its list of the top six plaintiff-side securities firms in the nation.  Bernstein Liebhard made the list as a result of its “leadership work” on the recently obtained $586 million settlement in In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. 21 MC 92 (S.D.N.Y. 2009), and the $400 million recent settlement in In re Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 04-CV-8144 (CM) (S.D.N.Y. 2009).

          Several partners of the Firm have been recognized for their accomplishments within their fields of practice.

In 2006 and 2007, Stanley Bernstein was named by Lawdragon as among the top lawyers in the country for his extraordinary professional achievements. Lawdragon uses a proprietary rating system that weighs an objective assessment of attorneys' achievements and bar participation with journalistic reporting and online surveying of clients and peers. The Lawdragon "3000" honors fewer than 1 percent of all the lawyers in America.  He has also been named as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America,” “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers,” and “100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation.”

          Stanley D. Bernstein has also been named to the 2009 “Directorship 100,” the list of “The Most Influential People in the Boardroom” (a list that includes President Obama, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Delaware Supreme Court Justice Myron T. Steele, Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor William B. Chandler and Vice Chancellor Leo E. Strine, Jr., and corporate attorney Martin Lipton) as determined by The National Association of Corporate Directors and Directorship magazine.

           Three of the Firm’s partners, Stanley D. Bernstein, Jeffrey M. Haber and Rebecca M. Katz, have repeatedly been named Super Lawyers in the class action field by Super Lawyers magazine.