Securities Fraud

Bernstein Liebhard LLP has earned a national reputation for protecting the rights of individuals and institutions victimized by corporate wrongdoing. The Firm brings together a team of securities attorneys who are dedicated to recovering losses incurred by individual and institutional investors in securities litigation and arbitration and, where appropriate, effecting corporate governance reforms and changes.

Our Securities Class Action Practice Group, which has been the foundation of the Firm’s class action litigation practice, has successfully prosecuted numerous high-profile securities class actions arising under the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, since the Firm’s founding. The Firm has recovered over $3.5 billion on behalf of our clients, including aggrieved investors who purchased their securities at prices artificially inflated by the false and misleading statements and omissions of corporations and their officers and directors.

The Shareholder Rights and Corporate Governance Practice Group prosecutes derivative actions, claims for breach of fiduciary duty, and actions to protect shareholder voting rights and shareholder value on behalf of individual and institutional investors in state and federal courts throughout the country. This practice group is also active in prosecuting actions challenging corporate transactions that violate fair process and fair price, and the applicability of the business judgment rule. As a result of its efforts, the Shareholder Rights and Corporate Governance Practice Group has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders aggrieved by unfair corporate transactions, as well as significant corporate governance reforms for the companies on whose behalf the actions were brought.

Bond Exchange Offer Litigation: Bernstein Liebhard is actively investigating cases on behalf of retail bond investors who were excluded from participating in bond exchange offers. Specifically, in the face of financial challenges, issuers are attempting to alleviate the pressure of servicing their debt by making exchange offers to Qualified Institutional Buyers (“QIBs”) as defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These exchanges often create a new class of bonds having priority over the original bonds that were purchased by retail bond investors. The retail bond investors, however, were denied the right to approve or to participate in the exchange, which may violate the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. If you have been or are being excluded from any such bond exchange offers, please contact Michael S. Bigin to discuss your rights.

The Securities Arbitration Practice Group represents high net worth individuals and institutional investors that have suffered investment related losses due to the wrongful conduct of stockbrokers and brokerage firms, investment advisors, banks, and other investment professionals. We provide representation to investors in proceedings against their brokers, investment advisors, and other investment professionals before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and other alternative dispute resolution venues.

For more information about each group within the Securities Practice Group, click on the following links: