Stanley D. Bernstein, founding partner of Bernstein Liebhard LLP, has successfully represented plaintiffs in securities fraud litigation, shareholder and derivative litigation, complex commercial litigation (representing corporations and businesses when they are plaintiffs in litigation), professional malpractice litigation, and antitrust litigation for over thirty-five years. Mr. Bernstein is a recognized leader in the securities and corporate governance bar. He frequently addresses lawyers and business professionals concerning various aspects of plaintiffs’ litigation and was featured as the cover story in Directorship magazine in an article entitled “Investors v. Directors.” Mr. Bernstein also heads the firm’s qui tam/whistleblower practice group.
Mr. Bernstein has been widely recognized for his achievements. Among other honors:
- Lawdragon named him one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” “500 Leading Litigators in America,” “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers,” and “100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation”;
- The National Association of Corporate Directors and Directorship magazine listed him in the Directorship 100 – the list of “The Most Influential People in the Boardroom” (2009-2012);
- Super Lawyers magazine named him a Super Lawyer (2007-2009; 2012-2023);
- The Legal 500 has repeatedly recommended him (2011-2012; 2014-2016, 2019-2023);
- Recognized by Benchmark Plaintiff: The Definitive Guide To America’s Leading Plaintiff Firms & Attorneys (2012-2015); and
- Ranked in Chambers USA Guide (2012-2016).
Mr. Bernstein litigates against the most prominent defense firms in the country and has earned a reputation for being a tenacious litigator who will try any case that does not settle on favorable terms. His experience and reputation for trying cases has enabled him to negotiate some of the largest securities fraud settlements in history. For example, Mr. Bernstein was the Chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. 21 MC 92 (S.D.N.Y.), a coordinated litigation of over 300 securities class actions, in which a $586 million settlement was obtained. Mr. Bernstein was also instrumental in negotiating a $400 million settlement in In re Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 04-CV-8144 (CM) (S.D.N.Y.). In In re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport Securities Litigation, No. 04-374 (JAP) (D.N.J.), he negotiated a $166.6 million settlement of the U.S. action, in addition to a $350 million European settlement the firm was substantially responsible for obtaining. In In re Bankers Trust Securities Litigation, he recovered $58 million for investors, representing 100% of their losses.
Mr. Bernstein also led an individual action on behalf of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association (“PERA”) against Wells Fargo Bank and affiliates arising from defendants’ mismanagement of PERA’s securities lending program. On the eve of trial, Mr. Bernstein negotiated a $50 million recovery for PERA, representing over 65% of PERA’s damages.
Most recently, Mr. Bernstein successfully negotiated a $32 million settlement in Employees Retirement System of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority v. Conduent Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cv-08237-SDW-SCM (D.N.J.), where the firm represented the lead plaintiff, the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System; a $14.25 million settlement in In re REV Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, Lead Case No. 2:18-cv-1268-LA (E.D. Wis.), in which the firm represented the lead plaintiff, Houston Municipal Employees Pension System; a $20 million settlement for investors in Avila v. LifeLock, Inc., No. 15-cv-01398 (D. Ariz.), which was reached after the firm and its co-lead counsel successfully appealed the district court’s dismissal of the action before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Bernstein has also been lead counsel in many of the leading securities cases enforcing and expanding the rights of shareholders, including in In re Sears, Roebuck Derivative Litigation and In re Archer Daniels Midlands Corp. Derivative Litigation (pioneering cases which improved corporate governance at both companies). He was also trial counsel for stockholders in a trial in the Delaware Chancery Court that invalidated an anti-takeover device in Shapiro v. Quickturn Design Systems, Inc.
Most recently, Mr. Bernstein helped obtain a settlement valued at $100 million on behalf of shareholders of L Brands, Inc., the multichain specialty retailer that owns Victoria’s Secret, in John Giarratano v. L Brands, Inc. The shareholders alleged that a “culture of sexual harassment and misogyny” had “plagued the company and Victoria’s Secret for decades.” As part of the settlement, L Brands agreed to completely revamp the existing policies and procedures relating to sexual harassment, retaliation, and reporting, and to take a number of steps to ensure that those policies are actually working. Mr. Bernstein also represented the City of Hialeah Employees Retirement System in City of Hialeah Employees Retirement System v. Begley, et al., a derivative action alleging that certain current and former directors of DeVry Education Group breached their fiduciary duties by allowing and approving a misleading advertising campaign. After successfully opposing defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, Mr. Bernstein negotiated a cash settlement comprising of a $16 million payment to DeVry from the company’s Directors and Officers insurance carrier.
Mr. Bernstein also chairs the firm’s antitrust practice and is co-lead counsel and co-trial counsel in the In re Processed Eggs Antitrust Litigation, a case alleging a near industry-wide, price-fixing conspiracy among egg producers to raise the price of shell eggs in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act ($130 million in settlements recovered to date). He currently represents plaintiffs in In re Delta Dental Antitrust Litigation, No. 19-cv-6734 (N.D. Ill.), an antitrust class action filed against Delta Dental State Insurers, DeltaUSA, and Delta Dental Plans Association alleging a coordinated agreement not to compete among the various separate Delta Dental entities and the unlawful misuse of monopsony power in the market for dental insurance throughout the United States, in violation of federal law.
Mr. Bernstein is also currently representing consumers in a class action lawsuit against Walmart Inc. alleging unfair and deceptive business practices by the company by placing false price advertisements on shelf signs and price displays throughout its stores nationwide. The case alleges violations of state consumer protection statutes and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Mr. Bernstein also represents corporations and businesses when they are plaintiffs in litigation against other businesses and in litigation alleging professional malpractice against attorneys and accountants. For example, Mr. Bernstein recovered millions of dollars in a global settlement on behalf of the Trustee of the Actrade Liquidation Trust (overseeing the liquidation of assets previously held by Actrade Technologies, Ltd., a public company that formerly traded on NASDAQ), in connection with an accounting malpractice action against Actrade’s accountant for failing to conduct proper audits, and an action against Actrade’s former chairman for misappropriation of funds. He has also recovered millions of dollars for corporate plaintiffs in professional malpractice and other corporate litigations.
Mr. Bernstein represented the creditors’ committee in the Altegrity, Inc. and USIS Investigations, Inc. (“USIS”) bankruptcy proceedings in connection with claims against a USIS director and its former officers arising from their alleged failures to adequately protect the confidential information of tens of thousands of government employees from a cyberattack in 2013. A confidential multi-million dollar global settlement resolved both actions.