Contact Information: Alexander Coxe Marketing Director Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP New York, N.Y. (212) 554-1423 alex@blbglaw.com
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP Announces Top Rankings in Securities Litigation -- Ranked #1 in "SCAS 50" for Highest Settlements in 2008; Once Again Named "Class Action Law Firm of the Year," by Global Pensions
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 1, 2009) - The law firm of Bernstein Litowitz Berger &
Grossmann LLP ("BLB&G") was once again recognized as one of the nation's
most highly regarded litigation boutiques, given top rankings in the field
of plaintiff securities litigation by both Securities Class Action Services
("SCAS") and Global Pensions magazine.
Fifth Year Among Top of "SCAS 50" Rankings
BLB&G once again outperformed all other securities class action firms in
the country, with the highest settlement values for 2008. SCAS, a
subsidiary of RiskMetrics Group, tracks securities class action settlements
and the law firms prosecuting those cases in the United States. For the
past five years, SCAS has produced a study ranking the top 50 law firms in
the field entitled the "SCAS 50." BLB&G again achieved the #1 ranking with
over $711 million in recoveries on behalf of its clients. According to
SCAS, "BLB&G has been in the top five each year we have compiled the
rankings and they are the only firm to achieve that distinction."
Named International Leader for Third Year in a Row by Global Pensions
Additionally, for the third year in a row, BLB&G has been acknowledged as
an international leader in securities litigation, once again being named
"Class Action Law Firm of the Year" by Global Pensions magazine, a UK-based
international pension publication. Gleaned from an in-depth research
process, consisting of surveys from 15,000 readers of Global Pensions, as
well as a distinguished panel of international judges made up of key
decision makers in the field, this prestigious award recognizes "excellence
in service" to the pensions industry. According to judges, "BLB&G is the
clear leader in its field," a law firm that "looks out for all of the
interests of the institutional investor."
In commenting on the acknowledgements, senior founding partner, Max Berger,
stated, "We're extremely gratified for the recognition from SCAS and Global
Pensions and it is a testament to the commitment that our clients have made
in prosecuting these cases."
Continued Professional Recognition for the Firm; Leadership in Unfolding
Credit Crisis Litigation
These prestigious rankings continue to reinforce the firm's longstanding
position as the leading law firm worldwide advising institutional investors
on issues related to corporate governance, shareholder rights, and
securities litigation. These recent announcements by SCAS and Global
Pensions represent only the most current accolades for BLB&G.
As a result of its accomplishments, the firm and its attorneys are often
recognized for their cutting edge litigation work on behalf of
institutional investors. Further testament to the firm's reputation, BLB&G
was recently named to the National Law Journal's "Plaintiff's Hot List," as
one of the most distinguished plaintiff firms in the country, and was
recognized by Benchmark: Litigation - The Definitive Guide to America's
Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys, as "one of the best, bar none." The
firm also received top rankings by both Chambers and Partners' Guide to
America's Leading Lawyers for Business ("Chambers") and the Legal 500
United States ("Legal 500").
Notable in these earlier citations was Legal 500's recognition of the
firm's groundbreaking representation in subprime and credit crisis
litigation. BLB&G received the top ranking in the Subprime Litigation
category and was identified as a "strong choice for lead counsel in many
matters... due to its ability to prosecute the full spectrum of claims
arising in the subprime area."
The firm is currently lead counsel representing investors in numerous
ongoing securities fraud cases against subprime lenders including American
Home Mortgage, Countrywide Financial Corporation, New Century Financial
Corporation, and Washington Mutual, Inc., among many others. In addition,
BLB&G is lead counsel in cases against the players further "down the
pipeline" in the securitization process -- the investment banks, bond
insurers, and financial institutions such as Ambac Financial Group, Inc.,
Citigroup, Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings, MBIA, Inc., and Merrill Lynch.
The firm is also representing institutional investors in consolidated class
actions against major money managers and fund advisors, such as RAIT
Financial Trust and State Street Bank & Trust Company, who improperly
exposed their institutional clients to subprime holdings.
Since its founding in 1983, BLB&G has obtained over $20 billion in
recoveries for investors and achieved precedent-setting corporate
governance reforms on behalf of its institutional investor clients. Over
the last several years, the firm has received substantial media recognition
from the many high profile cases it has resolved and is currently
prosecuting. In addition to obtaining unprecedented monetary recoveries,
the firm has litigated numerous seminal cases establishing precedents which
have increased market transparency, held wrongdoers accountable, and
changed corporate business practices in groundbreaking ways. From
establishing an industry-accepted definition of director independence and
altering the makeup and accountability of corporate boards of directors, to
comprehensively upgrading the due diligence process of investment banks,
addressing stock options abuses by corporate executives, or protecting the
rights of investors and individuals in the wake of the subprime mortgage
collapse, the firm's cases have addressed wrongdoing and yielded results
which have served as models for public companies going forward.