EDITORIAL REVIEW

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Geller grabbed $120 million from Prison Realty Trust, $38 million from American Family Publishers, $11 million from Advanta. And he’s only 40!


The derivatives star landed eight-figure settlements from Intermedia, Morgan Stanley and Prison Realty Trust.


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PAUL J. GELLER received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Florida, where he was a member of the University Honors Program. Mr. Geller then earned his Juris Doctor degree, with Highest Honors, from Emory University School of Law. At Emory, Mr. Geller was an Editor of the Law Review, was inducted into the Order of the Coif legal honor society, and was awarded multiple American Jurisprudence Book Awards for earning the highest grade in the school in a dozen courses.

After spending several years representing blue chip companies in class action lawsuits at one of the largest corporate defense firms in the world, Mr. Geller became a founding partner and head of the Boca Raton offices of the national class action boutiques Cauley Geller Bowman & Rudman, LLP and Geller Rudman, PLLC. In June 2004, through a merger of Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins, LLP and Geller Rudman, PLLC, Mr. Geller opened the Boca Raton, Florida office of the firm.

In May 2005, Mr. Geller was selected by The National Law Journal as one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40” – an honor bestowed upon 40 of the country’s top lawyers under the age of 40. The NLJ had previously compiled its “40 Under 40” list in July 2002; Mr. Geller is the only lawyer in the country that was selected for inclusion both in 2002 and again in 2005. In July 2006, as well as July 2003, Mr. Geller was featured in Florida Trend magazine as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite.” Mr. Geller has also been featured in the South Florida Business Journal as one of Florida's top lawyers, and was named one of the nation’s top 500 lawyers by Lawdragon in August 2006.

Mr. Geller is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell (the highest rating available) and has served as lead or co-lead counsel in a majority of the securities class actions that have been filed in the southeastern United States in the past several years, including cases against Hamilton Bancorp ($8.5 million settlement); Prison Realty Trust (co-lead derivative counsel; total combined settlement of over $120 million); and Intermedia Corp. ($38 million settlement). Mr. Geller recently served as one of the court-appointed lead counsel in cases involving the alleged manipulation of the asset value of some of the nation's largest mutual funds, including Hicks v. Morgan Stanley & Co. ($10 million settlement); Abrams v. Van Kampen Funds, Inc. ($31.5 million settlement); and In Re Eaton Vance Sec. Litig. ($10 million settlement).

Mr. Geller is also heavily involved in corporate governance litigation. For example, Mr. Geller recently represented a shareholder of Applica Inc. who was concerned with allegedly reckless acquisitions made by the company. Mr. Geller and his partners secured a settlement that required Applica to establish a new independent Acquisitions Committee charged with conducting due diligence and approving future acquisitions, even though such a committee is not required by SEC regulations. In another corporate governance lawsuit, Mr. Geller and his co-counsel challenged the independence of certain members of a Special Committee empaneled by Oracle Corp. to look into certain stock sales made by its Chairman and CEO, Larry Ellison. After Delaware Chancery Court Vice Chancellor Leo E. Strine issued an Order agreeing that the Special Committee was “fraught with conflicts,” The Wall Street Journal called the decision “one of the most far-reaching ever on corporate governance.”

Mr. Geller has also successfully represented consumers in class action litigation. He recently settled Kehoe and Neilsen v. Fidelity Federal, a consumer class action alleging privacy violations filed in the Southern District of Florida, for $50 million. He was personal counsel to the lead plaintiff in Stoddard v. Advanta, a case that challenged the adequacies of interest rate disclosures by one of the nation's largest credit card companies ($11 million settlement), and was personal counsel to one of the lead plaintiffs in the American Family Publishers sweepstakes litigation, which alleged that the defendant misled consumers into thinking they would win a lottery if they purchased magazine subscriptions ($38 million settlement).

During the past few years, several of Mr. Geller's cases have received regional and national press coverage. Mr. Geller has appeared on CNN Headline News, CNN Moneyline with Lou Dobbs, ABC, NBC and FOX network news programs. Mr. Geller is regularly quoted in the financial press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and BusinessWeek.

Mr. Geller has been or is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Practicing Law Institute, the American Bar Association, the Palm Beach County Bar Association (former Member of Bar Grievance Committee) and the South Palm Beach County Bar Association (former Co-Chair of Pro Bono Committee).

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Paul Geller

Biography Title: Managing Partner, Boca Raton, Florida office Firm: Coughlin Stoia Law School: Emory University School of Law Graduation: 1993   Notable case(s), past or present (include date if possible): Enron Securities Litigation (largest settlement in history of class action litigation -- over $7 billion, case still pending); Tyco Securities Litgation -- approx $3 billion settlement in 2007); Lead Counsel in Kehoe v. Fidelity Federal, one of the first consumer privacy litigations under the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, which settled for $50 million in December 2006; Co-Lead Counsel in various mutual fund valuation lawsuits against Eaton Vance, Van Kampen and Morgan Stanley which settled in 2005 for an aggregate of approx $50 million   Selected clients: Geller represents investors ranging from public (state and municipal) retirement funds to private institutional investors, Taft-Hartley funds, and individual investors and consumers. Areas of Expertise:   Bar Memberships:   Clerkships:   Honors:

Q&A Best moment of career: There have been many great moments over the years. Most recently, I was pretty excited to win a very important appellate argument in which my opponent was Gibson Dunn's Miguel Estrada, probably one of the most well known and respected appellate lawyers in the nation. Winning on appeal, after getting my head handed to me by Miguel in the trial court, was a pretty gratifying moment for me.   Worst moment of career: As a young associate working at a large corporate defense firm, I represented drug companies who were being sued in class actions by the estates of young children who were infected with HIV while being treated for hemophilia with the defendants' drugs. The drugs were made using human blood platlets, and the drug companies didn't test for AIDS at the time the illness was first coming on the scene. Sitting in depositions of parents, watching "day in the life" videos of children whose lives were cut short, was the most difficult time in my career.   Attorney you most admire: He may not even remember me, but its a partner at King & Spalding in Atlanta named John Hinchey. After my first year of law school, I was a summer clerk for John's law firm -- a construction litigation boutique called Phillips, Hinchey & Reid (no longer exists). John was a brilliant lawyer and was always such a gentleman and so professional. He really had an impact on me.   Favorite activities (besides the Law): Spending time with my family -- my wife Leslie who I've been married to for 15 years and my two sons, Jared (9) and Dylan (7). I am also an avid martial artist. I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu several days per week, have competed in jiu jitsu tournaments, and regularly attend mixed martial arts event, like the Ultimate Fighting Championship.   Favorite Sports Team (if you have one), or Favorite Theater or Museum, etc: My wife and I met at the University of Florida, and we own a home just outside of Gainesville which we visit as often as we can for home football and basketball games. Its great to be a Florida Gator!   If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be?:   What do you read most often:   Notable law school classmates:   Why are you proud to be a lawyer?: