EDITORIAL REVIEW

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Just how well plaintiff shareholders fare in recovering monetary losses and securing reforms will depend largely on the maestro of the most nimble and effective securities practice in the nation.



He built the nation's leading plaintiff securities firm by adding a touch of “class” to mastery of the art of the big suit, winning five of the largest recoveries in history.


The king of securities litigation sizzles: $6.1 billion from WorldCom, $1.3 billion from Nortel Networks, $1 billion from McKesson.


A securities-fraud sensation, he helped land settlement billions for WorldCom, Cendant and Nortel Networks shareholders.


Max Berger has made a name for himself representing plaintiffs in huge securities class actions. He helped secure a $6.1 billion settlement in 2005 stemming from the massive fraud at telecom company WorldCom. In 1999, he also negotiated a $3.2 billion settlement in the Cendant securities fraud case. The successes have propelled Berger's firm into the ranks of the top class-action firms. Berger and his partner, Sean Coffey, are regarded as "excellent," and their peers say "they make a great pair." The firm was named the top plaintiffs' law firm in 2004 by Institutional Shareholder Services, with settlements valued at $3.5 billion. In addition to his class-action expertise, Berger is a member of Columbia Law School's Center on Corporate Governance.


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Mr. Berger supervises the firm's litigation practice and prosecutes class and individual actions on behalf of the firm’s clients.

Together, with other partners at the firm, he has litigated many of the firm's most high profile and significant cases, including five of the largest securities fraud recoveries in history - the $6.15 billion settlement of In re WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litigation, the $3.3 billion settlement of In re Cendant Corporation Securities Litigation, the $1.3 billion recovery in In re Nortel Networks Corporation Securities Litigation, the $1.04 billion settlement of In re McKesson HBOC, Inc. Securities Litigation, and the over $600 million investor recovery in In re Lucent Technologies, Inc. Securities Litigation.

Mr. Berger's role in the WorldCom case received extensive media attention and has been the subject of feature articles in major publications including BusinessWeek and The American Lawyer. For his outstanding efforts on behalf of the WorldCom Class, The National Law Journal profiled Mr. Berger (one of only eleven attorneys selected nationwide) in its special June 2005 "Winning Attorneys" section. Additionally, Mr. Berger was featured in the July 2006 New York Times article, "A Class-Action Shuffle," which assessed the evolving landscape of the securities litigation arena.

Mr. Berger is widely recognized for his professional excellence and achievements. For the past five consecutive years, he has received the top attorney ranking in plaintiff securities litigation by the Chambers and Partners’ Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. In the 2010 edition of Benchmark: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys (published by Legal Media Group - Institutional Investor and Euromoney), Mr. Berger was singled out as one of New York’s “local litigation stars.” Additionally, since their various inceptions, he has been named a “litigation star” by the Legal 500 USA Guide, one of “10 Legal Superstars” by Securities Law360, and is consistently named as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “100 Securities Litigators You Need to Know” by Lawdragon magazine. Further, The Best Lawyers in America guide has named Mr. Berger a leading lawyer in his field.

In February 2011, Mr. Berger received Columbia Law School's most prestigious and highest honor, "The Medal for Excellence." This award is presented annually to Columbia Law School alumni who exemplify the qualities of character, intellect, and social and professional responsibility that the Law School seeks to instill in its students.

Mr. Berger also serves the academic community in numerous capacities as a member of the Dean's Council to Columbia Law School, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Baruch College. In May 2006, he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award for his contributions to Baruch College. In June 2009, he was elected to the Board of Trustees of The Supreme Court Historical Society, a prestigious non-profit organization committed to preserving the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Berger is an Advisor to the American Law Institute, Restatement Third of Torts, and he currently serves on the Advisory Board of Columbia Law School's Center on Corporate Governance. Additionally, Mr. Berger has taught Profession of Law, an ethics course at Columbia.

Mr. Berger is a past chairman of the Commercial Litigation Section of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now known as the American Association for Justice) and lectures for numerous professional organizations. In 1997, Mr. Berger was honored for his outstanding contribution to the public interest by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, where he was a "Trial Lawyer of the Year" Finalist for his work in Roberts, et al. v. Texaco, the celebrated race discrimination case, on behalf of Texaco's African-American employees.

Among numerous charitable and volunteer works, Mr. Berger is an active supporter of City Year New York, a division of AmeriCorps, dedicated to encouraging young people to devote time to public service. In July 2005, he was named City Year New York’s "Idealist of the Year," for his long-time service and work in the community. He and his wife, Dale, have also established the Dale and Max Berger Public Interest Law Fellowship at Columbia Law School and the Max W. Berger Pre-Law Program at Baruch College.

EDUCATION
1971, Columbia Law School, J.D., Editor of the Columbia Survey of Human Rights Law
1968, Baruch College-City University of New York; B.B.A., Accounting.

BAR ADMISSIONS

• New York
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
• U.S. Supreme Court

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by Max Berger

EVALUATION

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Max Berger

Biography Title: Senior Founding Partner Firm: Bernstein Litowitz Law School: Columbia Law School Graduation: 1971   Notable case(s), past or present (include date if possible): WorldCom Securities Litigation (2005). Four weeks of trial and three years of litigation resulting in settlements of over $6.15 billion, including unprecedented out-of-pocket director payments of nearly $25 million. Cendant Securities Litigation (2000). Settlements of over $3.3 billion. Third-largest recovery in history. Nortel Securities Litigation (2006). Recoveries of $1.3 billion (part of a $2.7 billion global settlement). McKesson Securities Litigation (2005 - 2007). Total recoveries of over $1.04 billion. Roberts v. Texaco, Inc. (Texaco Discrimination Litigation) (1997). Described as the most significant race discrimination settlement in history. Monetary settlement of over $170 million, as well as the creation of a Task Force at Texaco to monitor its diversity programs for five years.   Selected clients: New York State Common Retirement Fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board California Public Employees Retirement System Treasury of the State of New Jersey and its Division of Investment Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Areas of Expertise:   Bar Memberships:   Clerkships:   Honors:

Q&A Best moment of career: When Paul Bernstein, Ron Litowitz, Ed Grossmann and I formed the firm 25 years ago.   Worst moment of career: Paul Bernstein's premature death eighteen years ago at age 60, immediately after successfully prosecuting the Washington Public Power Supply System litigation for 7 years, at the time the most significant securities class action recovery in history.   Attorney you most admire: Prof. James Liebman for his work on death penalty cases. Robert Morgenthau for his tireless work as a prosecutor.   Favorite activities (besides the Law): Photography, travel and spending time with my grandchildren.   Favorite Sports Team (if you have one), or Favorite Theater or Museum, etc: Museum of Modern Art and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and, of course, The Yankees.   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?:

News

• Max Berger Discusses Securities Litigation Trends with The D&O Diary
  (01/26/2011)
  
  
• BLB&G Publishes "Plaintiff' Perspective" in LexisNexis' "Litigating Securities Class Actions"
  (01/01/2011)
  
  
• BLB&G Again Tops Chambers USA and Legal 500 Rankings in Securities Class Action Litigation; Also Ranked #1 in Subprime Related Litigation by Legal 500
  (06/01/2008)
  
  
• Four BLB&G Partners Recognized by Lawdragon Among the "100 Securities Litigators You Need to Know"
  (04/01/2008)
  
  
• Bloomberg Profiles Sean Coffey as One of Top Plaintiffs' Lawyers in the Securities Bar
  (11/13/2007)
  
  
• Max Berger and Sean Coffey Featured in The New York Times Coverage of Securities Class Action Landscape - "There is No Shortage of Fraud"
  (07/07/2006)
  
  
• Financial Times Profiles BLB&G as "Biggest Star" in the Securities Bar; Cover Story Details BLB&G's Prosecution of Stock Options Backdating Cases
  (05/22/2006)
  
  
• Max Berger Named "Legal Superstar" by Securities Law360
  (05/05/2006)
  
  
• BLB&G Partners Named Top Litigators in the Country by Lawdragon Magazine
  (05/01/2006)
  
  
• Max Berger and Sean Coffey are Subject of Cover Story in The American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel Magazine's "Litigation 2005"
  (11/01/2005)
  
  
• BLB&G Named Again to National Law Journal's "Plaintiff's Hot List" of the Top U.S. Plaintiff Firms
  (10/01/2005)
  
  
• Max Berger and Sean Coffey Named to 'Lawdragon 500' List of Top Attorneys in the Nation
  (10/01/2005)
  
  
• Max Berger and Sean Coffey Selected as 2005 "Winning Attorneys" by National Law Journal
  (06/20/2005)
  
  
• Max Berger Honored as City Year's "Idealist of the Year;" Speaks at City Year Graduation Ceremony
  (06/17/2005)
  
  
• BusinessWeek Profiles Max Berger and Sean Coffey in "The Kings of Class Actions"
  (05/16/2005)
  
  
• Max Berger Quoted in National Law Journal Coverage of Rising Settlement Values In Securities Class Actions
  (03/14/2005)
  
  
• The American Lawyer Profiles Sean Coffey and BLB&G's Representation of the New York State Common Retirement Fund in Obtaining $2.575 Billion Settlement
  (12/01/2004)
  
  
• BLB&G Obtains Largest Settlement Ever from a Third Party - Citigroup Settles WorldCom Securities Litigation for $2.575 Billion; Extensive Media Coverage
  (05/10/2004)
  
  
• Max Berger is "Principal For A Day" at the Bronx High School for Law and Community Service
  (03/31/2004)

Publications

• "An Open Letter in Response to Recent Attempts to Curtail the Rights of Shareholders to Pursue Private Causes of Action Under the Securities Laws" by Max W. Berger
  (03/12/2007)
  
  
• Analysis of Interim Report of Committee on Capital Markets Regulation by Max W. Berger
  (12/08/2006)
  
  
• "WorldCom: How A Ground-Breaking Litigation Altered The Legal Landscape For Large Securities Class Actions And Forced Wall Street To Forever Change Its Ways" by Max W. Berger, John P. Coffey & John C. Browne
  (10/01/2005)
  
  
• "Your Portfolio Has Been Hurt By A Securities Fraud...Now What?" by Max Berger, David Stickney & Tony Gelderman
  (01/01/2003)
  
  
• "The Role Of The Institutional Investor In Securities Cases: Making A Difference By Increasing Class Recovery" by Max Berger & Tony Gelderman (The NAPPA Report, May 2002)
  (05/01/2002)
  
  
• "Institutional Investors As Lead Plaintiffs: Is There A New And Changing Landscape?" by Max W. Berger, John P. Coffey & Gerald Silk
  (08/01/2000)
  
  
• "Court Grants The New York State Common Retirement Fund's Request For Relief And Enjoins Misleading Solicitation Of Class Members" by Max W. Berger & Rochelle Feder Hansen
  (06/01/2000)
  
  
• "Mass Solicitations Dupe Institutional Investors" by Max W. Berger & Robert S. Gans
  (01/01/2000)