Has represented Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in its defense of more than 150 shareholder actions relating to the content of certain analyst reports. In one such case, Dabit v. Merrill Lynch, he persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 8 to 0, that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA) preempts private securities class actions brought under state law by individuals who assert claims as "holders" of securities and who do not allege that they purchased or sold securities during the period in question. He argued the case before the Supreme Court in January 2006; the court issued its decision in March 2006.

Lentell, et al. v. Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., et al.

Represented Merrill Lynch in another significant securities law decision (Lentell), in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2005 affirmed the dismissal of two cases brought against Merrill Lynch and one of its research analysts seeking losses for investments based on allegedly false research reports. The Second Circuit held that flaws in plaintiffs’ allegations of loss causation were “fatal.”

In Re Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Research Reports Securities Litigation

Represented Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in its favorable settlement, in 2007, of 26 consolidated class action suits related to its research coverage of Internet companies.

In Re Certain Underwriter Defendants, In Re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation

Represented CIBC World Markets Corp. and SG Cowen Securities Corp. (n/k/a Cowen & Co., LLC) in a significant victory before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2006. The court reversed the district court’s decision to certify classes in six focus cases coordinated in the IPO securities litigation, which involved claims of market manipulation against more than 50 underwriters in more than 300 high technology IPOs in the late 1990s and early 2000.

In Re WorldCom Inc. Securities Litigation

Represented the underwriters of more than $15 billion of WorldCom, Inc. debt securities in bondholder actions throughout the United States, including in the largest class action ever filed.