Mark Lebovitch

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann

1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
212-554-1400 (firm)
212-554-1444 (firm fax)

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Mr. Lebovitch heads the firm's corporate governance litigation practice, focusing on derivative suits and transactional litigation.

Most recently, in the In re El Paso Corp. Shareholder Litigation, he was co-lead counsel in representing a group of public pension funds challenging a conflict-ridden transaction, resulting in a $110 million settlement, which is among the highest recoveries in any merger-related case in history. The settlement followed a landmark ruling by the Delaware Chancery Court that has materially improved the way M&A financial advisors address conflicts of interest. In In re Delphi Financial Group Shareholder Litigation, Mr. Lebovitch was co-lead counsel in challenging the founder and controlling shareholder’s unlawful demand for an additional $55 million in connection with the sale of the company, resulting in the recovery of $49 million. He served as lead counsel in the Pfizer Derivative Litigation, which resulted in a $75 million payment and creation of a new Healthcare Law Regulatory Committee, which sets an improved standard for regulatory compliance oversight by a public company board of directors.

Mr. Lebovitch was co-lead counsel in a challenge to Xerox’s acquisition of ACS, which settled on the eve of trial for a $69 million cash payment to ACS shareholders. Mr. Lebovitch has prosecuted various precedent setting claims, including in In re Amylin Shareholders Litigation, a first impression challenge to the legal validity of “Proxy Puts.” Most recently, he followed his Amylinsuccess by obtaining substantive injunctive relief from the Delaware Chancery Court regarding breaches of duty by the board of SandRidge Energy, Inc. in connection with similar “Proxy Put” provisions. In In re Landry’s Restaurants, Inc. Shareholders Litigation, he obtained a nearly 60% increase in a proposed takeover price, plus a $14.5 million cash fund for Landry’s shareholders who sold their shares during the class period. And in In re Airgas Shareholder Litigation, Mr. Lebovitch served as co-lead trial attorney in a landmark trial challenging the Airgas board’s use of a poison pill.

Mr. Lebovitch also prosecutes securities litigations, and in that capacity was the lead litigation attorney in In re Merrill Lynch Bondholders Litigation, which settled for $150 million, and is a member of the team prosecuting In re Bank of America Securities Litigation, which has settled for $2.425 billion to shareholders harmed by the defendants’ violations of Sections 14(a) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.

Mr. Lebovitch has received national recognition for his work in securities and M&A litigation in recent years. He is regularly recognized as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Plaintiff: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Plaintiff Firms and Attorneys, and is recommended by the Legal 500 US guide for his work in M&A litigation. In May 2012, The Deal magazine prominently profiled Mr. Lebovitch as one of the top three lawyers nationally representing shareholder plaintiffs in M&A litigation in its feature article, “The Troika Atop the M&A Plaintiffs’ Bar.” Most recently, Law360 recognized him as one of its five “Rising Stars” nationally in the area of securities litigation – the only plaintiff-side attorney so selected.

A member of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Law and Economics, Mr. Lebovitch is an author and a frequent speaker and commentator at industry events on a wide range of corporate governance and securities related issues. He has taught at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto and at Harvard Law School on corporate governance issues. His prior publications include “Making Order Out of Chaos: A Proposal To Improve Organization and Coordination in Multi-Jurisdictional Merger-Related Litigation;” “‘Novel Issues’ or a Return to Core Principles? Analyzing the Common Link Between the Delaware Chancery Court’s Recent Rulings in Option Backdating and Transactional Cases” (NYU Journal of Law & Business, Volume 4, Number 2); “Calling a Duck a Duck: Determining the Validity of Deal Protection Provisions in Merger of Equals Transactions” (2001Columbia Business Law Review 1) and “Practical Refinement” (The Daily Deal, January 2002), each of which discussed evolving developments in the law of directors’ fiduciary duties.

Mr. Lebovitch clerked for Vice Chancellor Stephen P. Lamb on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, and was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, where he represented clients in a variety of corporate governance, commercial and federal securities matters.

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