Max Berger

View the Lawdragon min-doc "Places" about Max Berger, the legendary attorney who also is an accomplished photographer.

Mr. Berger, the firm’s senior founding partner, supervises BLB&G’s litigation practice and prosecutes class and individual actions on behalf of the firm’s clients.

He has litigated many of the firm's most high-profile and significant cases, and has negotiated six of the largest securities fraud settlements in history, each in excess of a billion dollars:  Cendant ($3.3 billion); Citigroup–WorldCom ($2.575 billion); Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ($2.4 billion); JPMorgan Chase–WorldCom ($2 billion); Nortel ($1.07 billion); and McKesson ($1.04 billion).

Mr. Berger’s work has garnered him extensive media attention, and he has been the subject of feature articles in a variety of major media publications.  Unique among his peers, The New York Times highlighted his remarkable track record in an October 2012 profile entitled "Investors’ Billion-Dollar Fraud Fighter," which also discussed his role in the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Merger litigation.  In 2011, Mr. Berger was twice profiled by The American Lawyer for his role in negotiating a $627 million recovery on behalf of investors in the In re Wachovia Corp. Securities Litigation, and a $516 million recovery in In re Lehman Brothers Equity/Debt Securities Litigation.  Previously, Mr. Berger's role in the WorldCom case generated extensive media coverage including feature articles in BusinessWeek and The American Lawyer. For his outstanding efforts on behalf of WorldCom investors, The National Law Journal profiled Mr. Berger (one of only eleven attorneys selected nationwide) in its annual 2005 "Winning Attorneys" section. He was subsequently featured in a 2006 New York Times article, "A Class-Action Shuffle," which assessed the evolving landscape of the securities litigation arena.

One of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America”

Widely recognized for his professional excellence and achievements, Mr. Berger was named one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal for being “front and center” in holding Wall Street banks accountable and obtaining over $5 billion in cases arising from the subprime meltdown, and for his work as a “master negotiator” in obtaining numerous multi-billion dollar recoveries for investors. 

Described as a "standard-bearer" for the profession in a career spanning over 40 years, he is the 2014 recipient of Chambers USA’s award for Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession.  In presenting this prestigious honor, Chambers recognized Mr. Berger’s “numerous headline-grabbing successes,” as well as his unique stature among colleagues - “warmly lauded by his peers, who are nevertheless loath to find him on the other side of the table.”

For the past nine years in a row, Mr. Berger has received the top attorney ranking in plaintiff securities litigation by Chambersand is consistently recognized as one of New York's "local litigation stars" by Benchmark Litigation (published by Institutional Investor and Euromoney).  Law360 also named him one of only six litigators selected nationally as a “Legal MVP” for his work in securities litigation. 

Since their various inceptions, he has also been named a "litigation star" by the Legal 500 US guide, one of "10 Legal Superstars" by Securities Law360, and 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.

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.  He has taught Profession of Law, an ethics course at Columbia Law School, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of Columbia Law School's Center on Corporate Governance. In May 2006, he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award for his contributions to Baruch College, and 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.  Most recently, Mr. Berger was profiled in the Fall 2011 issue of Columbia Law School Magazine.

Mr. Berger is currently a member of the New York State, New York City and American Bar Associations, and is a member of the Federal Bar Council.  He is also a member of the American Law Institute and an Advisor to its Restatement Third: Economic Torts project.  In addition, Mr. Berger is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Supreme Court Historical Society.

Mr. Berger lectures extensively for many 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 Berger Pre-Law Program at Baruch College.

Cases

• Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Merger Litigation
• Cendant Corporation
• Columbia/HCA Derivative Litigation (McCall v. Scott)
• DaimlerChrysler
• Delphi Corporation
• Freddie Mac
• HealthSouth Corporation Inc.
• Lehman Brothers Holdings
• Lucent Technologies, Inc.
• McKesson HBOC, Inc.
• Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (Bond Action)
• Nortel Networks
• R&G Financial Corporation
• SFBC International, Inc.
• Satyam Computer Services, Ltd.
• Suprema Specialties, Inc.
• WorldCom

Education

• Columbia Law School, 1971, J.D.; Editor of the Columbia Survey of Human Rights Law
• Baruch College-City University of New York, 1968, 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. Supreme Court

Awards

• May 22, 2014 Max Berger Honored for Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession by Chambers USA
• May 2014 BLB&G Ranked a Top Tier Firm by Chambers for Ninth Consecutive Year
• November 1, 2013 Law360 Profiles Max Berger and Salvatore Graziano as Legal “MVPs”
• November 1, 2013 Four BLB&G Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers for 2014
• November 2013 BLB&G Once Again Given Benchmark's Highest Ranking as a “Highly Recommended” Firm
• September 24, 2013 10 BLB&G Attorneys Named as New York Metro, San Diego and Southern California “Super Lawyers”
• June 2013 Legal 500 Once Again Ranks BLB&G a First Tier Firm for Plaintiff Securities Litigation and a Top Firm for M&A Litigation; Seven BLB&G Attorneys Recognized
• May 2013 Chambers Gives BLB&G Top Ranking for Securities Litigation for the Eighth Year in a Row; Max Berger, Salvatore Graziano and Steven Singer recognized as Leaders in the Field
• April 25, 2013 Six BLB&G Partners Named to Lawdragon’s List of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America”
• March 25, 2013 The National Law Journal Names Max Berger one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America”
• February 19, 2013 Five BLB&G Partners Named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” Rankings
• November 2012 For Sixth Year in a Row, Benchmark Names BLB&G One of the Nation’s Leading Litigation Firms
• September 26, 2012 Seven BLB&G Partners Named as New York Metro and San Diego “Super Lawyers”
• August 2012 Four BLB&G Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers for 2013
• July 2012 Benchmark Plaintiff Names BLB&G a “Highly Recommended” Plaintiff Litigation Firm
• June 2012 Chambers Once Again Ranks BLB&G a Top Securities Litigation Firm; Names Max Berger and Sal Graziano as Leaders in the Field
• May 2012 Legal 500 Names BLB&G First Tier Firm for Plaintiff Securities Litigation for Sixth Year in a Row; Also Names BLB&G Top Firm for M&A Litigation; 10 BLB&G Attorneys Recognized
• January 2012 Benchmark Once Again Names BLB&G One of the Nation’s Leading Litigation Firms
• January 2012 Five BLB&G Partners Named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” List
• December 8, 2011 Max Berger Named Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer

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by Max Berger