Rebecca Boon, a BLB&G partner, litigates securities fraud and shareholder rights actions on behalf of the firm’s institutional investor clients. With more than 18 years of experience, she has recovered billions of dollars for the firm’s institutional investor clients and the classes they represent through shareholder litigation. Boon practices out of the firm’s New York office.
A staunch advocate for justice and equality in the workplace, Boon has effected broad social change through shareholder litigation, obtaining landmark recoveries and corporate governance reforms that have remedied workplace misconduct and prevented future abuses of power. For example, Boon was a leader of the BLB&G teams that prosecuted the following cases:
- In re Signet Jewelers Limited Securities Litigation: Boon co-led the trial team that recovered $240 million for investors in Signet, the first successful resolution of a securities fraud class action based on allegations of sexual harassment.
- City of Monroe Employees' Retirement System, derivatively on behalf of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. v. Rupert Murdoch, et al.: Boon was a senior member of the trial team that prosecuted the shareholder derivative litigation against 21st Century Fox arising from the systemic sexual and workplace harassment at the network. The team obtained a landmark settlement that included a) the first ever board-level watchdog of its kind—the “Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council” of experts—and b) a $90 million recovery—one of the largest financial recoveries ever obtained in a pure corporate board oversight dispute.
- Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, derivatively on behalf of Guess?, Inc. v. Paul Marciano, et al.: Boon led the trial team that prosecuted the shareholder derivative litigation against Guess? arising from allegations of sexual misconduct against Guess models by Guess co-founder Paul Marciano. Building from the structure that she and the team developed in Fox, Boon designed corporate governance reforms for Guess, including (i) implementing a sexual harassment policy that will protect Guess models and prospective models from sexual harassment and abuse, (2) the creation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee that will review reported violations of the sexual harassment policy and recommend appropriate consequences to Guess’s board of directors, and (3) appointing two new directors to Guess’s board. The parties also agreed to payments by Defendants and insurers totaling $30 million to settle the action.
Lawdragon Honors
Because of her work on the 21st Century Fox case, Boon subsequently narrated a feature documentary by Dow Jones’ MarketWatch discussing both the litigation and the ways that investors can harness their power to create meaningful social change through shareholder litigation. Boon has also designed corporate governance reforms in private settlements, designed to address serious issues of race and sex discrimination at prominent corporations.
Boon is currently prosecuting breach of fiduciary duty cases against eXp, arising from allegations of drugging and sexual assault of the Company’s real estate agents, and against Jacobs Solutions, arising from allegations of labor abuses and trafficking. In addition, among others, Boon is prosecuting a securities fraud class action against Meta arising from the severe harms that Instagram causes to young people, especially teen girls.
Other highlights of Boon’s impressive litigation career include:
- Gary Hefler et al. v. Wells Fargo & Company et al.: Boon was a senior member of the team that obtained $480 million for investors in the securities class action against Wells Fargo & Co. related to its fake accounts scandal, one of the largest settlements in Ninth Circuit history.
- New York State Teachers' Retirement System v. General Motors Company: Boon prosecuted the securities litigation against General Motors arising from a series of misrepresentations concerning the quality, safety, and reliability of the company’s cars, obtaining a $300 million recovery—the second largest securities class action recovery in the Sixth Circuit.
- In re Willis Towers Watson plc Proxy Litigation: Boon led the trial team that recovered $90 million for investors in Willis Towers Watson in direct and related shareholder derivative litigation arising from the merger of Towers and Willis.
In addition to her litigation responsibilities, Boon is the co-founder and chairperson of Beyond #MeToo, a working group dedicated to remedying workplace misconduct and abuses of power. In recognition of her work with Beyond #MeToo, Boon received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the New York City Bar Association’s 5th Annual International Law Conference on the Status of Women in 2024. She also co-leads BLB&G’s Women’s Committee.
Boon is a nationally recognized expert on effecting social change through the plaintiff’s bar and regularly lectures at law schools, universities, and conferences. She is also a frequent author and has been published in outlets such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, and Responsible Investor. Most recently, she discussed investor demand for ESG reform in The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.
In recognition of her achievements, she has been named in Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” lists.
In 2024, Boon was elected Junior Vice President of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law and Economic Policy. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Federal Bar Council’s Program Committee. Boon also served on the Board of The Feminist Institute for three years.
Before joining BLB&G, Boon was a litigation associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she successfully prosecuted and defended securities class actions and other complex commercial litigation claims. She received her B.A. at Vassar College, where she served as a Social Justice Community Fellow, and her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law, where she served as a Charles H. Revson Foundation Law Students Public Interest Fellow and an editor of the Hofstra Law Review.
