Brian Cochran is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego and Chicago offices. He focuses his practice on complex securities, shareholder, consumer protection, and ERISA litigation. Cochran specializes in case investigation and initiation and lead plaintiff issues arising under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. He has developed dozens of cases under the federal securities laws and recovered billions of dollars for injured investors and consumers. Several of Cochran’s cases have pioneered new ground, such as cases on behalf of cryptocurrency investors and in blank check companies (a.k.a “SPACs”), and sparked follow-on governmental investigations into corporate malfeasance.
Cochran was a member of the litigation team that achieved a $1.21 billion settlement in the Valeant Pharmaceuticals securities litigation. Cochran also developed the Dynamic Ledger securities litigation, one of the first cases to challenge a cryptocurrency issuer’s failure to register under the federal securities laws, which settled for $25 million. In addition, Cochran was part of the team that secured a historic $25 million settlement on behalf of Trump University students, which Cochran prosecuted on a pro bono basis. Other notable recoveries include: Rite Aid Merger ($192.5 million); Exelon ($173 million); Alta Mesa ($126.3 million); Micro Focus ($107.5 million); Walgreens ($105 million); VMWare ($102.5 million); Scotts Miracle-Gro (up to $85 million); Psychiatric Solutions ($65 million); SQM Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile ($62.5 million); GE ERISA ($61 million); HPE-DXC Merger ($47.5 million, subject to court approval); Grubhub ($42 million); Sea, Ltd. ($40 million); Big Lots ($38 million); Credit Suisse ($32.5 million); Waste Management ($30 million, subject to court approval); GoHealth ($29.5 million); Reckitt Benckiser ($19.6 million); DouYu ($15 million); REV Group ($14.25 million); Fifth Street Finance ($14 million); Third Avenue Management ($14 million); Funko ($14 million); LJM ($12.85 million); Sealed Air ($12.5 million); and Camping World ($12.5 million).
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2026 | Complex Litigation, inc. Securities, Consumer Protection, ERISA |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | Securities Litigation, Plaintiff |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2025 | Complex Litigation, inc. Securities, Consumer Protection, ERISA |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | Securities Litigation, Plaintiff |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2024 | Plaintiff Securities Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2024 | Complex Litigation, inc. Securities, Consumer Protection, ERISA |
| Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2023 | Plaintiff Securities Litigation |
During law school, Cochran externed for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He also participated in Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, filing a complaint with the Office of Accountability (OA) of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation on behalf of indigenous Mexican villagers which alleged human rights and environmental harms related to an international energy project. Cochran secured the first project suspension ever in the history of the OA, for which he was recognized by the ABA’s Student Lawyer magazine. He also oversaw the California Asylum Representation Clinic, the nation’s only fully student-run refugee and asylum clinic, which won asylum for dozens of refugees and was awarded the U.C. Berkeley Chancellor’s Public Service Award during his tenure.
Cochran earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Princeton University, with honors, and received his Juris Doctor degree from University of California at Berkeley School of Law. His publications include: Controlling Litigation Risks for SPACS, China Bus. L.J. (Apr. 2021); From Promise to Practice: Towards a Functional Assessment of the Office of Accountability of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, 8 Publicist Berkeley J. Int’l L. (2011); and Reviewing Tom Bingham, Widening Horizons: The Influence of Comparative Law and International Law on Domestic Law, 29 Berkeley J. Int’l L. 710 (2011).