Darryl Alvarado is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego office. He focuses his practice on securities fraud and other complex civil litigation.
Alvarado was a member of the trial team in Smilovits v. First Solar, Inc., which recovered $350 million for aggrieved investors. The First Solar settlement, reached on the eve of trial after more than seven years of litigation and an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the fifth-largest PSLRA recovery ever obtained in the Ninth Circuit. Alvarado recently litigated Monroe County Employees’ Retirement System v. The Southern Company, which recovered $87.5 million for investors after more than three years of litigation. The settlement resolved securities fraud claims stemming from defendants’ issuance of misleading statements and omissions regarding the construction of a first-of-its-kind “clean coal” power plant in Kemper County, Mississippi.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2026 | Complex Securities Litigation |
Alvarado helped secure $388 million for investors in J.P. Morgan residential mortgage-backed securities in Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. That settlement is, on a percentage basis, the largest recovery ever achieved in an RMBS class action. He was also a member of a team of attorneys that secured $95 million for investors in Morgan Stanley-issued RMBS in In re Morgan Stanley Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Litigation.
Alvarado was a member of a team of lawyers that obtained landmark settlements, on the eve of trial, from the major credit rating agencies and Morgan Stanley arising out of the fraudulent ratings of bonds issued by the Cheyne and Rhinebridge structured investment vehicles in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank v. Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and King County, Washington v. IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG. He was integral in obtaining several precedent-setting decisions in those cases, including defeating the rating agencies’ historic First Amendment defense and defeating the ratings agencies’ motions for summary judgment concerning the actionability of credit ratings.
Alvarado was also a member of a team of attorneys responsible for obtaining for aggrieved investors $27 million in In re Cooper Companies Securities Litigation, $19.5 million in City of Pontiac General Employees’ Retirement System v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, and comprehensive corporate governance reforms to address widespread off-label marketing and product safety violations in In re Johnson & Johnson Derivative Litigation.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with High Honors. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.