RiskMetrics Group Ranks Top 50 Plaintiffs' Law Firms for 2009
15 Abril 2010 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
RiskMetrics Group (NYSE:RISK), a leading provider of risk
management and corporate governance services to the global
financial community, today announced it has released its Securities
Class Action Services (SCAS) annual list of the top 50 plaintiffs
law firms. The law firms on the SCAS 50 list are ranked by the
total dollar amount of final securities class action settlements
occurring in 2009 in which the firms served as lead or co-lead
counsel.
RiskMetrics has published its 'SCAS 50' list for the past seven
years. The list is intended to help institutional investors
maximize shareholder value by highlighting those firms playing the
most active role in U.S. class action cases and bringing in the
most settlement dollars. SCAS maintains the industry’s most
comprehensive database on securities class action litigation and
provides professional monitoring and claims filing services to
investment managers whose clients have a stake in class action
suits.
The top five law firms on this year’s ‘SCAS 50’ list were
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, Milberg, Bernstein
Liebhard, Barroway Topaz Kessler Metlzer & Check and Barrack,
Rodod & Bacine.
SCAS 50 Rank Law Firm
Settlement Total # of Settlements
Average 1 Coughlin Stoia Geller
Rudman & Robbins $1,580,599,000 34
$46,488,206 2 Milberg
$1,440,849,996 10 $144,085,000 3
Bernstein Liebhard $1,018,499,996
4 $254,624,999 4 Barroway Topaz
Kessler Metlzer & Check $889,094,996
15 $59,273,000 5 Barrack, Rodod
& Bacine $887,250,000 6
$143,916,667
"Coughlin Stoia led in our overall rankings with $1.5 billion in
total settlements," said Adam Savett, Head of RiskMetrics Group’s
Securities Class Action Services. "As expected, securities
litigation settlements have dramatically increased over the past
year. Seventeen firms broke the $100 million barrier, and last
year's leading firm would have just barely broken into the top ten
this year."
"This year marks the return of the 'mega-settlement'," added
Savett. "In 2009, we tracked 15 settlements of more than $100
million, up from 5 last year."
Bernstein Liebhard achieved the highest average settlement
amount among law firms, averaging $254 million in its four
settlements. The average settlement amount is an important
indicator of which law firms are consistently bringing and settling
high-impact cases. The most active firm regarding the number of
settlements was Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins with 34
settlements, leading all firms with respect to the total number of
final settlements.
Rank SCAS 50 Rank Law
Firm
Settlement Total
# of Settlements Average
1 3 Bernstein Liebhard
$1,018,499,996 4 $254,624,999 2
11 Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz
$593,249,996 3
$197,749,999 3 7 Berman DeValerio
$767,900,000 4
$191,975,000 4 14 Berger & Montague
$508,050,000 3
$169,350,000 5 10 Stull Stull &
Brody $669,774,996 4
$167,443,749
*Firms had to have a minimum of 3 settlements.
Nearly 500 financial institutions utilize the SCAS database or
complete claims filing solution to fulfill their fiduciary duty to
file claims in class action settlements on behalf of their
investment clients. With over 19 years of history and more than
6,000 cases tracked, the SCAS database also serves as an important
compliance tool for asset managers to perform this critical
fiduciary responsibility. Additionally, many of the law firms
included in the SCAS 50 utilize the database to monitor class
action suits and gain access to important claims and settlement
information.
For a copy of the full SCAS 50 report for 2009, including a
description of the methodology used to prepare the report, please
visit: www.riskmetrics.com/white_papers/scas50_2009.
About RiskMetrics Group
RiskMetrics Group is a leading provider of risk management and
corporate governance products and services to participants in the
global financial markets. By bringing transparency, expertise and
access to the financial markets, RiskMetrics Group helps investors
better understand and manage the risks associated with their
financial holdings. Our solutions address a broad spectrum of risk
across our clients' financial assets. Headquartered in New York
with 20 global offices, RiskMetrics Group services some of the most
prestigious institutions and corporations worldwide. To learn more
about RiskMetrics Group, please visit: www.riskmetrics.com.
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