Stanley D. Bernstein has been selected by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America,” one of the “500 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers,” and one of the “100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation,” and has been repeatedly named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine, in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Mr. Bernstein has also been named to the 2009, 2010 and 2011 “Directorship 100,” the list of “The Most Influential People in the Boardroom” as determined by The National Association of Corporate Directors and Directorship magazine. In addition, Mr. Bernstein was recommended in The Legal 500 in 2010.
For over 30 years, Mr. Bernstein has successfully represented plaintiffs in complex commercial litigation, securities fraud litigation, shareholder and derivative litigation, and antitrust litigation. He is a recognized leader in the securities and corporate governance bar and was recently featured as the cover story in Directorship magazine in an interview entitled “Investors v. Directors.”
Mr. Bernstein litigates against the most prominent defense firms in the country and has earned a reputation for being a tenacious negotiator who will try any case that does not settle on favorable terms. His experience and reputation for trying cases has enabled him to negotiate some of the largest securities fraud settlements in history, after many years of hard-fought litigation and trial preparation. For example, Mr. Bernstein is the chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. 21 MC 92 (S.D.N.Y.), a coordinated litigation of over 300 securities class actions, in which a $586 million settlement was obtained after seven full-day mediation sessions. Mr. Bernstein was also instrumental in negotiating a $400 million settlement in In re Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 04-CV-8144 (CM) (S.D.N.Y.). In In re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport Securities Litigation, No. 04-374 (JAP) (D.N.J.), the settlement of the U.S. action he negotiated has a minimum cash value of $138.3 million and a contingent value of more than $180 million, in addition to a $350 million European settlement the Firm was substantially responsible for obtaining. Mr. Bernstein recovered $58 million (representing 100% of losses) in In re Bankers Trust Securities Litigation, No. 98 CV 8460 (S.D.N.Y.).
Mr. Bernstein has also tried cases when the interests of the client were best-served through trial. For example, he was lead trial counsel for stockholders in a trial in the Delaware Chancery Court that invalidated an anti-takeover device in Shapiro v. Quickturn Design Systems, Inc., No. 16850 NC (Del. Ch.). Mr. Bernstein was also lead trial counsel in a seven-day bench trial in a pro bono case in which the Firm represented the Westchester Day School in litigation concerning a bitter zoning dispute. After obtaining a favorable verdict, Mr. Bernstein negotiated a $4.75 million settlement – the highest reported recovery under the applicable federal statute.
Mr. Bernstein has also been lead counsel in many of the leading securities cases enforcing and expanding the rights of shareholders, including in In re Sears, Roebuck Derivative Litigation, No. 88 CH 10009 (Ill. Ch. Ct.) and In re Archer Daniels Midlands Corp. Derivative Litigation, No. 14403 (Del. Ch.) (pioneering cases which improved corporate governance at both companies).
Mr. Bernstein is also active in the Firm’s antitrust practice, and is one of the co-lead counsel in In re Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-MD-2002 (E.D. Pa.), in which partial settlements have been reached with a number of the defendants, resulting in a $25 million recovery for the class to date.
Currently, Mr. Bernstein is representing the Republic of Iraq in Republic of Iraq v. ABB AG, No. 08-CV-5951 (S.D.N.Y.), a suit brought on behalf of the Republic of Iraq and the Iraqi people over the corruption of the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Programme, which allowed the Hussein Regime to sell Iraqi oil to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people. The corruption of the Oil-for-Food Programme has been described as the largest financial and political fraud in history. In addition, Mr. Bernstein currently represents the Trustee of the Actrade Liquidation Trust in two lawsuits; the first, Meer v. Aharoni, No. 5141-CC (Del. Ch.), is an action against Actrade’s former chairman for misappropriation of funds and fraud resulting in the ultimate collapse of Actrade; the second, Meer v. Deloitte & Touche, LLP, No. 11-CV-06994 (HB) (S.D.N.Y.), is a malpractice action against Actrade’s accountant for failing to conduct proper audits.
A 1980 graduate of the New York University School of Law, where he was a research editor of the Journal of International Law and Politics, Mr. Bernstein frequently addresses lawyers and business professionals concerning various aspects of plaintiffs’ litigation and has given presentations at Practising Law Institute, the New York City Bar Association, and numerous forums for corporate directors. For example, Mr. Bernstein was a featured speaker at the National Summit on the Future of Fiduciary Responsibility and at the National Association of Corporate Directors’ and Directorship’s Forum, in June 2011. Mr. Bernstein was also a featured speaker at the Chartis Executive Liability 2010 D&O Market Trends Seminar Series, and in June 2009, at the National Association of Corporate Directors’ and Directorship’s Global Forum.
He is admitted to the Bars of the States of New York and Florida, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
