Securities Litigation
Related ProfessionalsOverview
We are reassured by the depth and breadth of the team, they have seen it all before." - Chambers USA, 2023
Kirkland’s Securities Litigation Practice Group is led by a core group of experienced trial lawyers renowned for winning complex securities cases, many precedent-setting.
The team handles the full spectrum of securities matters involving allegations under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; state corporate and securities statutes; and common law claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment, among others. This includes M&A and proxy-related disputes, shareholder derivative suits, structured finance litigation, stock appraisal actions, books and records demands, and litigation demands on boards.
We have deep experience handling litigation spanning multiple jurisdictions involving concurrent securities fraud suits, derivative actions and document demands, as well as regulatory and legislative inquiries and the media. We routinely represent clients in complex securities litigations that relate to government investigations and enforcement actions, working closely with the preeminent lawyers in Kirkland’s Investigations practice to develop and provide a coordinated response.
We know how to get cases dismissed and we know how to litigate cases if they survive dismissal, how to handle discovery efficiently and effectively, how to defeat class certification, how to win at summary judgment, and if necessary, how to win at trial.
Recent Experience
Boeing
Chopp v. Bradway, et al. (D. Del.); Seafarers Pension Plan v. Bradway, et al. (N.D. Ill.; 7th Cir.)
Obtained back-to-back wins in a one-week span in 2020 for Boeing, securing dismissal of two separate derivative actions concerning its 737 Max Aircraft; one of these decisions was the first to apply a forum-selection bylaw that requires derivative actions to be filed in Delaware Chancery Court to a federal claim subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Tung, et al. v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, et al. (S.D.N.Y.; 2d Cir.)
Won back-to-back dismissals, affirmed on appeal, for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and its officers in a purported securities class action arising out of a drop in the company's stock price following a clinical trial assessing Opdivo as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.
Honeywell
In re Garrett Motion Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.)
Obtained the complete dismissal of a Honeywell employee and former officer of Garrett Motion, Inc., in a putative securities class action alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act arising out of Honeywell's spin-off of Garrett and its accounting for asbestos-related liabilities.
Instructure’s Board of Directors
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, et al. v. Goldsmith, et al. (Del. Ch.)
Obtained the complete dismissal of claims for breach of fiduciary duty against Thoma Bravo, Instructure, and certain of Instructure’s directors and officers in connection with Thoma Bravo’s $2 billion take-private acquisition of education software company Instructure. In what has become a relative rarity for post-closing Revlon cases informed by Section 220 discovery, the court granted Kirkland’s motion in full and adopted nearly all of Kirkland’s arguments in the process.
Oaktree Capital Management
Plymouth County Retirement Assoc., et al. v. Array Technologies, Inc. et al. (S.D.N.Y.)
Obtained the complete dismissal of a consolidated putative class action against Oaktree Capital Management and certain of its affiliates and professionals alleging violations of federal securities laws and breach of fiduciary duty arising out of Array Technologies Inc.’s initial public offering and its secondary public offerings.
Rupert Murdoch & Fox Corporation
Brokerage Jamie Goldenberg Komen Rev. Trust v. Breyer, et al. (Del. Ch.)
Won complete dismissal in 2020 for certain former officers and directors of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (21CF) (including Co-Executive Chairmen Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan K. Murdoch, CEO James R. Murdoch) and Fox Corporation, of a shareholder action arising out of 21CF’s $73.1 billion merger with The Walt Disney Company. The plaintiff, a stockholder of 21CF, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment related to certain compensation awards made by 21CF’s compensation committee to the Murdochs.
Target
Perez v. Target (D. Minn.)
Representing Target Corp. and certain of its officers and directors in putative shareholder class action litigation alleging violation of federal securities laws concerning inventory claims.
Tier 1 Securities Litigation
The Legal 500, 2023
Tier 1 Securities Litigation: Nationwide, Chicago & Washington, D.C., 2013–2023
U.S. News and World Report – Best Law Firms
Tier 1 Securities Litigation: Nationwide
Benchmark Litigation, 2023