Mr David Kessler > Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP > Radnor, United States > Lawyer Profile

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
280 KING OF PRUSSIA ROAD
RADNOR, PA 19087
PENNSYLVANIA
United States

Work Department

Securities Fraud Litigation; Global Securities Litigation; Corporate Governance Litigation

Position

Partner

Career

Mr. Kessler is a worldwide leader in securities litigation. His reputation and track record earn instant credibility with judges and bring opponents to the bargaining table in complex, high-stakes class actions. Mr. Kessler has been recognized for excellence by publications including Benchmark Plaintiff and Law Dragon.

As co-head of the firm’s securities litigation practice, Mr. Kessler has led several of the largest class actions ever brought under the federal securities laws and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Since the financial crisis began in 2008, he has helped recover well over $5 billion for clients and class members who invested in financial companies such as Wachovia, Bank of America, Citigroup and Lehman Brothers.  Prior to 2008, Mr. Kessler guided some of the largest cases both in size—including allegations of a massive scandal regarding the unfair allocation of IPO shares by more than 300 public companies—and in notoriety—including the Tyco fraud and mismanagement litigation that resolved for over $3 billion.

Mr. Kessler brings his background as a certified public accountant to bear in actions involving complex loss causation issues and damages arising from losses in public offerings, open market purchases, and mergers and acquisitions. As head of the firm’s settlement department, Mr. Kessler also has extensive experience in mediation, settlements, claims administration and distributions.

A sought-after lecturer on securities litigation issues, Mr. Kessler has been invited to speak by plaintiffs’ firms, defense firms, mediators and insurance carriers on a variety of topics related to securities class actions. He recently assisted in authoring a chapter on mediations in a publication soon to be released by a federal mediator.

Memberships

Mr. Kessler is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York; United States Supreme Court; US Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York; USDC, District of New Jersey; USDC, Southern District of New York; USDC, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; USDC, Eastern District of Wisconsin; USCA, Second Circuit; USCA, Third Circuit; USCA, Sixth Circuit.

Education

The American University, B.S.B.A. 1988; Emory School of Law, J.D. 1994, with distinction

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: plaintiff

(Leading lawyers)

David KesslerKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP

Based in in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco, California, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is highly regarded as one of the leading players in securities litigation, its 27-partner practice having amassed a strong track record in representing states attorneys’ general offices, as well as public and private entities, including municipalities, state agencies, mutual fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and multi-employer welfare funds. In the Radnor office, the practice is led by seven respected partners, with David Kessler and Darren Check the most active in this area of law. Together, they negotiated a $450m settlement for Sjunde AP-Fonden in the long-running litigation concerning misrepresentations made about the carrying value of Kraft Heinz assets, the sustainability of its margins, and the success of the company’s cost-cutting strategy in the wake of its 2015 merger. Sharan Nirmul and Richard Russo, Jr. are the lead partners in a new securities fraud class action concerning representations and omissions made by former executives of Signature Bank and its auditor KPMG about the bank’s emergent risk profile and deficient management of those risks that ultimately caused it to collapse in March 2023. Jennifer Joost and Gregory Castaldo also played key roles in that case. Matthew Mustokoff and Andrew Zivitz, who are involved in the high-profile case In re Celgene Corp. Securities Litigation, and key partner Naumon Amjed also play prominent roles in the practice.