For many, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP is ‘currently the best plaintiffs’ side firm doing corporate litigation in the United States’. Head of corporate governance and shareholder rights Jeroen van Kwawegen, and head of the Delaware office Greg Varallo (who is ‘unmatched in his experience, depth of knowledge and strategic thinking’) lead the practice, which ‘routinely out-litigates first-class defense side firms’. The firm continues handle litigation in the wake of the biggest deals, including a $400m post-trial opinion in a challenge to Columbia Pipeline’s $13bn merger with TransCanada, and a major win at trial for shareholders of Mindbody confirming legal principles regarding the fiduciary duties that directors and senior executives of public companies owe to their stockholders during a company sale. Up-and-coming partner Edward Timlin in New York has taken on settlement responsibilities for the work handled by veteran partner Mark Lebovitch, who retired from the law in 2023. Emerging talents at senior counsel level Andrew Blumberg in Delaware and the ‘highly intelligent and thoughtful’ Thomas James in New York are key to the firm’s prosecution work in corporate governance and fiduciary duty cases. Christopher Orrico has left for Grant & Eisenhofer P.A..
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'It is my belief that Bernstein Litowitz is currently the best plaintiffs' side firm doing corporate litigation in the United States. They have invested heavily in people over the last decade or two, and it is clearly paying off. They routinely out-litigate first-class defense side firms.'
- 'They have a lot of excellent people but two who stand out in their Delaware litigation practice (where I see them) are Jeroen Van Kwawagen and Thomas Janes. Both are highly intelligent and thoughtful, but also have the courtroom smarts to know when to push hard, and when to back off.'
Key clients
- ACATIS Investment Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH
- Bayerische Landesbank
Work highlights
- Representing a class of former stockholders of Columbia Pipeline Group in connection with the sale of the company to TransCanada (later renamed TC Energy). This class action alleges that Columbia’s former Chairman and CEO, Robert Skaggs, and former CFO, Stephen Smith, breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the company’s $13 billion merger with TransCanada and that TransCanada aided and abetted those breaches of duty, harming Columbia Pipeline’s former stockholders.
- Successfully represented shareholders of Mindbody.