Benchmark Gives BLB&G its Top Ranking for the Ninth Year in a Row

October 2015

Leading industry observer Benchmark Litigation has given BLB&G its top ranking as a Tier 1 firm nationally for securities litigation, and, for the ninth year in a row, has given it the top regional ranking as a “highly recommended” New York firm.  BLB&G remains the only New York plaintiff litigation firm and one of the only plaintiff firms in the country to be given this recognition.  Benchmark also ranked the BLB&G’s California office as one of the top litigation firms in the state.

Individually, firm partners Max Berger, Salvatore Graziano, Mark Lebovitch, Gerald Silk, and Hannah Ross are recognized as "Litigation Stars" in New York and California.   Mr. Graziano was also named to Benchmark’s exclusive list of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” in the country, an elite group of attorneys “commanding ever increasing levels of reverence as masters” for their success in the courtroom.

In its review of the firm, Benchmark describes BLB&G’s stature among plaintiff firms as unique in commanding a rare “level of recognition and respect from lawyers on both sides of the ‘V’” and as “nearly always the first to be name-checked by competitors and opponents when mentioning securities plaintiffs.”  As one plaintiff litigator concedes, “Bernstein Litowitz is the plaintiff securities shop everyone else aspires to be like in terms of a track record of success.  We work in tandem with them sometimes and continue to be impressed.”  On the other side of the aisle, one frequent opponent explains, “We go against them often and definitely view them as the best.  You can’t just ‘coast’ when they are on the other side.”

The review also cites peers who recognize that BLB&G’s senior managing partner Max Berger “still runs the show.  He is very hands-on and is very active in getting up and settling cases, getting big money back for his clients.”  Mark Lebovitch is especially praised for his “high level of creativity, especially in the activist space, where he is very prominent,” and the profile highlights his success in obtaining the historic $153 million settlement in In re Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Derivative Litigation – the second largest shareholder derivative settlement in Delaware Court of Chancery history.

Salvatore Graziano is also highly revered by his peers, who refer to him as “Bernstein Litowitz’ dangerous new breed,” and as “someone who has successfully merged old-school trial lawyer panache with new-school comprehensive understanding of financial instruments.”  Both Mr. Graziano and Hannah Ross are recognized for their success in achieving multiple partial recoveries in the action against MF Global, which now total over $204 million.

The rankings are published in the 2016 Benchmark Litigation Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, which is compiled by the publishers of leading financial news magazines Institutional Investor and Euromoney and identifies the leading U.S. trial attorneys and firms at the local and national levels. Focused exclusively on the U.S. litigation market, the publication's rankings and editorials are the result of extensive interviews with private practice lawyers and in-house counsel.