August 11, 2011
In recognition for his role in negotiating a record $627 million proposed settlement in the In re Wachovia Preferred Securities and Bond/Notes Litigation, The Am Law Litigation Daily named BLB&G partner Max Berger as "Litigator of the Week" on Friday, August 11, 2011. In profiling Mr. Berger and the firm, the publication describes him as "the firm's senior litigator," credited him for "negotiate[ing] the landmark Wells Fargo deals," and for presiding over Bernstein Litowitz's mortgage-backed securities cases - and its litigation strategy - which "have increasingly borne fruit.
In addition to the Wachovia recovery, the largest to date in a case arising from the financial crisis (and possibly the largest settlement ever involving "pure '33 Act" claims), the article also highlights the firm's recent string of other subprime-related wins, including last month's $208 million settlement in In re Washington Mutual, Inc. Securities Litigation, and the firm's success in convincing the Court to certify the first Class of MBS investors in the Merrill Lynch Mortgage Pass-Through Litigation. Moreover, the article also mentions the firm's recent activity, including the filing of "four new direct actions against MBS issuers and underwriters on behalf of institutional investors this summer." It also cites the firm's two ongoing direct actions against Bank of America on behalf of Countrywide investors and numerous large banks and financial institutions who purchased Countrywide mortgage-backed securities.