North America - United States • Dispute resolution
Winston & Strawn LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP has an ‘extremely collaborative’ securities litigation that operates from key centers across the US. James Smith in New York, John Schreiber in Los Angeles, and William O’Neil in Chicago jointly oversee the national securities litigation practice. Schreiber and up-and-coming partner Kerry Donovan in New York are ‘very adept litigators and outstanding communicators’. They acted for Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation in a federal securities class action stemming from a $2bn stock drop in 2018, which is currently on appeal. Key partner Matthew DiRisio’s on-going work with Smith to defend Becton, Dickinson and Company in a complex case is a major highlight of the firm’s work. The firm is also involved in key matters in the cryptocurrency space, including the defense of private equity firm Vahill Capital in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc. et al.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Very responsive; commercial risk understanding and legal analysis is excellent.’
‘John Schreiber and Kerry Donovan have done an outstanding job communicating with multiple clients and stakeholders on complex and nuanced matters. Very adept litigators!’
‘The partners that I worked with had a significant and invaluable level of expertise around securities laws and the intersection of those laws with digital asset legal issues. The team was extremely collaborative and managed feedback from an extremely wide range of project participants on the client side. They were proactive, excellent communicators and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend.’
‘I worked most closely with Daniele Stabile, Thania Charmani, Jeffrey Steinfeld and George Mastoris on the matter. Each provided extremely expert advice, contributed to the drafting and filing of a significantly important blockchain industry amicus brief, and provided exemplary client support through the entire process. Just a great team to work with.’
Key clients
- Albertsons Companies Inc.
- Archer Daniels Midland
- BAM Trading Services, Inc., aka Binance US
- Becton, Dickinson and Company
- Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., and certain executives including its CEO and Chairman
- The Chamber of Digital Commerce
- ConsenSys Software, Inc.
- Cox Communications, Inc.
- Digital Virgo Group
- Former Independent Directors of Segerdahl Corp. DBA SG360
- Harlan Chappelle and Michael Ellis, former officers of Alta Mesa Resources, Inc.
- Jernigan Capital, Inc., n/k/a NexPoint Storage Partners Inc.
- Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation (MIC)
- Momentus, Inc.’s Chief Revenue Officer and Former Interim-CEO and Director
- Pendrell Corp. and certain executives incl. its founder & Chairman / Holicity, Inc.
- Polar Capital Holdings
- Quantum FinTech
- Reven Holdings, Inc.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.
- Valhill Capital, LLC
Work highlights
- On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a contested petition for certiorari filed by Winston on behalf of Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation (MIC) and its former officers and directors in a federal securities class action stemming from a nearly US$2B 2018 stock drop. The case originated in the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.), which dismissed the action in its entirety in 2021, and was revived by the Second Circuit in late 2022.
- Secured a major victory for firm client Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC)—China’s largest chipmaker—when the C.D. Cal. (following oral argument by John Schreiber) granted SMIC’s motion to dismiss a high-profile consolidated federal securities class action in its entirety and without leave to amend.
- Won a complete dismissal on behalf of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and various officers and directors, including Cantor’s CEO and Chairman, in a securities class action in the N.D. Cal. alleging violations of Sections 11, 12, and 15 of the Securities Act, and Sections 10(b), 14(a), and 20 of the Exchange Act, related to the $1.6B de-SPAC merger between CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II and View, Inc. The action, which arises out of a post-de-SPAC financial restatement by View and associated audit committee investigation, is at the forefront of federal de-SPAC litigation, as one of the first actions to assert the full panoply of federal securities claims listed above.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
James Smith, John Schreiber, William O’Neil