Bradley J. Butwin

Partner

Brad Butwin is the Chair of O’Melveny & Myers LLP and former firmwide Chair of the Litigation Department. O’Melveny is ranked seventh on The American Lawyer’s 2012 “A-List,” which recognizes the nation’s most elite law firms for stellar performance in the areas of revenue per lawyer, pro bono commitment, associate satisfaction, and diversity representation.  O’Melveny’s Litigation Department is one of only two departments in the country to have been named a winner, finalist or honorable mention in each year of The American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year” competition.  Brad is a trial lawyer whose practice encompasses a broad spectrum of complex commercial matters, including securities litigation.

Chambers USA ranked Brad among the top 25 commercial litigators in New York in 2012, 2011, and 2010, calling him “an excellent strategist” who clients find “extremely accessible” with “a cheerful manner that is calming in high-stress situations.” Peers, the guide reports, describe Brad as “a thoughtful, bright guy who obviously pleases his clients,” a “practical, smart, hardworking, and client focused” attorney, and “a leading expert in complex commercial litigation.”  Chambers also cited Brad for his commercial litigation practice in 2009 and 2008, commending him as “quick thinking and versatile.”  Similarly, Benchmark Litigation has consistently named Brad one of the top securities litigators in the country, commenting that clients “enjoy his good-natured approach to what would normally be high-stress legal issues” (2012) and that peers call him “impressive in court and elsewhere” (2011).  Further, Legal 500 has recognized Brad’s securities litigation practice for the past three years, noting his big ticket matters and describing him as “enjoyable and very easy to work with.”  And Lawdragon named Brad one of the leading lawyers in America for the past two years, saying, “The chair of O’Melveny’s powerhouse litigation practice has his hands full in turbulent times representing financial institutions in securities class actions, subprime cases, and Madoff-related claims” (2011).  Brad has also been named as a New York “Super Lawyer” for the past five consecutive years in a survey conducted by Law & Politics and published in The New York Times.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Representing large banks in their subprime-related matters
• Representing major financial institutions in their auction-rate securities matters
• Representing large financial institutions in Bernard Madoff-related matters
• Obtaining dismissal of a securities underwriting syndicate in a putative securities class action.  Arfa v. Mecox Lane Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, UBS Securities, Inc.
• Obtaining dismissal as a sanction against opposing counsel and lead plaintiff in a US$4 billion putative securities class action alleging that a major securities firm artificially depressed a company’s stock price through false or misleading research reports to allow hedge funds to reap billions in short-selling profits. Del Giudice v. S.A.C. Capital Mgmt., Banc of America Sec. LLC, et al., No. 2:06-CV-01413 (D.N.J.)
• Obtaining dismissal of a New Jersey state RICO action alleging a short-selling conspiracy between securities analysts and hedge funds. The case received widespread national press coverage, including from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Law Journal and The American Lawyer. See Biovail v. S.A.C. Capital Mgmt., ESX-L-1583-06
• Obtaining dismissal for a major financial institution in a putative class action alleging that the defendant violated federal and state statute and common law duties by switching investors’ “cash sweep” accounts. DiBlasio v. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, et al., No. 07-CV-318 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Obtaining dismissal of a large bank in litigation seeking more than US$1 billion for alleged breaches of the credit agreement providing financing for the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel and resort development.  In re Fontainebleau Las Vegas Contract Litig., Case No. 09-md-02106-GOLD/GOODMAN (S.D. Fla.) 
• Representing a major financial institution in the Tribune Company bankruptcy case in Delaware in actions alleging that a multi-billion dollar leveraged buyout constituted a fraudulent conveyance
• Defending two large financial institutions in a putative class action and related bankruptcy proceedings arising out of an alleged Ponzi scheme
• Obtaining dismissal of financial institution, its officers and directors in a class action under the Securities Act of 1933 alleging that the financial institution’s offering materials for several convertible and preferred stock offerings of billions of dollars of stock were materially false and misleading. Montgomery v. Bank of America Corp. 
• Obtaining dismissal of a major securities firm in antitrust class actions alleging that the leading prime brokers engaged in a conspiracy by which they routinely “failed to deliver” stock they were required to borrow to cover short stock sales, but nonetheless billed their customers for the borrowing costs
• Representing the Securities Industry and Financial Market Association as an amicus in one of the most important securities law cases before the United States Supreme Court in decades. Stoneridge Inv. Partners, LLC v. Scientific Atlanta, 552 U.S. 148 (2008)
• Representing a securities underwriting syndicate in a putative securities class action alleging that the issuer, a large solar-energy company, failed to disclose the imminent defection of its largest customer in its IPO registration and prospectus. Braun v. GT Solar Int’l, Inc., No. 1:08-CV-00312-JL (D.N.H.)
• Representing an investment bank in litigation brought by an investment management firm, claiming that our client misappropriated confidential and proprietary information and otherwise tortiously interfered with a potential US$800 million “life settlement” transaction. Lotus Capital Advisors, LLC v. Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., Index No. 602113/07 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)
• Representing a securities underwriter in class actions filed in the Southern District of New York against major securities underwriters, alleging antitrust conspiracies in connection with the amount of their underwriting spread. See In re Public Offering Fee Antitrust Litig., No. 98 Civ. 7890, 2006 WL 1026653 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 18, 2006)
• Representing the New York Stock Exchange’s independent directors in a putative class action challenging the Exchange’s historic merger with Archipelago Holdings. In re New York Stock Exchange/Archipelago Merger Litig., Index No. 601646/05 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)
• Representing an investment bank in several securities actions in Jackson, Mississippi, alleging violations of Section 11. Pittman, et al. v. UBS Paine Webber, Inc., et al., No. 257-03-689 (Miss. Cir. Ct.); Am. Wireless License Group, L.L.C. v. White, No. 251-03-692 (Miss. Cir. Ct.); Whittington v. UBS PaineWebber, Inc., Arb. No. 03-04155
• Representing an investment bank in a breach of fiduciary duty action in the Southern District of New York seeking US$1.3 billion in damages. See American Tissue, Inc. v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Sec. Corp., et al., 351 F. Supp. 2d 79 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Representing a large broker-dealer in a class action filed in the Southern District of New York against major securities underwriters, challenging various practices by which lead underwriters of IPO syndicates allegedly sought to discourage “flipping” of IPO shares. See Friedman v. Salomon/Smith Barney, Inc., 313 F.3d 796 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 822
• Representing all defendants in a putative securities class action in Denver, Colorado, arising from the failure of a large telecommunications company. In re ICG Communications, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 00-RB-1864 (D. Colo.)
• Representing a public company and its directors in Section 11 actions in Tampa, Florida, arising from the company’s restatement of its financial results. Meigs v. Quality Distribution, Inc., et al., No. 8:04-CV-335-T-24MSS (M.D. Fla.); Steamfitters Local 449 Pension & Ret. Security Funds v. Quality Distribution, Inc. et al.,  No. 04-03013 (Fla. Cir. Ct.)
• Representing an investment bank, an underwriter of mortgage-backed securities, in a securities fraud lawsuit brought by a purchaser of mortgage-backed securities
• Representing a large money manager that issued and managed collateralized bond obligations in a New York state court fraud and breach of contract action. See Beaford Ltd. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., Index No. 126678/02 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)
• Representing a large financial consultant in an action brought by a municipal retirement plan. City of Coral Gables Ret. Sys. v. UBS Fin. Serv., Inc., No. 04-19496 (Fla. Cir. Ct.)
• Representing a large financial institution in litigation arising from the sale of a private equity fund. See Gunthel, et al. v. Deutsche Bank AG, et al., Index No. 603668/04 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)
• Representing an outside director and audit committee member of a public theater production company in three large securities class actions in the Southern District of New York. See In re Livent, Inc. Noteholders Sec. Litig., 174 F. Supp. 2d 144 (S.D.N.Y.); In re Livent, Inc. Sec. Litig., 78 F. Supp. 2d 194 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Representing the former CEO of an Internet-based e-mail services company in a Section 11 putative class action. See In re Crayfish Co., Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 00 Civ. 6766 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Representing equity research analysts of large broker-dealers in connection with regulatory investigations arising from the broker-dealers’ target stock prices for telecommunications companies
• Representing several large broker-dealers in various litigation and arbitration across the country concerning (i) allegedly improper investment recommendations and unsuitable investments; (ii) disputes in connection with exchange funds and hedge funds; (iii) alleged prime bank note frauds; and (iv) disputes over financial advisory fees owed
• Representing the New York Mets Baseball Club in a variety of matters

Professional Activities

Law Clerk, Honorable David N. Edelstein, US District Court, Southern District of New York (1985-1986)
Admitted to Practice, US District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Recipient, Thurgood Marshall Award, presented by The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, for successfully representing a pro bono client in a Georgia state habeas corpus proceeding that resulted in vacating his death sentence and conviction
Board of Advisors, The American Society of Legal Writers
Author, “The Securities Act, Underwriters and the Due Diligence Defense,” New York Law Journal, Special Litigation Supplement (February 16, 2010); “Federal Habeas Corpus Review of State Forfeitures Resulting From Assigned Counsel’s Refusal to Raise Issues on Appeal,” 52 Fordham Law Review 850 (1984)
Member, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association; New York City Bar Association (Committee on Financial Reporting; and Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession); Leadership Council on Legal Diversity; American Bar Association (Section of Trial Lawyers); Director and Vice-President, Albertson Soccer Club