John Rizio-Hamilton

John Rizio-Hamilton is one of America’s top shareholder litigators. He works on the most complex and high-stakes securities class action cases, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional investor clients. Highlights of John’s trial experience include the following:

Led the trial team that recovered $240 million for investors in In re Signet Jewelers Limited Securities Litigation, a precedent-setting case that marks the first successful resolution of a securities fraud class action based on allegations of sexual harassment. To their knowledge, it is also the first time claims of this nature have been certified for class treatment in the securities context and is one of the very few securities fraud cases in which statements in a Code of Conduct have been held actionable. This case sends a message to corporate executives and corporate boards that alleged systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination can have serious ramifications through securities fraud class actions. Both the class certification decision and the Judge’s decision that the Company’s statements about gender equality and sexual harassment could be actionable in a securities class action are landmark decisions that exceed even the significant financial recovery achieved for shareholders.

The key part of the trial team that prosecuted In re Bank of America Securities Litigation, which settled for $2.425 billion, “the largest securities class action recovery related to the subprime meltdown,” per Law360, the largest security ever resolving violations of Sections 14(a) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, and one of the top securities litigation recoveries in history.

Served as counsel on behalf of the institutional investor plaintiffs in In re Citigroup, Inc. Bond Action Litigation, which settled for $730 million, the second largest recovery ever in a securities class action brought on behalf of purchasers of debt securities.

Member of the team that prosecuted the In re Wachovia Corp. Bond/Notes Litigation, in which the firm recovered a total of $627 million on behalf of investors, one of the 15 largest securities class action recoveries in history.

A key member of the team that recovered $150 million for investors in In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. Securities Litigation, a securities fraud class action arising out of misrepresentations and omissions concerning JPMorgan’s Chief Investment Office, the company’s risk management systems, and the trading activities of the so-called “London Whale.”

In addition to his direct litigation responsibilities, John is responsible for the firm's client outreach in Canada, where he advises institutional investor clients on potential securities fraud and investor claims. He is one of the partners who oversees the firm’s Global Securities and Litigation Monitoring Team, which monitors global equities traded in non-U.S. jurisdictions on prospective and pending international securities matters, and provides critical analysis of options to recover losses incurred on securities purchased in non-U.S. markets. John also manages the firm’s settlements and claims administration department, which is responsible for obtaining court approval of all settlements and for distribution of the proceeds to investment class members.

For his remarkable accomplishments, John was recently named a “Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal. He has previously been recognized by Law360 as a “Rising Star, ” a "Legal MVP," and one of the country’s “Top Attorneys Under 40.” John is regularly named to lists of leading practitioners by Lawdragon and Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers.

Before joining BLB&G, John clerked for the Honorable Chester J. Straub of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Honorable Sidney H. Stein of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.