Max W. Berger

Founding partner Max Berger has grown BLB&G from a partnership of four lawyers in 1983 into what the Financial Times described as “one of the most powerful securities class action law firms in the United States” by prosecuting seminal cases which have increased market transparency, held wrongdoers accountable, and improved corporate business practices in groundbreaking ways.

Described by sources quoted in leading industry publication Chambers USA as "the smartest, most strategic plaintiffs' lawyer [they have] ever encountered," Max has litigated many of the firm's most high-profile and significant cases and secured some of the largest recoveries ever achieved in securities fraud lawsuits, negotiating seven of the largest securities fraud settlements in history, each in excess of a billion dollars: Cendant ($3.3 billion), Citigroup-WorldCom ($2.575 billion), Bank of America/Merrill Lynch ($2.4 billion), JPMorgan Chase-WorldCom ($2 billion), Nortel ($1.07 billion), Merck ($1.06 billion), and McKesson ($1.05 billion). Max’s prosecution of the WorldCom litigation, which resulted in unprecedented monetary contributions from WorldCom’s outside directors (nearly $25 million out of their own pockets on top of their insurance coverage) “shook Wall Street, the audit profession and corporate boardrooms.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Max’s cases have resulted in sweeping corporate governance overhauls, including the creation of an independent task force to oversee and monitor diversity practices (Texaco discrimination litigation), establishing an industry-accepted definition of director independence, increasing a board’s power and responsibility to oversee internal controls and financial reporting (Columbia/HCA), and creating a Healthcare Law Regulatory Committee with dedicated funding to improve the standard for regulatory compliance oversight by a public company board of directors (Pfizer). His cases have yielded results which have served as models for public companies going forward.

Most recently, before the #metoo movement came alive, on behalf of an institutional investor client, Max handled the prosecution of an unprecedented shareholder derivative litigation against Fox News parent 21st Century Fox, Inc. arising from the systemic sexual and workplace harassment at the embattled network. After nearly 18 months of litigation, discovery, and negotiation related to the shocking misconduct and the Board’s extensive alleged governance failures, the parties unveiled a landmark settlement with two key components: 1) the first ever Board-level watchdog of its kind—the "Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council" of experts (WPIC)—majority independent of the Murdochs, the Company and Board; and 2) one of the largest financial recoveries—$90 million—ever obtained in a pure corporate board oversight dispute. The WPIC is expected to serve as a model for public companies in all industries.

Max’s work has garnered him extensive media attention, and he has been the subject of feature articles in a variety of major media publications. The New York Times highlighted his remarkable track record in an October 2012 profile entitled "Investors’ Billion-Dollar Fraud Fighter," which also discussed his role in the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Merger litigation. In 2011, Max was twice profiled by The American Lawyer for his role in negotiating a $627 million recovery on behalf of investors in the In re Wachovia Corp. Securities Litigation, and a $516 million recovery in In re Lehman Brothers Equity/Debt Securities Litigation. For his outstanding efforts on behalf of WorldCom investors, he was featured in articles in BusinessWeek and The American Lawyer, and The National Law Journal profiled Max (one of only eleven attorneys selected nationwide) in its annual 2005 "Winning Attorneys" section. He was subsequently featured in a 2006 New York Times article, "A Class-Action Shuffle," which assessed the evolving landscape of the securities litigation arena.