Hagens Berman is a leading provider of specialized securities litigation services to public, private and Taft-Hartley pension funds. The firm offers proprietary and unparalleled asset protection and recovery services to both foreign and domestic institutions. Our institutional services provide participants with the ability to identify, investigate, and react to potential wrongdoing by companies in which the institution invests.
Our program enables clients to be proactive, not reactive. We update our clients on an ongoing basis regarding their exposure and advise them on their legal rights and potential remedies. We make a commitment to our institutional and pension fund clients to protect and defend all of their rights as shareholders and guardians of their beneficiaries' retirement funds.
When money managers suffer lost percentage points as a result of corporate deception, our litigation services allow them to recover a substantial percentage of those losses, increasing the money manager's performance. However, we realize that as a fiduciary, money managers may not have the ability or desire to risk funds on speculative litigation using typical hourly-rate law firms. Therefore, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro provides institutional investors with several methods of fraud recovery litigation services.
Depending on the size and facts of the case, we may bring individual action on behalf of the institutional investor. Another method is for the institutional investor to be the lead plaintiff in a securities class action against the offending company. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro helps clients decide which course of action is best for them, and is well-qualified to pursue either method of recovery.
Portfolio Monitoring Service clients include:
- State Attorneys General
- State Public Employee and Teacher Pension Funds
- Police and Fire Pension Funds
- Police and Fire Health & Welfare Funds
- Taft-Hartley Pension Funds
- Taft-Hartley Health & Welfare Funds
- Municipal, City and County Pension Funds
- US Government Agencies
- Banks
- Private Investment Partnerships
The Value of Class-Action Litigation
Many class-action cases are very successful, and provide meaningful recoveries to the class members. For example, the Morrison Knudsen and Oppenheimer Delta Partners litigations - both led by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro - obtained settlements of approximately 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively, of the largest estimates of possible losses for the class members. The Midisoft case, also directed by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, obtained more than 50 percent of total damages. Many other recent cases, such as Waste Management and Cendant, have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and recovered a large percentage of damages for injured shareholders.
Duties of a Lead Plaintiff
As the lead plaintiff in a class action, the court requires that you will adequately and fairly represent the class. To perform these duties, the institution must be familiar with the litigation. This does not mean it must know every aspect of the litigation. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro will keep the institution informed of major events and this will satisfy its duty.
The institution may and should confer with us at any time it feels it is appropriate. The institution must also agree to vigorously prosecute the litigation. Meaning, you must hire lawyers experienced in class-action litigation. Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has national experience in class actions, and has vigorously prosecuted numerous securities fraud class-action cases, with combined recoveries in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
All costs in prosecuting a class action are advanced and paid by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, and the institution is not responsible for their payment whether we are successful or unsuccessful.
In short, the institution has minimal time commitments and no financial responsibilities, but will be encouraged to provide its opinions and insights.
An Institution's Presence Can Dramatically Affect the Litigation
As lead plaintiff, an institution has a direct influence on the strategies and disposition of the case, thereby having a profound effect on the ultimate success of the litigation.
As lead plaintiff, the institution will be a key member of the decision-making team. It will be able to help decide if a contemplated settlement is too low or if it is reasonable under the circumstances. For institutions that have been unhappy with the returns from previous class-action lawsuits they have participated in, overseeing the process to ensure that they are happy with the ultimate result is a compelling reason to participate.
The firm also offers a Portfolio Monitoring Service to participating institutions.
