Michael Bongiorno is a partner in the firm's Securities and Litigation/Controversy Departments, and a member of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group and the Business Trial Group. He joined the firm in 1991.
Practice
Mr. Bongiorno concentrates his practice on securities litigation and enforcement matters, as well as commercial litigation. He defends numerous domestic and foreign public companies and their officers and directors in federal and state securities litigation, investigations, and government enforcement proceedings including derivative lawsuits, class actions and merger cases, and in connection with Securities and Exchange Commission, United States Attorney’s Office and other governmental investigations. He has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts, in jury and jury-waived trials, and in civil and criminal matters.
Reported cases include the dismissals of a wide variety of derivative cases, 10b-5 cases and Section 11 matters throughout the country and elsewhere, including the successful defense at trial, on appeal, and certiorari to the US Supreme Court in a dispute involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty against an investment company.
Recent Matters
- Obtained the dismissal in 2010 of a derivative suit filed in the Marshall Islands against a Greek-based shipping company's board of directors in a case of first impression alleging breach of fiduciary duty with regard to a number of related-party transactions, and recently argued before the Marshall Islands Supreme Court with respect to that matter
- Served as defense counsel in obtaining the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed against former officers of VeraSun Energy Corporation regarding its pricing and hedging practices. (2010 WL 346508, Sept. 1, 2010 S.D.N.Y.)
- Obtained the dismissal in 2009 of Section 11 claims against the former board of an insolvent UK-based company in a class action filed in the Southern District of New York arising out of its initial public offering (In re Britannia Bulk Sec. Litig., 665 F. Supp. 2d 404 (S.D.N.Y.), and the denial in 2010 of a Rule 60 motion to re-open the same matter (2010 WL 446529)
- Obtained the dismissal in a securities class action in the Southern District of New York in 2008 alleging violations of the Exchange Act of 1934 against an entity that served as a broker of natural gas and other energy derivatives (In re Optionable Sec. Litig., 577 F. Supp. 2d 681 (S.D.N.Y.)), and successfully argued against a Rule 60 motion seeking to re-open the same matter in 2009
- Successful representation of various foreign companies and their officers and directors in shipping-related and other industries in securities litigation in the United States
- Defeated an injunction seeking to halt a substantial M&A transaction involving the sale of a publicly traded biotechnology company based on alleged incomplete disclosures, and obtained dismissal of the case
- Overturned class certification for a medical products company in “a case of first impression” in the First Circuit in the context of defining an efficient market for purposes of the “fraud on the market” doctrine in securities fraud matters; then presented live expert testimony and obtained a decision denying recertification following a full evidentiary hearing, after remand from the First Circuit
- Lead arbitration counsel in the successful defense and award of attorneys’ fees for a New York investment bank in a 2007 AAA arbitration in which the claimant sought over $20 million in damages as a result of alleged misrepresentations in connection with fund investments
- Representation of a variety of life science, medical device, and biotechnology companies in securities fraud class action suits, derivative suits, regulatory investigations, and internal investigations, with regard to company disclosures related to the progress of clinical trials, disclosures related to the status of FDA approval of products, reporting of sales of medical products, various accounting matters, insider trading, and other issues
Professional Activities
- Former Special Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Honors and Awards
Speaking Engagements
- Guest Lecturer, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law: “Securities Litigation,” New York, NY, 2007–2010
