Financial Services Counseling & Litigation

Whether a company needs transactional, operational, or regulatory work, our in-depth business and legal knowledge of the banking industry can be invaluable during litigation. As recognized leaders in defending class actions, for example, our financial services litigators are knowledgeable in protecting our clients’ interests. We work to identify weaknesses in plaintiffs’ cases, and have a strong track record of defeating these cases, often at the early stages, saving our clients the cost and aggravation of full-scale litigation.

Our recent experience in consumer class actions, general banking, loan and lender liability, and insurance-backed financing litigation includes:

• Obtaining full dismissals of several class actions alleging violations of Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and consumer protection statutes at the motion to dismiss phase, or by persuading plaintiffs’ counsel to dismiss the case based on evidence that our clients complied with the law.
• Initiating recovery efforts on behalf of a lender relating to a $100 million fraud in connection with a letter of credit financing an international transaction. In another matter, we defended various claims against a major lender to a state’s largest nonprofit healthcare system when the healthcare system collapsed.
• Litigating a three-month jury trial in a lender liability case after which our bank client won a defense verdict on a $300 million claim and was awarded a $10 million judgment on a fraudulent transfer counterclaim.
• Delivering positive outcomes for bank clients in a complex series of related cases in New York, California, Texas, England, and Australia involving insurance-backed film financing transactions. After a six-week jury trial, we won one case arising from insurance policies issued to our client as security for loans it made for several film productions.

Morgan Lewis is well known for our sophisticated securities talent. More than 100 securities lawyers are resident in our US offices alone, including dozens who joined us after distinguished careers at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Our mix of Wall Street know-how, veteran regulatory history, and litigation savvy ensures our clients receive sound strategic business advice and shrewd legal guidance.

Our team of trial-seasoned securities litigators includes a former chief trial counsel for the SEC Division of Enforcement and several lawyers who are members of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The strength of our litigation team allows us to prevail at trial and on dispositive pretrial motions in courts throughout the United States against leading plaintiffs’ firms. Our reputation as adept lawyers and fierce courtroom advocates enables us to negotiate settlements, when appropriate, from a position of strength.

Leading investment banking and brokerage firms, investment advisers, mutual fund organizations, and many of the best-known broker-dealers in the United States are among our clients. In the investment management area, we advise clients with more than $1 trillion in assets under management.

We represent clients in:

• Stockholder and investor suits
• Securities-related class actions
• SEC, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and self-regulatory organization investigations
• Enforcement actions
• Private proceedings
• Broker-dealer claims
• Actions involving fraud, tender offers, and proxy contests

Financial services litigation often involves complicated intellectual property (IP) issues. Our IP practice is strong, with more than 150 IP professionals, 95 of whom are lawyers. Our IP lawyers advise some of the world’s largest financial institutions about all types of IP matters. We provide strategic advice and representation throughout the life cycles of products and services, including research and development, financing, marketing, licensing, and enforcement of relevant rights. Financial services clients turn to us for advice with their patent business processes and we represent them in related patent infringement cases.

The Morgan Lewis labor and employment team is nationally recognized for its litigation capabilities, and its lawyers have substantial backgrounds in counseling and representing financial services clients. Our combination of litigation preeminence and in-depth understanding of labor and employment matters makes Morgan Lewis a top-tier choice in the financial services arena.

Select Matters Handled by Our Lawyers

• An age discrimination pattern and practice case brought against an investment bank by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a group of investment bankers
• A nationwide gender discrimination class action brought against two national securities firms
• A race discrimination pattern and practice case brought by the EEOC on behalf of employees of a national home mortgage lender
• A nationwide collective action brought against major financial institutions alleging misclassification of employees as overtime exempt
• A class action brought against a major securities firm on behalf of former employees alleging age discrimination

We represent financial services clients in arbitration proceedings sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and American Stock Exchange (AMEX). These arbitrations address claims of age discrimination, disability discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful denial of bonus, compensation disputes, and defamation.

E-commerce matters require sophisticated knowledge and experience with evolving technologies. Morgan Lewis brings both to its representation of some of the world’s largest financial institutions and affiliates, in matters involving electronic trading platforms, the interconnectivity of financial institutions to electronic brokerage and trading, mergers of foreign exchange (FX) trading platforms, related bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, data supply agreements, and litigation.

Companies that require legal services for either a workout or bankruptcy can rely on the experience of Morgan Lewis lawyers in complex reorganizations and our reputation with financial institutions.

Our clients are diverse, from retailers and telecommunications providers to ocean carriers and mortgage trusts. Each one relies on us to identify the structure and solution best suited to its situation. 

The tax implications of our clients’ transactions and litigation matters are often complex. Our tax group provides key advice on US federal, state, local, and international taxation aspects of our clients’ transactions, and works closely with our financial services litigators to develop and implement tax-efficient structuring to satisfy each client’s business objectives. Our lawyers litigate tax matters before courts and government agencies.

Select Matters Handled by Our Lawyers

• A recent landmark case in which we persuaded the Oregon Supreme Court, on behalf of our banking client, to change the way Oregon apportions income of nondomiciliary banks and financial institutions
• A proceeding in which we persuaded the California Franchise Tax Board, on behalf of our financial institution client, to completely change the way it determines the income of an affiliated group of insurance and noninsurance companies

If environmental issues surface during litigation, Morgan Lewis lawyers offer an impressive resource.

Our environmental lawyers handle environmental diligence and help negotiate environmental concerns in business and financial transactions. These matters include federal and state voluntary cleanup and brownfield program transactions, remediation matters under the New Jersey Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA), environmental claims in bankruptcy, and international environmental issues.

Our lawyers design environmental credit systems for lending institutions, including those involved in international project finance. Several partners lead the environmental audit functions for our financial services clients, including those seeking assurances under International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other international consensus standards.