Law firm Grant & Eisenhofer has attracted shareholder accolades in two “awards” it earned last year from Securities Class Action Services, a division of Institutional Shareholder Services.
The Wilmington-based firm was ranked Number 1 in average shareholder settlements of $203 million in 2003 while coming in Number 3 for overall recoveries when its three major settlements last year totaled $610.5 million.
This year Grant & Eisenhofer’s most recent settlement topped last year’s average – a $325 million settlement announced in March on behalf of shareholders of Global Crossing, Inc.
That settlement, representing securities and ERISA claims, was especially significant because it included one of the largest contributions by an individual to settle securities claims – $55 million from Global Crossing’s founder and former chairman Gary Winnick. The partial settlement also included a $19.5 million payment by law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
“We are very pleased that we have been able to achieve substantial recoveries for our clients and the class of investors we represent. Our institutional client base allows us to prosecute the biggest securities litigations in the country. We are gratified to have that opportunity – the results speak for themselves,” said Stuart Grant, name partner at Grant & Eisenhofer. Since it was established in 1997, Grant & Eisenhofer has gained national recognition for exclusively representing institutional investors in federal securities fraud and related litigation.
This announcement comes just as Cornerstone Research issued its own annual findings on securities class action settlements, which were reported to have dropped overall in the past year. The law firm continues to pursue claims against other corporate defendants including Arthur Andersen, Salomon Smith Barney and other financial institutions that served as underwriters in Global Crossing’s public offerings.
Grant & Eisenhofer’s major settlements in 2003 included a $300 million recovery for shareholders of Oxford Health Plans; a $300 million recovery for shareholders of DaimlerChrysler Corp; and a $10.5 million recovery for shareholders of Dollar General Corp. (concluding a total recovery of $172 million, the majority of which was obtained in 2002).
The law firm has also won several major corporate governance settlements for institutional investors in the past year, including a closely-watched settlement with California software company Siebel Systems over its executive compensation and shareholder disclosure practices. Earlier this year, Grant & Eisenhofer successfully represented shareholders in forcing HealthSouth Corp. to replace its board of directors.
Added partner Jay Eisenhofer: “Since our founding, our goal has been not to have the largest number of cases, but to selectively pursue the best cases for our clients in hopes of securing maximum shareholder recoveries, and to make a difference in preventing corporate fraud in the future.
It’s very gratifying to see that our approach to securities class actions has been borne out by the latest SCAS data.”
Institutional Shareholder Services is a leading provider of corporate governance services for institutional investors. In recent years, ISS has tracked law firm class-action recoveries through its subsidiary, Securities Class Action Services. The SCAS Top 50 reflects settlements in which law firms served as lead counsel.