Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.

Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.
Headquarters	Wilmington, Delaware
No. of offices	3 total
No. of attorneys	50
Major practice areas	Securities and complex litigation, corporate governance, false claims/wage & hour litigation
Key people	Stuart M. Grant - Founder and Managing Partner, Jay W. Eisenhofer - Founder and Managing Partner
Date founded	1997
Company type	Professional association
Website
http://www.gelaw.com

Grant & Eisenhofer (a.k.a “G&E”) is an international boutique law firm with a focus on securities and complex litigation, corporate governance, false claims/wage and hour litigation, and portfolio monitoring.^[1] Stuart M. Grant and Jay W. Eisenhofer founded the primary office in Wilmington, Delaware in 1997.^[2] The firm has since opened two additional offices, one in New York City and the other in Washington, DC.^[3] G&E specializes in representing public and private institutional investors who seek restitution for damage caused by fraud, greed or mismanagement.^[4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Today 2 Recognition 3 Notable cases 4 References 5 External links

History

The founding partners commenced their legal careers as litigators in Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom’s Wilmington office. They left Skadden together to join Philadelphia-based law firm Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley. During their time there, Grant and Eisenhofer acted as resident litigation partners.^[5]

In 1997, they founded Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. Eisenhofer has stated that they decided to switch from corporate defense to exclusively representing plaintiffs because “they wanted to be on the side of the good guys.”^[6] Due to the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) of 1995, the firm was able to better represent institutional investors as plaintiffs in securities fraud litigation.^[4]

Stuart Grant argued the provisions of the PSLRA which allowed an institutional investor to act as lead plaintiff in securities class action cases.^[7] In this case, Gluck et al. v. Cellstar, The State of Wisconsin Investment Board was lead plaintiff and G&E was appointed lead counsel. The class recovered 56% of their losses.^[8] In 2000, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System filed a suit against Digex, in which G&E was lead counsel for the plaintiff.^[9] The case settled in 2001 for $420 million.^[10] In 2004, Grant & Eisenhofer was recognized by Pensions & Investments magazine for “a hallmark in corporate governance” regarding the settlement in which HealthSouth’s board of directors was completely replaced.^[11] Firm partners Jay Eisenhofer and Michael Barry co-authored the Shareholder Activism Handbook in 2005. The handbook is a guide for shareholders on matters relating to shareholder activism.^[12]

Since the firm’s founding, it has represented more than one hundred institutional investors and has acted as lead or co-lead counsel in six of the largest securities class actions in American history.^[13]

Today

Grant & Eisenhofer has approximately 50 attorneys among its three offices.^[14] They testify on behalf of institutional investors before the SEC and various judicial commissions.^[15] The firm initiates litigation in the attempt to make corporate governance practices equally favorable to a corporation’s directors and shareholders.^[16] G&E often serves as lead counsel in national securities class actions while working with institutional investors as lead plaintiffs. As lead counsel, the firm has recovered over $12 billion for its clients.^[17]

Grant & Eisenhofer’s founding purpose was to represent and protect institutional investors.^[6] The firm remains conscious of its growth to ensure that it maintains its focus on securities litigation, corporate governance, and related services. To avoid conflicts of interest, G&E does not represent corporate clients.^[18]

The firm has a case philosophy of extreme selectivity.^[19] It only takes on a limited number of cases - based on, among other factors, the amount of stock the potential client holds in the company accused of wrongdoing.^[17] Each case is assigned a team of attorneys, paralegals, specialized support staff, and consultants, which may include forensic accountants, private investigators, and business or scientific experts. The managing partners are also involved in each case.

Recognition

Grant & Eisenhofer has been recognized for its efforts in securities litigation, corporate governance, and related areas of practice. The firm has earned a place in the National Law Journal's “Plaintiffs Hot List Hall of Fame.”^[20] In 2007^[21][22] and 2008^[23][24] RiskMetrics Group ranked it the number one law firm for average investor recovery in securities class actions. G&E is also listed as one of America’s Leading Business Law Firms by Chambers and Partners.^[25]

Firm founders Stuart Grant and Jay Eisenhofer were featured in the November 2004 issue of Delaware Today as “Power Attorneys” fighting for corporate justice.^[26] Eisenhofer was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk Management in June 2005.^[27] He was also named one of “The 100 Most Influential People on Corporate Governance” in the September 2008 issue of Directorship Magazine.^[28]

Notable cases

• Tyco International Ltd. Securities Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer was co-lead counsel in this case, working alongside Schiffrin, Barroway, Topaz & Kessler and Milberg Weiss & Bershad.^[29] G&E represented the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana and the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System as co-lead plaintiffs.^[30] The plaintiffs alleged Tyco had partaken in securities and accounting fraud.^[29] This fraud entailed “aggressive accounting in acquisitions to inflate profits” and excessive compensation for company executives according to the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC).^[31] A settlement was reached in May 2007, under which Tyco paid $2.975 billion, the largest settlement ever paid by a single corporate defendant.^[29] In July 2007, Tyco’s former auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, settled for an additional $225 million.^[32]

• Royal Dutch Shell Transport Securities Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer represented several European institutional investors in the pan-European class action against Royal Dutch Shell. Shell exaggerated its oil reserves by billions of barrels, resulting in an overstated potential profit of $100 billion. In May 2009, the Amsterdam Court of Appeals ordered Shell to begin paying $381 million of the settlement.^[33] Shell also paid a $120 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission.^[34] This case was the first European securities fraud class action settlement. The settlement total is $450 million and included all non-U.S. stockholders. The Netherlands, where Shell’s headquarters are located, is the only European country that provides for the approval of class action settlements.^[35] The settlement includes a $352.6 million cash payment to European shareholders and $96 million from the SEC fine.^[36]

• Global Crossing Ltd. Securities Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer represented the state Teachers’ Retirement System of Ohio and the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Ohio as lead plaintiffs. G&E was appointed lead counsel for the litigation.^[37] The complaint involved Global Crossing’s failed business plan, for which the company’s executives were held accountable. They began using swap transactions merely to increase their quarterly revenue.^[38] The first settlement was approved in 2004 which totaled $245 million.^[37] Global Crossing’s founder and former chairman, Gary Winnick, contributed $30 million to the settlement.^[37] In July 2005, the court approved a $75 million settlement with Citigroup. A $25 million settlement was reached with Global Crossing’s accounting firm, Arthur Andersen LLP, in October 2005. Three financial institutions - Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and CIBC World Markets - settled for $99 million in 2006. These partial settlements bring the total to approximately $450 million.^[37]

• Delphi Corporation Securities Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer represented Dutch pension fund Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP as lead plaintiff in this class action lawsuit.^[29] The complaint stated Delphi Corp. misrepresented their finances, which subsequently inflated the value of their stock. Investors stated Delphi’s auditor, Deloitte & Touche, did not fully disclose the company’s financial state. During the class period from 1999 to 2005, Delphi executives were also accused of financial fraud.^[29] Deloitte & Touche contributed $38 million to the settlement, while Delphi Corp. paid $204 million and Delphi’s directors paid $80 million, for a total of $325 million.^[39]

• General Motors Corporation Securities and Derivative Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer represented Deka Investment GmbH and Deka International SA in a securities class action against General Motors and its auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP. The lawsuit alleged financial reports from 2002 to 2006 were misleading to shareholders.^[40] The financial statements “misstated and mischaracterized its revenue, earnings, and cash flow”, which in turn exaggerated the price of GM stock.^[41] G&E represented two investment groups as lead plaintiffs alongside Labaton Sucharow.^[41] A settlement was reached in 2008 under which GM paid $277 million and Deloitte & Touche paid $26 million.^[41]

• DaimlerChrysler AG Securities Litigation: Grant & Eisenhofer was co-lead counsel in this action, representing the Florida State Board of Administration (FSBA) as co-lead plaintiff.^[42] The lawsuit pertained to the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler. Former shareholders alleged that the formation of DaimlerChrysler was purported to be a “merger of equals” when in fact Daimler-Benz intended to take over Chrysler. This prevented former Chrysler stockholders from obtaining a fair acquisition premium for their shares. The case was settled on February 5, 2004 for $300 million in cash.^[43]

References

External links

• Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. Website
• Whistleblower Laws