Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Year Joined Organization: 1983

Lawyer Overview

A partner in the Litigation Department, Bruce Birenboim has a broad litigation practice, with special emphasis on regulatory, securities, antitrust and mergers and acquisitions advice and litigation and corporate investigations.

Mr. Birenboim most currently has represented Citigroup in connection with multiple litigations arising out of the bankruptcy of WorldCom and related "analyst independence" matters. He also has recently represented Lehman Brothers in connection with investigations by the New York Attorney General and the Securities and Exchange (SEC) into analysts' independence and mutual fund trading practices. Mr. Birenboim also currently represents a prominent hedge fund principal in a criminal and SEC investigation into alleged improper practices related to hedge fund business with the Philadelphia city government and the CFO of a major U.S. corporation in connection with an SEC investigation into alleged improper accounting practices. Prior to these recent matters, Mr. Birenboim represented Sumitomo Corporation in connection with various regulatory and law enforcement proceedings in the United States and Great Britain and multiple civil antitrust class actions and private litigations in the United States and abroad arising out of Sumitomo's loss of $2.6 billion resulting from the unauthorized trading of its former chief copper trader, Yasuo Hamanaka. Current representations also include a prominent hedge fund in connection with the SEC's investigation into IPO practices, as well as financial commentator James J. Cramer in connection with numerous matters.

Other matter experiences include:

• an internal corporate investigation of alleged accounting and financial irregularities at Woolworth Corporation;
• an internal corporate investigation of alleged accounting and financial improprieties at a significant textile manufacturer;
• a criminal investigation into alleged violations of European import laws by a major international corporate client;
• the representation of a former head of the corporate derivatives unit at a major investment bank in related SEC and Federal Reserve Bank investigations into the sale and marketing of derivatives;
• the representation of a special committee of outside directors of a closed-end investment fund in an internal investigation of alleged violations of the Investment Company Act and other related securities laws;
• the representation of Aramark Corporation in connection with its defense of a recapitalization plan in Delaware Chancery Court; and
• the representation of a number of special committees and boards of directors in connection with various recent merger and going private transactions.

Mr. Birenboim also has represented a major electrical contractor in an SEC investigation into accounting and financial disclosure irregularities and has worked on a number of high-profile securities litigations. He has handled a broad range of traditional commercial litigations and arbitrations involving contract disputes, insurance coverage disputes, investment banker malpractice actions, and tax, real estate, partnership and entertainment industry related problems.

Mr. Birenboim served as chief counsel to the New York City Mayor's Investigatory Commission on School Safety. Heading a staff of eight lawyers and investigators, Mr. Birenboim supervised a five-month investigation, which culminated in public hearings in the fall of 1995 and the issuance of a public report in January 1996 examining the role of the New York City Police Department in supervising and maintaining safety in the New York City public schools.

Mr. Birenboim served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation

West Practice Categories

Litigation & Appeals

Bar Admissions

• New York, 1983
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York

Past Employment Positions

• Hon. Leonard B. Sand, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Clerk
• New York City Mayor's Investigatory Commission on School Safety, Chief Counsel

Education

• Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1982
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
  Honors: magna cum laude
  
  Law Review: Harvard Law Review, Editor, 1981 - 1982
• Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1977
  B.A., Bachelor of Arts
  Honors: magna cum laude

Published Works

• Federal Court Suppresses Proffers Made in Connection with Government’s KPMG Tax Shelter Litigation, July 31, 2006

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