Year Joined Organization: 2006

Lawyer Overview

Ross Firsenbaum is a senior associate in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department. He joined WilmerHale in 2006.

Practice

Mr. Firsenbaum has a general litigation practice with an emphasis on securities litigation and complex commercial litigation. He has represented major investment banks, financial institutions, and individuals in state and federal court litigations, and investigations conducted by the US Attorney’s Office.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Firsenbaum completed a clerkship with the Honorable Susan Beck at the Massachusetts Appeals Court. As a student-attorney, Mr. Firsenbaum successfully gained an indigent client unemployment benefits before a hearings officer at the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training and achieved a remand for a mentally disabled client at the Social Security Appeals Council, which eventually led to the client’s receipt of social security disability benefits.

Recent Highlights

• Representation of the underwriting syndicate in a securities class action challenging prospectus disclosures in the Refco 144A private placement and initial public offering of Refco stock. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the claims on the grounds that the Securities Act of 1933 did not apply to Rule 144A private placements. In re Refco, Inc. Sec. Litig., 503 F. Supp. 2d 611 (S.D.N.Y. April 30, 2007); and 2008 WL 3843343 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 14, 2008).
• Representation of three global investment banks in an action brought by the Refco Litigation Trustee alleging various state law causes of action:
  • The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the Litigation Trustee’s motion to remand the action to the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on the grounds that the federal courts had “related to” bankruptcy subject-matter jurisdiction and abstention was neither mandatory nor otherwise warranted. Kirschner v. Grant Thornton LLP, 2008 WL 1827644 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 21, 2008).
  • The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the claims on the grounds that the Litigation Trustee did not have standing. Kirschner v. Grant Thornton LLP, 2009 WL 996417 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 14, 2009).
• Representation of three global financial institutions in an action brought by the Joint Official Liquidators of the SPhinX hedge funds alleging various state law causes of action. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the Joint Official Liquidators’ motion to remand the action to the New York Supreme Court on the grounds that the federal courts had “related to” bankruptcy subject-matter jurisdiction and abstention was neither mandatory nor otherwise warranted. Krys v. Sugrue, 2008 WL 4700920 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 23, 2008).

Areas of Practice

• Litigation/Controversy

Bar Admissions

• New York
• Massachusetts

Education

• Boston College Law School, 2005
  JD
  Honors: cum laude
• Amherst College, 2002
  BA, Law, Jurisprudence & Social Thought/Psychology
  Honors: magna cum laude

Address

399 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Phones

+1 212 295 6323 (Business Phone)

Faxes

+1 212 230 8888 (Business Fax)

Emails

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Websites

http://www.wilmerhale.com