Joseph S. Allerhand co-heads the firm’s Securities Litigation/Corporate Governance practice. With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Allerhand is a nationally recognized litigator and corporate counsellor with extensive experience in securities litigation, M&A litigation, SEC investigations, busted deal litigation, arbitrations and contested bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Allerhand has been named by the New York Times as one of the top 100 lawyers in New York and is consistently named by Chambers USA as one of America’s leading business lawyers. He is described by clients and peers as having "a gift for 'commanding control in the biggest cases.’” He also has been praised as a “knockout in the courtroom as well as a deft performer behind the scenes” who “takes a creative and intelligent approach to litigation.” Chambers notes that Mr. Allerhand brings “raw intelligence to a practice that frequently involves counseling boards of directors and special committees in litigation connected with SEC investigations and bankruptcy proceedings. His ability to digest the various facts of a case and turn them into a winning argument is exemplary.” In 2009, he was named a "Litigation Star" for securities litigation in the US and named a "Local Star"in New York by Benchmark Litigation (a Euromoney/Legal Media Group publication) with clients and peers noting his leadership of the securities practice which was duly noted for "doing stupendous work" In 2007, he was named by New York Magazine as one of the top lawyers for “bet the company” litigation.
Because much of his practice arises from complex corporate transactions, Mr. Allerhand regularly counsels boards of directors and special committees on a wide variety of corporate disputes and in connection with internal investigations. Typically, he advises during the pre-dispute stage, and will then litigate the dispute through trial if necessary. Mr. Allerhand is equally adept at representing plaintiffs or defendants, and has argued and tried numerous high-profile cases in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels.
Mr. Allerhand writes and lectures frequently on securities litigation. He has published in the New York Law Journal and speaks regularly at the Practising Law Institute, most recently on a June 2009 panel entitled “Alternative Investment Funds Under Scrutiny: Response to Ponzi and other Schemes”.
Mr. Allerhand is a member of the Board of Directors or Trustees of the New York Legal Assistance Corp., Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New York and the UJA Federation of New York. He is the Former President of the UJA-Federation of N.Y. Lawyers Division and a current member of the Executive Committee and a Founder/Board Member of the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan.