Rick Levine is a partner in Weil’s New York office, where he has been a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation practice since it was first formed in 1984. Mr. Levine has devoted much of his career to litigation and counseling relating to prominent, “bet the company” legal disputes, including those that have arisen out of the recent financial crisis, high-profile M&A transactions, proxy contests, and some of the largest corporate bankruptcies in history. He has substantial experience with federal and state court litigation; arbitration; mediation; shareholder class actions; bankruptcy proceedings; SEC investigations and other securities regulatory matters; internal corporate investigations; and litigation-related counseling on matters involving crisis management, fiduciary duties, disclosure obligations, securities law compliance, contract interpretation, and corporate control issues.
Mr. Levine has played a leading role in complex matters for some of the world’s most prominent corporations and financial institutions, which repeatedly call on him for his solid understanding of the business and legal issues they face, his practicality, and his judgment. Currently, Mr. Levine is one of the leaders of a team of structured finance specialists and litigators advising a monoline insurer on its options with regards to its CMBS portfolio, which includes credit default swaps, CDO’s, and other complex financing arrangements. Mr. Levine also is lead counsel in a litigation pending in the Southern District of New York relating to the construction of a CRE CDO. Additionally, Mr. Levine is lead counsel for DataTreasury Corporation in multiple litigations, including claims relating to ownership of DataTreasury’s key patents. For Lehman Brothers, Mr. Levine has been the lead litigator on a wide variety of matters, including rights with respect to terminated derivatives, RMBS-related securities law claims, claims between Lehman entities in different parts of the world, various adversary proceedings, and multiple other matters.
Mr. Levine also has extensive experience counseling clients on strategy and litigation related to proxy contests, and has represented entities involved in proxy contests including Franklin Resources, Financial Industries Corp., and First Aviation Services. He also is a member of the firm’s bankruptcy litigation practice and has been involved in the representation of both creditors and debtors in complex bankruptcy and related adversary proceedings, including Enron Corporation, Global Crossing, Advanta Corp., XL Capital, and Pirelli. Other notable clients have included: Hollywood Media, MovieTickets.com, General Electric Capital Corporation, Empire Resources, Hexagon Securities, and Millennium Chemicals.
Mr. Levine has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the area of Securities Litigation by New York Super Lawyers. He is a member of the ABA’s Section of Litigation and the Federal Bar Council, and has published on numerous issues relating to litigation, securities laws, and corporate control matters.
Mr. Levine also has an active pro bono practice, and has provided pro bono civil legal counsel in tandem with MFY Legal Services, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and the New York Legal Assistance Group. In April 2012, Mr. Levine received MFY’s Partner in Justice Award.
Mr. Levine graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in New York and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.