Weil has been profiled by Law360 as a 2021 “Securities Practice Group of the Year” in recognition of a number of notable securities litigation successes, including a precedent-setting victory for Brookfield Asset Management in the Delaware Supreme Court.

Law360 focused on Weil’s “high-stakes” appellate win for Brookfield, reversing a longstanding corporate law precedent, Gentile v. Rossette, which had allowed shareholders to bring certain claims both directly and derivatively. "What we managed to accomplish in the Brookfield case was to convince the Delaware Supreme Court ... that that specific type of overpayment claim was exclusively derivative and not direct," said John Neuwirth, Co-Head of Weil’s Securities Litigation practice. He called the court’s opinion a “complete victory” and explained that it is already having a “major impact on Delaware Court of Chancery and M&A litigation because it has gotten rid of a certain type of direct claim that stockholders were able to bring.”

Law360 noted Weil’s Securities Litigation practice has more than 70 attorneys, with a majority based in New York. “The attorneys within the team have become specialized in three areas that the Firm feels are especially important: securities class actions, internal and regulatory investigations, and mergers and acquisition litigation, specifically in Delaware,” said Caroline Zalka, Co-Head of Weil’s Securities Litigation practice.

Law360 also highlighted some of Weil’s other leading-edge victories: a victory for Campbell Soup Co. in a securities class action based on the statements of more than a dozen confidential witnesses; the dismissal of a proposed securities class action against Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., in which we convinced the court that plaintiff’s claims were time-barred; and the successful defense of several securities class actions related to Walgreen’s failed 2017 merger with Rite Aid in March 2021.