Biography
Joshua Amsel is a partner in Weil’s Securities Litigation practice group, where he focuses on defending shareholder class and derivative litigation, advising on M&A transactions and related litigation, and counseling boards of directors, board committees and senior management with respect to securities, corporate governance, disclosure and regulatory issues, among others. Mr. Amsel also has extensive experience representing clients in connection with internal, governmental and regulatory investigations, including those before the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Some of his recent nationwide representations include:
- representing Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical company, and its former CEO in obtaining the dismissal of a consolidated federal securities class action brought by a putative class of investors in Sanofi American Depositary Shares;
- representing Sanofi in obtaining the dismissal, affirmed on appeal, of federal securities class and individual actions brought by holders of contingent value rights issued in connection with Sanofi’s 2011 acquisition of Genzyme, relating to the performance of Sanofi’s multiple sclerosis drug, Lemtrada®;
- obtaining a significant Third Circuit decision affirming summary judgment for an important private equity client in a federal securities action that, going forward, is likely to provide important protection to portfolio company board designees of private equity firms;
- navigating Gentiva Health Services, Inc. through shareholder class and derivative litigation in New York federal court and Georgia state and federal court relating to the company’s Medicare reimbursement practices;
- defending global insurance broker Willis in multi-billion dollar securities class actions arising out of the $7 billion Allen Stanford/Stanford Financial Group Ponzi scheme;
- representing a major real estate investor in multi-forum litigation relating to the ownership and control of his family’s real estate holdings;
- representing the syndicate of underwriters of IntraLinks Holdings, Inc.’s April 2011 secondary offering in a federal securities class action relating to alleged misrepresentations concerning IntraLinks’ enterprise business; and
- defending numerous shareholder class actions challenging major M&A transactions, on behalf of both targets and acquirers, in the Delaware Court of Chancery and elsewhere.
In 2016, Mr. Amsel was named to Benchmark Litigation’s Under 40 Hot List. He has been named a New York “Rising Star” in securities litigation since 2011 by SuperLawyers Magazine, and was also named to Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “Legal Who’s Who” in Securities Litigation for 2014.
Mr. Amsel is co-chair of the Firm’s Hiring Committee and a member of the Firm’s Professional Development Committee. He also is a member of the American Bar Association, where he serves as co-chair of the M&A/Proxy Litigation subcommittee of the Securities Litigation committee of the ABA’s Litigation Section, and a member of the New York City Bar Association.