Our Attorneys Recognized

Chambers USA

James N. Benedict
James Benedict has “made a big difference” to the securities litigation practice of New York’s Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP since his arrival in late 2004. With “decades of experience,” Benedict is a recognized expert in securities issues affecting mutual funds. He recently secured the dismissal of a class action against Citigroup Asset Management concerning brokerage arrangements, and a derivative claim for more than $1 billion against Amercan Century Investments concerning management fees. His good judgment and ability to “focus quickly on critical issues” has seen him “win the respect of the courts.”
            Litigation – Securities (2007)

“Since joining [Milbank] in October 2004, the ‘highly talented’ James Benedict has employed his intellect and experience gained at Clifford Chance to drive forward the defense of major securities class actions and derivative suits.”
            Litigation – Securities (2006)

“Clifford Chance’s loss has been Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP’s gain as the latter has inveigled James Benedict into joining its ranks. Benedict was very much the prop of the securities practice at his old firm and is expected to provide a real shot in the arm for his new paymasters. His ‘irresistible affability, relaxed approach and sound judgment’ are just a few of the qualities that have proved so attractive to his new employers. They welcome an attorney who has acted for companies such as Salomon Smith Barney and Fidelity and who appeared in Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, the leading case regarding the Investment Company Act of 1940.”
            Litigation – Securities (2005)

“James Benedict gained client confidence for his willingness to ‘tell you the good, the bad and the ugly.’ His ‘homespun, aw-shucks’ approach has culminated in a ‘a tremendous string’ of securities-related wins. The leader of the firm’s global litigation and dispute resolution practice, he helped obtain a dismissal for American Scandia, which was sued in a securities class action relating to variable annuities. Benedict is also shepherding Merrill Lynch through a series of regulatory investigations and federal class actions. ‘He’s familiar with the various federal court judges and knows what they like and don’t like,’ agreed clients. ‘He also knows the plaintiff’s lawyers and can operate from a tactical point of view. He’s extraordinarily effective.’”
            Litigation – Securities (2004)

“James Benedict is highly regarded for his securities work, and was endorsed to researchers as a ‘thoroughly reliable team player.’ He and his team defended Merrill Lynch in an IPO class action, involving more than a thousand complaints and over 300 companies.”
            Litigation – General Commercial (2003)

George Canellos
Interviewees anticipate that George Canellos’s progress through the legal hierarchy will be swift, labeling him “one of the best of the next generation of white-collar experts.” A graduate of the US Attorney's office, who began his career at Wachtell Lipton, he has been involved in tax shelter-related litigation and defended a number of prominent CEOs.
            Litigation – White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2007)

Scott A. Edelman
Scott Edelman seamlessly melds white-collar and civil litigation in a practice that, in 2006, included negotiating a $508 million settlement for the REFCO creditors' committee and winning an appeal on behalf of Aquila in a case against Citadel Equity Fund. To clients, he presents the enticing combination of “great smarts” and a “wonderful personal touch.”
            Litigation – White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2007)

“Scott Edelman has cultivated a gilt-edged reputation effortlessly melding white-collar and civil litigation. In addition to representing financial titans UBS and JPMorgan Chase, he has acted for senior executives from the world’s leading pharmaceutical, brokerage and telecom companies.”
            Litigation – White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2006)

“Scott Edelman [is] ‘a dynamic attorney with limitless reserves of energy,’ which he devotes to a practice that seamlessly melds big-ticket civil and criminal litigation. Edelman’s notable representations include representing leading insurance brokerage firm Jardines Lloyd Thomson in litigation arising out of the demise of Bennett Funding. He also advised Ashanti Goldfields in the defense of a securities class action.”
            Litigation – White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2005)

“A ‘tremendous lawyer’ in white-collar defense is Scott Edelman of Milbank, Tweed Hadley & McCloy. According to market observers, he is ‘entrepreneurial,’ and earns high marks for ‘doing a good job of building the practice.’ About half of his work is related to criminal actions; the balance includes litigation concerning such issues as proxy fights and stock purchase agreements.”
            Litigation – White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations (2004)

Douglas Henkin
Observers associate Douglas Henkin with the NYSE, which he has represented in various regulatory disputes. Members of the litigation community applaud the common sense he demonstrates in complex proceedings.
            Litigation – Securities (2007)

Sean M. Murphy
Sean Murphy is “just outstanding,” clients report. “He will look at a case not just from the perspective of the judge, but how opposing counsel will behave and how your business will need to deal with the eventual outcome.” A securities specialist, he was pivotal in both the Alliance Capital and Fidelity Investment disputes.
            Litigation – Securities (2007)

“Another Clifford Chance alumnus, Sean Murphy ‘does a fantastic job, speaking in a language everyone understands.’ He was one of the three principal lawyers who tried a $3 billion case for Alliance Capital and is currently involved in the defense of Fidelity Investments.”
            Litigation – Securities (2006)

Milbank
The arrival in 2004 of James Benedict completed Milbank Tweed’s transformation into a formidable force in securities-related litigation. During the last 30 years, the team has specialized in defending class actions and derivative suits, boasting enduring ties with financial heavyweights such as Citibank. For more than a decade, it has also been at the forefront of mutual fund securities action defense. The firm took center stage in 2006 when the plaintiffs in their case against long-time client American Century Investments dropped one of the largest excessive-fee securities actions ever filed. Interviewees agree that this outcome, which filled the pages of the legal press, has serious ramifications for future litigation in this area. The firm’s arc of success in the past year also includes winning the dismissal of similar revenue sharing and excessive-fee class actions brought against Fidelity Investments and against Capital Research and Management. Commenting on the team’s lineage, sources assert that the presence of five former federal prosecutors and a number of SEC specialists “really adds value on the regulatory front.” The firm is also a notable presence in white-collar disputes with regulatory and IP elements.

“Doing great work in major disputes, this is the firm’s largest practice area, with securities-related litigation being a real strength. For the past 30 years, the team has specialized in defending class actions and derivatives suits, boasting enduring relationships with NYSE and JPMorgan Chase, among others. It advises all limbs of Citigroup, handling a multimillion-dollar IPO dispute arising from Citibank’s underwriting of a major telecom company currently going through bankruptcy proceedings. The team is also heavily involved in mutual funds litigation and represents Fidelity Investments in alleged securities and antitrust law violations. Attorneys continue to act in one of the largest claims ever brought under the Investment Company Act of 1940, following the demise of Bennett Funding Group. The firm’s liberal sprinkling of expertise also covers insurance and white-collar disputes, where clients benefit from the presence of five former federal prosecutors and a number of SEC specialists.”
            Litigation – Securities (2006)

Legal 500 USA

James Benedict and Sean Murphy
Partners James Benedict and Sean Murphy have significantly enhanced the firm's capabilities in this area since their arrival from Clifford Chance in 2004. Benedict has more than 20 years' dedicated experience of practicing in the securities litigation world, while Murphy is recognized as “one of the best young lawyers in this area, anywhere in the country.”
            Litigation , Securities – Shareholder Litigation (2007)

Douglas W. Henkin
The New York partner who clients recommend in this area is Douglas Henkin, who has represented one of the world's largest banking institutions in a case concerning high-yield short-term notes, and worked for one of the world's largest securities firms in connection with various cases filed in Orange County.
            Litigation, Securities - Shareholder Litigation (2007)

Milbank
With a New York team of eight partners that spend a proportion of their time handling securities litigation matters, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has been expanding its capabilities to advise defendants in this matter in the last few years. In 2004, the firm added partners James Benedict and Sean Murphy from Clifford Chance, and the pair bought with them a significant client base of financial services firms to complement Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy's already strong institutional banking client base. A practice that is now particularly strong in representing investment advisors is not noted for issuer representations, but is nevertheless regularly involved on major litigation where securities fraud is alleged. Major clients include the likes of Fidelity, The Capital Group and Citigroup as investment advisors, whilst on the underwriter side, the firm has represented clients such as Legg Mason and Citigroup.

Recent high profile matters handled by the group include work successfully defending a derivative action filed by a group of mutual fund shareholders against the firm's client American Century Investment Management, where the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant charged excessive management fees to three of its largest mutual funds in violation of securities laws. For The Capital Group, meanwhile, the firm was successful in obtaining a dismissal for Capital Research & Management, the second largest investment advisor in the nation, where plaintiffs sought several hundred million dollars in damages on behalf of shareholders in 29 funds with aggregate assets in excess of $750 billion. Finally, for Fidelity Management and Research Company and several individuals, the firm won before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts when a judge dismissed the plaintiffs' eight-count class action complaint without prejudice, in another of the mutual fund distribution cases.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is renowned for its work advising investment advisors in securities class action defense work, and in that area its clients include Fidelity, The Capital Group, American Century Investment Management and Dreyfus Mutual Funds. The firm also handles underwriter cases for Citigroup and Legg Mason, and has represented the latter in an issuer case, though company-side instructions are rare.

Lawdragon

James N. Benedict
"He helmed American Century to safe waters in a billion-dollar dismissal expected to tsunami mutual-fund litigation"
            500 Leading Lawyers in America (2006)

“The mutual-fund industry is under attack, and it is relying on litigator James Benedict to help fight its legal battles. Benedict is defending clients in a dozen major suits relating to the industry’s recent scandals. His clients are some of the world’s largest investment advisers, including Fidelity, Capital Research and Management, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Dreyfus, ING and American Century. The suits allege misdeeds such as excessive management fees or wrongdoing in marketing and distribution practices. Benedict has an impressive track record. In 2005, he won dismissals in nine other mutual-fund cases. During the 1980s, he defended Merrill Lynch in a suit brought by shareholders alleging excessive management fees, and the case ultimately was dismissed. The Merrill Lynch case has become a leading precedent.”
            500 Top Trial Lawyers in America (2006)

“This securities hotshot reps the best-known companies in America: MasterCard, Coca-Cola and Citigroup.”
            500 Leading Lawyers in America (2005)

“He helms securities class actions for clients like Citigroup, Coca-Cola and Prudential.”
            500 Top Trial Lawyers in America (2005)

Scott A. Edelman
“Insurers, casinos, gold producers, execs and committees all turn to this prominent litigator.”
            500 Top Trial Lawyers in America (2006)

Sean M. Murphy
“Not only did Murphy deflect $3 billion in Enron-related claims against client Alliance Capital, he won them $1.2 million in advisory fees.”
            New Stars, New Worlds 500 (2006)

The American Lawyer

Sean M. Murphy
"Murphy represents giant mutual fund and financial services companies, with a blue-chip client list that includes Fidelity Management & Research Company, Capital Research & Management Company, American Century Companies, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. In the last two years he has won 12 complex securities matters for his clients. He won a dismissal for Fidelity in a revenue-sharing class action; and co-led the defense of American Century in an excessive fee case that plaintiffs dropped one week before trial. In 2005 Murphy was on the trial team that successfully defended AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. in a $3 billion Enron-related lawsuit by Florida's pension fund."
            The Young Litigators Fab Fifty (2006)

The Best Lawyers in America

In this exhaustive peer-review survey, in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers, James Benedict and Scott Edelman have been recognized for their excellence in general commercial litigation.
            Best Lawyers in America (2006-2007)