Shaud G. Tavakoli

Mr. Tavakoli has defended corporations, financial institutions and individuals against federal securities class actions brought under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934; litigated attempts to enjoin multibillion-dollar transactions; investigated and defended against shareholder derivative claims; and prosecuted and defended against fraud and contract claims involving hundreds of millions in claimed damages.

His representations have included:

• Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and several executives in obtaining dismissal of virtually all claims and securing successful resolution of remaining claims in a securities class action arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill;
• Neuberger Berman Group LLC in defending multi-front litigation, including defeating three preliminary injunction motions in three different courts, in connection with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) business combination valued at $12.5 billion;
• LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in litigation widely publicized in the U.S. and internationally arising from the luxury conglomerate’s $15.8 billion acquisition of Tiffany & Co.;
• the National Hockey League (NHL) in prosecuting an insurance coverage action arising from the successful defense of concussion litigation claims;
• Portland General Electric Company in successfully defending and resolving a federal securities class action and four shareholder derivative actions asserted after the announcement of energy trading losses;
• Bank of America, RBS and UBS in obtaining dismissal of fraud and rescission claims arising from the underwriting and securitization of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the wake of the financial crisis;
• the board of directors of a publicly traded late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company in conducting an internal investigation in response to a shareholder derivative demand, leading to a successful resolution of the demand;
• a large pharmaceutical company in negotiating a favorable settlement of pre-litigation claims; and
• a Big Four accounting firm in defending against claims for indemnification and breach of fiduciary duty in a one-week arbitration proceeding.

Other representative clients include Agenus Inc., Arrival, the Argentine Republic, BMW AG, Booz Allen Hamilton, BRF SA, Inovalon, Netshoes, Patriarch Partners and Prospect Capital.

Mr. Tavakoli also regularly writes and presents on topics relating to securities litigation.