Berger & Montague, P.C. is Named to the National Law Journal’s 2009 “Hot List” of the Top Plaintiffs’ Law Firms in the United States

The Philadelphia law firm of Berger & Montague, P.C. is pleased to announce that it has been named to the National Law Journal’s 2009 “Plaintiffs’ Hot List.” This is the sixth time that Berger & Montague has received this special and prestigious honor. The National Law Journal has selected Berger & Montague for this award in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

The National Law Journal’s “Hot List” recognizes outstanding plaintiffs’ law firms, nominating those firms in the United States that did “exemplary, cutting-edge work on the plaintiffs’ side between the summer of 2008 and the summer of 2009.” The winning firms had to prevail “in a bench or jury trial when the stakes were high, meaning that a substantial amount of money was at issue, or that the case could affect the litigation strategy or outcome of similar cases nationally.” The National Law Journal also focused on “wins that could effect significant social change or civil rights gains.” The National Law Journal selected “firms that struck us as representing the bar’s best qualities and that demonstrated unusual flair and creativity.”

The National Law Journal wrote:

Philadelphia-based Berger & Montague can claim 39 years of successful practice, primarily in complex plaintiffs’ litigation in securities, antitrust, consumer fraud, environmental and employment law. During the past year, the Philadelphia firm reached nine-figure settlements on behalf of two large classes.

The National Law Journal singled out Berger & Montague’s achievements during the past year in In re Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. Sec., Derivative & ERISA Litig., No. 07-CV-09633 (S.D.N.Y.) ($475 million settlement in one of the first securities class actions arising from the subprime mortgage meltdown); In re TriCor Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litig., No. 05—340 (D. Del.) ($250 million antitrust class action settlement); and New Jersey v. Qwest Communication Int’l, No. MER-L-3438-02 (Mercer Co., N.J., Super. Ct.) ($45 million settlement on behalf of the State of New Jersey in a case that established that in New Jersey, unlike in federal court, plaintiffs can recover from auditors and other enablers of fraud). These were just some of Berger & Montague’s many achievements in the past year. For example, in June 2008, in Cook v. Rockwell International Corporation (Rocky Flats), No. 90-CV-181 (D. Colo.), Berger & Montague obtained a judgment of $926 million, including compensatory and punitive damages, following a trial on behalf of thousands of property owners against the former operators of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in Colorado.

Berger & Montague consists of over 60 attorneys who represent plaintiffs in complex litigation. The firm has played lead roles in major cases for almost 40 years resulting in recoveries of billions of dollars for its clients and the classes they represent. On the Web: www.bergermontague.com.