Richard D. Bernstein Partner MAIN OFFICE: Washington Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 1875 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006-1238, U.S.A. T 202-303-1108 F 202-303-2108

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Richard D. Bernstein is a partner in the Litigation Department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Washington, D.C.   Mr.  Bernstein specializes in complex financial litigation, including securities litigation.  He also has experience litigating constitutional law, contract, business tort, and professional liability matters. 

In 1998, Washingtonian Magazine named Mr. Bernstein one of the top 40 lawyers under 40 in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Bernstein is the author of “Good Lawyering and Securities Cases” in Best Practices for Securities Litigation (Aspatore 2007) and “Lower Courts’ Handling of Tellabs Inference of Scienter,” N.Y.L.J., Dec. 11, 2007.

Prior to joining Willkie, Mr. Bernstein was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, where he was the Co-Global Coordinator of the Complex Commercial Litigation practice.  He also previously served as law clerk for Judge Amalya Kearse of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and for United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Securities Cases

• Borsellino v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 477 F.3d 502 (7th Cir. 2007):  Successful representation (lead counsel) of Goldman Sachs in RICO and fraud case arising out of private equity investment.  The decision holds that a private equity investor cannot be sued on the implausible allegation that it knew about the company’s fraud before it decided to invest.  It also dismissed a claim for document destruction because the inference that the documents implicated the investor was “not a reasonable one.”
  
  
• Stoneridge Inv. Partners, LLC v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., 2008 WL, 23801 (U.S. Jan. 15, 2008):  Successfully represented United States Chambers of Commerce in case rejecting “scheme liability.”
  
  
• Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336 (2005):  Successfully represented the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association in loss causation case.
  
  
• Merrill Lynch v. Dabit, 126 S. Ct. 1503 (2006):  Successfully represented the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association in SLUSA preemption case.
  
  
• Robbins v. Kroger Properties, Inc., 116 F.3d 1441 (11th Cir. 1997).  Represented Deloitte on the successful appeal of an $81 million securities class action judgment.
  
  
• Arnlund v. Deloitte & Touche LLP, 199 F. Supp. 2d 461 (E.D. Va. 2002):   Served as co-lead counsel to Deloitte, winning a partial Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal and a favorable settlement for the rest of the claims.

Other Significant Trial Level Cases

• The Glendale Litigation (Ct. Fed. Cl.):  Co-lead trial counsel for California savings and loan Glendale Federal Bank in a 20,000-page damages trial that resulted in a $381 million judgment.
  
  
• Executive Life Litigation (C.D. Cal.):  Lead counsel for Aurora National Life Assurance Company in multi-party litigation settled on a successful basis.
  
  
• PNC Litigation:  Lead counsel for PNC in the successful defense of a derivative lawsuit and a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission challenging PNC’s home mortgage loan to President and Senator Clinton.
  
  
• Deloitte & Touche litigation:  Defended Deloitte against a $200 million lawsuit filed in Denver by the RTC as receiver for Otero Savings.
  
  
• The Silverado Litigation:  Represented Denver law firm Sherman & Howard against a $200 million lawsuit by the FDIC as receiver for the failed Silverado Savings & Loan. 

Other Significant Appellate Cases

• Glendale Federal Bank v. United States, 378 F.3d 1308 (Fed. Cir. 2004):   Successfully argued appeal obtaining unanimous affirmation in $381 million judgment for Glendale.
  
  
• eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, Inc., 126 S. Ct. 1837 (2006):  Principal brief writer, resulting in  the Court’s overturning of two decades of Federal Circuit precedent.
  
  
• Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc. v. United States, 530 U.S. 604 (2000):  Principal brief writer, resulting in the Court finding that generally the same common law rules that apply to private contracts also apply to government contracts.  On remand, the Federal Circuit awarded Mobil and Marathon the full $156 million they sought.  Marathon Oil Co. v. United States, 236 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2001).
  
  
• United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839 (1996):  Principal brief writer, obtaining  ruling that the government was liable for breaching contracts even when it was directed by Congress to breach. 
  
  
• Carmell v. Texas, 529 U.S. 513 (2000):  Mr. Bernstein was appointed by the Supreme Court to argue for an indigent criminal defendant.  By a 5-4 vote, the Court reversed all of the defendant’s convictions at issue based on a violation of the Ex Post Facto clause.