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Patrick L. Rocco

Patrick L. Rocco Profile Image

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Pat is a trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor, who frequently represents corporations, pension funds, private equity firms, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals in state and federal courts, and before arbitral bodies in cases involving securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contract disputes, federal anti-terrorism statutes, and a wide variety of business torts. Pat has secured recoveries totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for his plaintiff clients and has successfully defended numerous defendants against claims in such cases. In recognition of his professional achievements, Pat has consistently been named to the New York Super Lawyers list.

Pat has served as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in numerous large, complex securities, and consumer protection class actions, and private enforcement cases. He served as co-lead counsel in,In re Lernout & Hauspie Securities Litigation, helping to recover $180 million for investors, including a $115 million recovery from KPMG. At the time, that was the third-largest settlement with an auditing firm in a U.S. securities fraud class action. Pat also led the litigation that recovered $85 million on behalf of New Jersey public pension funds that opted out of class action litigation to pursue their own private suit for civil RICO and securities fraud violations against Tyco International Ltd. and its former officers and auditors. Those settlements reflect a recovery of more than 50 times what Pat’s clients would have received had they chosen to participate in the related class action settlement.

Pat is also counsel for the United States Marines killed and injured in the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and the family members of those Marines. Pat played a key role in litigation that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court and produced a $1.75 billion recovery from Bank Markazi, the Central Bank of Iran. The plaintiffs in the Bank Markazi matter are the first victims of terrorist attacks who have succeeded in recovering assets held in the name of the central bank of a state sponsor of terrorism.

Pat began his career with a federal clerkship for the Hon. Dickinson R. Debevoise. Pat then spent five years as an associate with Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York, where he focused primarily on federal securities law and complex commercial litigation. From 1995 to 2001, Pat served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, prosecuting and/or trying numerous cases involving securities, bank, mail, insurance, and tax fraud. Pat’s outstanding achievements at the U.S. Attorney’s office resulted in several awards and honors, including the U.S. Attorney’s Special Achievement Award for the successful prosecution of an international drug distribution and kidnapping conspiracy, a Letter of Commendation from the Director of the FBI for the successful trial and fraud conviction of a high-ranking official of the company that ran the New York and New Jersey state lotteries, and the U.S. Inspector General’s Integrity Award for his outstanding achievements in the successful prosecution of healthcare fraud. Pat was also nominated to be an instructor at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Trial Advocacy Institute. In 2001 and 2002, Pat was associated with the law firm of Milberg Weiss, where he played a leading role in prosecuting various securities class action lawsuits, including In re Lucent Technologies Securities Litigation, which culminated in a settlement of more than $600 million.

Recent commercial litigation and arbitration matters in which Pat has served as primary counsel include:

  • Obtaining a $3.25 million verdict for Claimant after a two-week FINRA trial in Florida;
  • Obtaining a $20 million arbitration award on behalf of a government contractor for the breach of an earnout provision of a stock purchase agreement involving the sale of the company;
  • Obtaining a $21 million verdict on behalf of a private equity fund client in a two-week AAA arbitration trial in California involving claims of theft of services and unfair competition;
  • Successfully defending a technology company from alleged anti-trust violations involving efforts to monopolize the market for the installation of telecommunications equipment and wiring in New York City; and
  • Recovering millions of dollars for a company that sold a promising product to a large, public corporation that allegedly failed to fulfill post-sale obligations to develop the seller’s product for commercial purposes.