Jeffrey W. Golan

Partner | Philadelphia, PA

Biography

Jeffrey W. Golan, a partner in Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, has served as the Firm’s primary trial counsel in dozens of federal securities class actions, and also maintains an active practice in the prosecution of other types of shareholder actions and consumer class actions.  Prior to joining BR&B in 1990, Jeff served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Edwin D. Steel, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and thereafter joined a large firm in Philadelphia where he concentrated on commercial litigation, including the representation of plaintiffs and defendants in federal securities and antitrust cases.

Jeff has served as BR&B’s lead attorney in several important securities class actions, including serving as lead trial attorney in the WorldCom and Cendant securities class actions as well as the Firm’s lead attorney in several cases arising out of the 2008 financial crisis, including In re American International Group, Inc. 2008 Securities Litigation, which settled for $970.5 million.

In addition to his leadership of landmark class action securities cases on behalf of the Firm, Jeff has also served as the lead trial attorney in actions brought in the Delaware Court of Chancery and has headed up the Firm’s representation of lead plaintiffs in a number of derivative actions.  He also has served as the Firm’s lead attorney in cases challenging various proposed corporate transactions.

Jeff is active in his community.  He has previously served in numerous capacities for the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, including as Vice-Chair of the Board; on the staff of the Mayor’s Task Force for the Employment of Minorities in the Philadelphia Police Force; and as a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Pro Bono Task Force (report issued October 2017).  He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of his synagogue.

Notable Cases

  • In re WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litigation, Master File No. 02-Civ-3288 (DLC), before the Honorable Denise L. Cote in the Southern District of New York, which yielded a record-breaking recovery of $6.19 billion for the class.
  • In re Cendant Corp. Litigation, Master File No. 98-1664 (WHW), before the Honorable William H. Walls in the District of New Jersey, which resulted in settlements totaling $3.32 billion, the highest ever achieved in the U.S. Third Circuit, as well as extensive corporate governance reforms.
  • In re American International Group, Inc. 2008 Securities Litigation, Master File No. 08-CV-4772-LTS, before the Honorable Laura Taylor Swain in the Southern District of New York, which resulted in a settlement of $970.5 million, among the largest recoveries achieved in a securities fraud class action stemming from the 2008 financial crisis.
  • In re The Mills Corporation Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. 1:06-77, before the Honorable Liam O’Grady in the Eastern District of Virginia, which settled for $202.75 million.
  • Shenk v. Mallinckrodt plc., et al., Civil Action No. 17-cv-00145 (DLF), before the Honorable Dabney L. Friedrich in the District of Columbia, which settled for $65.75 million notwithstanding that the company initiated proceedings in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court after the lead plaintiff had defeated a motion to dismiss and while the parties were in the midst of document discovery.
  • In re Nationwide Financial Services Litigation, Civil Action No. 2:08-cv-00249, before the Honorable Michael H. Watson in the Southern District of Ohio.  The Nationwide case involved the buy-out of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. by its majority owner Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and certain affiliates in 2008, and resulted in a settlement with an aggregate benefit of $232.8 million to the members of the class.
  • In re The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Shareholder Litigation, C.A. No. 4526-VCS, before the Honorable Leo E. Strine, Jr., in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which involved the proposed buy-out of Pepsi Bottling Group by PepsiCo, Inc.  The case achieved a significantly higher acquisition price for PBG shareholders as a group, with $1.022 billion more in value to shareholders ($36.50 per PBG share), along with changes to certain deal terms and additional disclosures in the final proxy statement.

Current Cases

  • In re Grand Canyon Education, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 1:20-cv-00639-MN-CJB, before the Honorable Jennifer L. Hall in the District of Delaware.
  • Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System, et al. v. Energy Transfer LP, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00200-GAM, before the Honorable Gerald A. McHugh in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  • In re MSG Networks, Inc. Stockholder Class Action Litigation, C.A. No. 2021-0575-KSJM, before Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware ($48.5 million settlement pending).
  • In re Evenflo Company, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:20-md-02938-DJC, before the Honorable Denise J. Casper in the District of Massachusetts.
  • In re Lincoln Nat’l COI Litigation and In re Lincoln Nat’l 2017 COI Rate Increase Litigation, Case Nos. 16-cv-06605-GJP and 17-cv-04150-GJP, before the Honorable Gerald J. Pappert in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center
    Washington D.C. |  J.D., cum laude, 1980
  • Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
    Washington D.C. | M.S.F.S., 1980
  • Harvard University
    Cambridge, MA | B.A., cum laude, 1976

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1981
  • United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Publications

Presentations

  • National Institute for Trail Advocacy (NITA), Deposition Skills:  Delaware, February 23-25, 2018, Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, DE
  • PBI Seminar, The Art of the Deposition: A Two-Day “On-Your-Feet” Training Workshop,November 17-18, 2016, The CLE Conference Center, Wanamaker Building, Philadelphia, PA
  • Law Seminars International Workshop, Estimating Damages in Securities Litigation
May 7, 2007, The Yale Club of New York City, New York, NY (Speaker on “Challenges in Proving Damages from the Plaintiff’s Perspective”)
  • Corporate Governance Seminar, Georgetown Law School, October 17, 2006 (class of Professor Donald Langevoort)
  • Law Seminars International Workshop, Current Damages Issues in Securities Litigation, June 5, 2006, The Yale Club of New York City, New York, NY (Speaker on “Challenges in Proving Damages from the Plaintiff’s Perspective”)
  • Law Seminars International Workshop, Estimating Damages in Securities Litigation, June 6, 2005, Marriott Financial Center, New York, NY (Speaker on “Damages from the Plaintiff’s Perspective”)
  • ALI-ABA’s Twelfth Annual Corporate Governance Institute, December 1–2, 2005, Fordham University School of Law, New York, NY (Speaker on “Due Diligence After WorldCom: Is It Possible to Protect Directors?”)