Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins led the list of the top 50 plaintiffs law firms for class-action securities litigation settlements in 2006, according to Securities Class Action Services, a unit of Institutional Shareholder Services. The firm attained 41%, or $7.3 billion, of the $18.3 billion in total settlements that received final approval last year.
The $6.6 billion Enron Corp. settlement, the largest securities class-action settlement ever reached, was among the 30 settlements approved in 2006 in which Lerach Coughlin was lead or co-lead counsel, Adam T. Savett, SCAS vice president, said in an interview.
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman ranked second, achieving a total $2.6 billion in nine settlements last year, according to the SCAS data.
SCAS gives full credit for the settlement to both lead and co-lead counsels in the rankings.
In 2005, final settlements totaled $91 billion, including the $6.1 billion WorldCom Inc. settlement, the second-largest settlement ever.