JOSEPH J. DEPALMA is one of the founding two members of the Firm and serves as LDG's Managing Member. He devotes his practice to representing parties in class actions and other complex commercial and consumer litigations. In the class action field, Mr. DePalmas work is concentrated in plaintiff representation. These complex class matters involve a multitude of diverse industries, in the legal areas of securities, ERISA, antitrust, product liability and consumer fraud. In many of these cases, Mr. DePalma obtained landmark settlements, including two in the top 50 national securities class settlements to date and one against a Big Four accounting firm, which represented one of the top five accounting settlements ever.

Mr. DePalma has a demonstrated track record of success for an impressive roster of clients. His most prominent career victories have been in advising and pursuing class actions as co-lead counsel on behalf of the State of New Jersey and its Division of Investment, the state pension fund with over $81.3 billion in asset value. Mr. DePalma has served the State of New Jersey as advisory counsel in a variety of capacities, and in connection with three of the most major securities fraud lawsuits in the nation in the past decade, including: Reginald Newton v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., (Tenet Healthcare Securities Litigation)(C.D. Cal.) (achieving settlements of $216.5 million and $65 million against two groups of defendants) and In re Motorola Securities Litigation (N.D. Ill.) ($193 million settlement). Mr. DePalma is currently representing the State of New Jersey in the matter State of New Jersey and its Division of Investment v. Sprint Corporation, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

In addition to these matters, Mr. DePalma has also litigated other complex class actions and obtained excellent results. In early 2010, Mr. DePalma serving as lead counsel in the ongoing national securities class action In re Atlas Mining Securities Litigation (D. Idaho), obtained a hard-fought settlement representing a shareholder recovery of up to 30%. Mr. DePalma also played a significant role in In re Bristol-Myers Squibb Securities Litigation (D.N.J.), which was settled in 2006 for $185 million. A small sampling of Mr. DePalma's other notable class action settlements of the past decade in New Jersey includes: In re Merck & Co. ERISA Litigation ($49.5 million ERISA settlement); Bauer v. Prudential Financial ($16.5 million securities fraud settlement); Galanti v. Goodyear ($300 million product liability settlement); In re Aremissoft Corp. Securities Litigation (over $250 million recovered to date; case is ongoing), and;In re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport Litigation ($90 million ERISA settlement, one of the largest settlements ever under ERISA).

Some of Mr. DePalma's recent court approved class action and mass action settlements, all approved in 2010, involved product liability, takeover and ERISA matters. In a complex MDL mass action proceeding involving the illegal harvesting of body parts and the untested surgical implanting of those parts, Mr. DePalma, along with a team of nationally recognized colleagues, achieved a global settlement in a case captioned In re Human Tissue Product Liability Litigation, (D.N.J.).  Mr. DePalma achieved a settlement on behalf of shareholders in tender offer litigation, captioned In re Alpharma Shareholder Litigation, (N.J. Superior Ct.).   In a complex ERISA matter involving two appeals to the Third Circuit, Mr. DePalma obtained a settlement of $8.5 million on behalf of a class of participants in a retirement plan alleging breaches of fiduciary duties.  In re Schering-Plough Corporation ERISA Litigation, (D.N.J.).

Mr. DePalma appears frequently in federal court throughout the country, but primarily in the District of New Jersey, where he has appeared in court on numerous times to argue complex substantive and procedural issues.

In addition to his class action practice, Mr. DePalma also handles shareholder derivative litigation and commercial litigation. As a lawyer in these areas, Mr. DePalma has developed a comprehensive understanding of the needs of business and the role of corporate governance. Mr. DePalma holds a joint J.D./MBA degree with honors from Seton Hall University. Mr. DePalma has lectured on Complex Commercial Litigation for N.J. CLE.

Mr. DePalma also sits as an independent board member of a publicly traded company.

Mr. DePalma prides himself on developing lasting and collaborative relationships. In the judiciary, among his peers and with his clients, Mr. DePalmas reputation is of professionalism, integrity and responsiveness. In 1992-1996, Mr. DePalma served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court's District Ethics Committee.

Mr. DePalma has been named to the "New Jersey Super Lawyers" list in class action practice by New Jersey Monthly magazine every year since 2007. He also holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Selected Reported Opinions

In re Aremissoft Corp. Securities Litigation, 210 F.R.D. 109 (D.N.J. 2002).

In re Atlas Mining Company Securities Litigation, No. CV 07-428-N-EJL-MHW, 2008 WL 821756 (D. Idaho March 25, 2008).

In re Lucent Technologies Securities Litigation, No. 00-CV-621 (JAP), 2003 WL 25488395 (D.N.J. Dec. 15, 2003).

In re Lucent Technologies Securities Litigation, 217 F. Supp. 2d 529 (D.N.J. 2002).

In re Motorola Securities Litigation, No. 03 C 287, 2004 WL 2032769 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 9, 2004).

New Jersey v. Sprint Corp., No. 03-2071-JWL, 2010 WL 610671 (Feb. 19, 2010).
2008 WL 191780 (D. Kan. Jan. 23, 2008)
2004 WL 1960130 (D. Kan. Sept. 3, 2004)
314 F. Supp. 2d 1119 (D. Kan. 2004)

In re Par Pharmaceutical Securities Litigation, No. 06-cv-3226 (PGS), 2009 WL 3234273 (D.N.J. Sept. 30, 2009).

In re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport Litigation,
404 F. Supp. 2d 605 (D.N.J. 2005).
380 F. Supp.2d 509 (D.N.J. 2005).

In re Schering Plough Corporation ERISA Litigation, 589 F.3d 585 (3d Cir. 2009).

Semerenko v. Cendant Corp., 223 F.3d 165 (3d Cir. 2000).

Steiner v. MedQuist, Civil Action No. 04-CV-05487-JBS, 2006 WL 2827740 (D.N.J. Sept. 29, 2006).

In re Tenet Healthcare Corp. Securities Litigation, No. CV 02-8462-RSWL (RZx), 2007 WL 5673884 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 5, 2007).

Zhu v. Schering Plough Corporation, No. 03-1204(KSH), 2008 WL 4510039 (D.N.J. Sep. 30, 2008).