Jan E. Messerschmidt, a partner in the Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice, represents institutional and individual shareholders in derivative lawsuits and securities class actions.
Prior to joining Cohen Milstein, Jan was an associate at a highly regarded national litigation boutique, where he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a range of issues involving antitrust, securities, cybersecurity, contract, personal tort, and malicious prosecution claims.
Before entering private practice, Jan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Beryl A. Howell, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He was also a law clerk to the Honorable Rosemary S. Pooler of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
While an undergraduate at New York University, Jan co-founded and was the editor of Journal of Politics & International Affairs. In law school, he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, received the Parker School Certificate for Achievement in International and Comparative Law, and had the distinction of participating in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (U.S. National Champions (2012, 2013)). He was also the head articles editor for Columbia Journal of Transnational Law and the note author of, “Hackback: Permitting Retaliatory Hacking by Non-State Actors as Proportionate Countermeasures to Transboundary Cyberharm,” 52 COLUM. J. TRANSNAT’L L. 275 (2013).
Prior to law school, Jan was a legislative policy analyst for the New York City Council, Policy Division.
- Co-Chair of the Retail Investor Protection Subcommittee, D.C. Bar
- District of Columbia
- New York
- Columbia Law School, J.D., 2014
- New York University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2007
Law Clerk, the Hon. Beryl A. Howell, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 2016 – 2017
Law Clerk, the Hon. Rosemary S. Pooler, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2015 – 2016
Current Cases
IBEW Local 98 Pension Fund v. Deloitte
IBEW Local 98 Pension Fund v. Deloitte (D.S.C.): Cohen Milstein is sole Lead Counsel in this putative securities class action against Deloitte for allegedly breaching its external auditor duties related to SCANA’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear energy expansion project in South Carolina - the largest fraud in South Carolina history.
In re Bed Bath & Beyond Corporation Securities Litigation
In re Bed Bath & Beyond Corporation Securities Litigation (D.D.C.): Cohen Milstein is Liaison Counsel in this securities class action against Ryan Cohen, RC Ventures LLC, and Bed Bath & Beyond, alleging that Cohen, an influential activist investor and purported leader of the “meme stock” movement, manipulated the market for Bed Bath & Beyond’s securities by orchestrating a massive “pump and dump” scheme, based on insider information.
In re Silvergate Capital Corporation Securities Litigation
In re Silvergate Capital Corporation Securities Litigation (S.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein, as Co-Lead Counsel, represents shareholders in this securities class action, alleging that Silvergate, a holding company for Silvergate Bank, a federally regulated depository and lender for major cryptocurrency platforms, including Coinbase, Genesis, and FTX, made materially false and misleading statements about the bank’s compliance framework, as well as its anti-money laundering and customer identification programs. Plaintiffs also assert claims against the underwriters and Silvergate’s directors and executives in connection with the sale of $1.3 billion of securities.
Texas and Indiana Pension Funds v. InnovAge Holding Corp. et al.
Texas and Indiana Pension Funds v. InnovAge Holding Corp. et al. (D. Colo.): Cohen Milstein is Class Counsel in this certified securities class action that alleges InnovAge "substantially failed" to “provide to its participants medically necessary items and services" as required by government regulation. As a result, CMS and the State of Colorado suspended enrollment at InnovAge’s Colorado facilities. InnovAge's stock price declined 78% just nine months after its IPO, giving InnovAge the distinction of being one of 2021's five worst performing stocks.
Past Cases
In re GreenSky Securities Litigation
In re GreenSky Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Cohen Milstein was Co-Lead Counsel in this securities class action involving fintech company GreenSky’s failure to disclose in its Initial Public Offering documents significant facts about the Company’s decision to pivot away from its most profitable line of business. This failure led to its stock plummeting and causing significant investor harm. In October 2021, the Court granted final approval of a $27.5 million settlement.
Lewis Cosby, et al. v. KPMG, LLP
Lewis Cosby et al. v. KPMG, LLP (E.D. Tenn.): As Co-Lead Counsel, Cohen Milstein settled for $35 million investors’ claims that KPMG perpetuated a massive fraud by signing off on Miller Energy’s $480 million valuation of Alaskan oil reserve assets that were largely worthless. The alleged fraud, plaintiffs claim, caused millions of dollars in investor damages and led to Miller Energy’s bankruptcy. In July 2022, the Court granted final approval of the settlement.
Pluralsight, Inc. Securities Litigation
Pluralsight, Inc. Securities Litigation (D. Utah): Cohen Milstein is sole Lead Counsel in this securities class action, alleging that Pluralsight, a provider of cloud-based and video training courses, and its senior officers misrepresented and omitted material information from investors concerning the company’s sales force before a $37 million stock cash-out by Pluralsight insiders and in an over $450 million secondary public offering orchestrated by those insiders. On February 4, 2025, the court granted final approval of a $20 million settlement.
- The National Law Journal, Rising Star of the Plaintiffs Bar (2022)
April 29, 2025
Deloitte, SCANA Investor Class Settle Suit Over Failed Project
Deloitte and a certified class of SCANA Corp. investors told a South Carolina federal judge Tuesday they've settled claims accusing the accounting firm of issuing audit reports that misled investors about the progress the utility company was making on a $9 billion nuclear energy expansion project that never came to fruition.
In the News | Law360
April 25, 2025
Silvergate Settles Securities Class Action For $37.5M In Ch. 11
The parent company of Silvergate Bank has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve a new deal to settle a securities class action for $37.5 million and resolve a slew of indemnification issues in its Chapter 11, a resolution that the debtor said would save it potentially millions of dollars in legal fees.
In the News | Law360
April 29, 2025
Jan Messerschmidt Speaks to Aspiring D.C. Attorneys on Careers in Securities Law
Jan Messerschmidt, a partner in our Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice, has been invited by the D.C. Bar Association to speak at its program, Breaking Into Corporate, Finance & Securities Law: Career Insights for Aspiring Attorneys. This Zoom webinar will be hosted on April 29, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. EST. Geared toward law students […]
Events | D.C. Bar Association
February 5, 2025
Pluralsight Reaches $20 Million Settlement with Public School Retirement Funds
Pluralsight will pay $20 million to a group of early investors to settle claims the Utah tech giant misrepresented its success to investors in its early days as a public company. The settlement ends a nearly five-year and “very hard-fought” legal battle between Pluralsight, one of Silicon Slopes’ flagship tech companies, and a group of investors responsible for public employees’ retirement funds in the Midwest, said plaintiff’s lead attorney Carol Gilden at the final settlement hearing Tuesday morning.
In the News | The Salt Lake Tribune
January 9, 2025
Colo. Judge Certifies National Class Of Senior Care Investors
A Colorado federal judge certified a nationwide class of stockholders in a securities suit against Innovage for misleading statements in an IPO that later caused stock prices to tank.
In the News | Law360
January 6, 2025
Cohen Milstein Elects Four New Partners
We are pleased to announce that Jan E. Messerschmidt, Poorad Razavi, Harini Srinivasan, and Daniel R. Sutter have been elected to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2025.
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
November 13, 2024
Deloitte Stuck With Investor Class Over Nuke Plant Audit Reports
Deloitte & Touche LLP failed to convince a federal court to deny certification of a class of investors suing over its audit reports on the ultimately abandoned $9 billion Scana Corp. nuclear reactor project.
In the News | Bloomberg Law
November 12, 2024
Deloitte Must Face Certified Class Over Nuclear Audit Reports
A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday certified a class of SCANA Corp. investors accusing Deloitte of issuing audit reports that misled them about the progress the utility company was making on a $9 billion nuclear energy expansion project that failed.
In the News | Law360
January 19, 2024
JP Morgan, Others Must Face Sr. Care Investors’ Claims
Claims that a group of securities underwriters were negligent in a senior health care company’s initial public offering have been kept alive by a Colorado federal judge. Separate claims that J.P. Morgan Securities lied and misled investors also survived a motion to dismiss Thursday, but U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez tossed similar claims against […]
In the News | Law360
August 5, 2024
Pluralsight’s $20M Settlement With Investors Gets Initial OK
A Utah federal judge has given his preliminary blessing to Pluralsight Inc.’s proposed $20 million settlement with a certified class of investors accusing the cloud-based and video training courses provider of securities fraud, according to an order issued Friday. U.S. District Judge David Barlow granted preliminary approval of the deal, which would put to rest […]
In the News | Law360
May 2, 2024
Pluralsight Litigation Ends in Significant Settlement and Good Precedent in the Tenth Circuit
After four years of hard-fought litigation, lead plaintiffs in a certified class action against Pluralsight, Inc. and two of its executives have filed for preliminary approval of a $20 million settlement. Cohen Milstein serves as court-appointed lead counsel in the case, representing lead plaintiffs Indiana Public Retirement System and Public School Teachers’ Pension and Retirement […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate Spring 2024
May 2, 2024
Spring 2024 Shareholder Advocate is Now Available
The Spring 2024 issue of the Shareholder Advocate, our quarterly securities litigation and investor protection newsletter, features: Read the Spring 2024 issue of the Shareholder Advocate.
In the News | Cohen Milstein
April 1, 2024
Jan Messerschmidt to Moderate a Fireside Chat with PCAOB Investor Advocate Saba Qamar
Jan Messerschmidt, in our Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice and vice chair of DC Bar’s Retail Investor Protection Subcommittee, will moderate a DC Bar fireside chat with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) investor advocate Saba Qamar on April 1, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Sabahat Qamar was appointed to be the PCAOB’s first […]
Events | DC Bar
April 29, 2024
Jan Messerschmidt to Moderate Panel on Economics and Securities Laws
Jan Messerschmidt, an associate in our Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice and vice chair of DC Bar’s Retail Investor Protection Subcommittee, will moderate a DC Bar panel on Economics and Securities Law on April 29 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Economics and economists play a uniquely important role in securities litigation, enforcement, and regulation. From […]
Events | DC Bar
October 25, 2023
Can You Commit Securities Fraud by Tweeting an Emoji?
By Jan E. Messerschmidt Can you commit securities fraud by tweeting an emoji? One court confirmed that you can in an important recent decision from the District Court for the District of Columbia. In Bed Bath & Beyond Corporation Securities Litigation,1 Judge Trevor McFadden held that the plaintiffs had adequately alleged multiple securities fraud, insider […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate Fall 2023
October 25, 2023
Shareholder Advocate Fall 2023
The Fall 2023 issue of the Shareholder Advocate includes: Download the Fall 2023 issue (PDF).
Resources | Cohen Milstein
August 7, 2023
Deloitte Must Face Investor Suit Over Failed Nuclear Project
Deloitte can’t escape a lawsuit accusing it of failing to warn investors in a South Carolina utility company about the faltering state of a $9 billion nuclear energy project, with a federal judge on Monday declining to dismiss the lawsuit over arguments that the lead plaintiff’s board of trustees didn’t sign off on the suit. […]
In the News | Law360
March 1, 2023
2 Firms Tapped To Rep Investors In Silvergate Laundering Suit
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC were appointed class counsel in a proposed class action against Silvergate Capital Corp. that accuses the cryptocurrency-focused firm of failing to alert investors it lacked the necessary protections to detect ongoing money laundering on the platform. U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo […]
In the News | Law360
July 27, 2022
Pension Funds Bolster Complaint in InnovAge Fraud Lawsuit
By Jan E. Messerschmidt Last month, a group of three Cohen Milstein clients—the El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund, the San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund, and the Indiana Public Retirement System—filed an amended complaint as co-lead plaintiffs in a securities lawsuit against InnovAge and its officers and directors. InnovAge was among the […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate, Summer 2022
July 14, 2022
KPMG’s $35 Million Deal to End Miller Energy Suit Gets Final Nod
Class action closed, except for attorneys’ fee allocation Class co-lead counsel ordered to mediation KPMG LLP’s $35 million settlement to resolve a 2016 securities lawsuit claiming its audit failures allowed Miller Energy Resources to misrepresent the value of key Alaskan oil and gas assets won a federal court’s final approval.
In the News | Bloomberg Law
June 22, 2022
InnovAge Accused of Defrauding Investors, Failing Ailing Seniors in Reckless Pursuit of Profit
National Healthcare Company’s Alleged Prioritization of Enrollment-Fueled Profits Over Care Caught in Regulators’ Snares, Resulting in Top Five Worst-Performing IPOs of 2021 DENVER–InnovAge (NASDAQ: INNV), a national healthcare company providing medical care to ailing seniors, allegedly violated federal securities laws when it went public in March of 2021, as detailed by a shareholders lawsuit filed […]
Press Releases | Cohen Milstein
April 21, 2022
Cohen Milstein Seeks Final Approval of Securities Fraud Settlement with Auditor Defendant KPMG
By Jan E. Messerschmidt A federal judge last month granted preliminary approval to a settlement in which KPMG LLP, the global auditing firm, agreed to pay $35 million to shareholders of the now-defunct Miller Energy Resources, Inc. The substantial settlement, which culminated six years of litigation, is a significant victory for the class of investors, […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate, Spring 2022
May 25, 2021
GreenSky Investors Reach $27.5 Million Settlement, Seek Court OK
GreenSky Inc. investors who accuse the fintech firm of misleading them about its 2018 initial public offering asked a federal judge in New York to grant preliminary approval to their $27.5 million settlement. The deal represents almost 14% of the investors’ “estimated recoverable damages, discounted for certain potential defenses,” the class said in a memo […]
In the News | Bloomberg Law
April 27, 2021
For Plaintiffs Alleging Long-Running Securities Frauds, Recent Statute of Repose Rulings Highlight Obstacles, Potential Paths Forward
Securities fraud claims brought under Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act are subject to two separate timeliness provisions: a two-year statute of limitations and a five-year statute of repose. These two provisions begin running on different dates. For the two-year limitations period, the clock starts running when the plaintiff discovers the “facts constituting the violation.” […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate Spring 2021
January 28, 2021
Investors Score Important Ruling Against Auditor Defendant Deloitte
Shareholders suing global Big Four auditing firm Deloitte & Touche, LLP cleared an important hurdle on November 17, 2020, when the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina denied Deloitte’s motion to dismiss the Class’ complaint in its entirety. This ruling is a significant victory for investors. Plaintiffs face a very high bar […]
Articles | Shareholder Advocate Winter 2021
July 22, 2020
Deloitte Wants Investor’s Nuclear Energy Project Suit Tossed
Deloitte told a South Carolina federal court that it shouldn’t have to face a thinly substantiated shareholder suit accusing the firm of issuing audit reports that misled investors about the progress SCANA Corp. was making on a nuclear energy expansion project that failed. Deloitte said that despite the length of the more than 200-page complaint, […]
In the News | Law360