August 5, 2022
Benchmark Litigation’s 2022 “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list, recognizing the most distinguished women in litigation in the United States and Canada, is the result of months of investigation into individual litigators’ professional activities as well as client feedback surveys and one-on-one interviews. This year’s list includes Julie G. Reiser, co-chair of Cohen Milstein’s Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice.
Ms. Reiser, a nationally renowned litigator in novel, high-stakes securities and shareholder derivative litigation, represents pension plans and institutional investors.
In addition to the Benchmark’s Top 250 Women in Litigation recognition, Ms. Reiser has been recognized as a Law360 “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar” and one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Securities Law.” The National Law Journal also named her among the “Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar” and, since 2018, Lawdragon she has named her one of the leading 500 lawyers in America.
Since 2018, Ms. Reiser has pioneered the use of shareholder derivative lawsuits to hold corporate boards accountable in the wake of #MeToo scandals. These four lawsuits settled in 2020 – 2022 and have generated more than $490 million in settlements, consisting of cash components and commitments to revamp corporate governance policies that allowed for pervasive workplace inequities and misconduct to fester, as well as investments in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Notably, Ms. Reiser obtained the first ever derivative demand futility decision in the United States in DiNapoli. v. Wynn, et al. (Clark Cnty. Crt., NV).
On October 2, 2020, Ms. Reiser was recognized by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week,” for the historic $310 million settlement In re Alphabet Shareholder Derivative Litigation (Sup. Crt. Cal., Santa Clara Cnty.), a shareholder derivative action, which established a framework for stockholders to hold boards of directors accountable for long-standing patterns of corporate mismanagement of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims at their companies.