Mark Lebovitch is primarily responsible for the firm's corporate governance litigation practice, focusing on derivative suits and transactional litigation.
Most recently, in the In re El Paso Corp. Shareholder Litigation, he was lead counsel in representing a group of public pension funds challenging a conflict-ridden transaction, achieving a landmark ruling by the Delaware Chancery Court that is expected to materially improve investment banker practices. In In re Delphi Financial Group Shareholder Litigation, Mr. Lebovitch was co-lead counsel in challenging the founder and controlling shareholder's unlawful demand for an additional $55 million in connection with the sale of the company, resulting in the recovery of $49 million. He served as lead counsel in the Pfizer Derivative Litigation, which resulted in a $75 million payment and creation of a new Healthcare Law Regulatory Committee, which sets an improved standard for regulatory compliance oversight by a public company board of directors.
Mr. Lebovitch was co-lead counsel in a challenge to Xerox's acquisition of ACS, which settled on the eve of trial for a $69 million cash payment to ACS shareholders. In In re Amylin Shareholders Litigation, he prosecuted a case of first impression challenge to the legal validity of "Proxy Puts" - contractual provisions that are common in corporate debt agreements and that allegedly undermine shareholders' voting rights. In addition, he prosecuted self-interested actions by the CEO of Landry's Restaurants, Inc., resulting in a settlement requiring a nearly 60% increase in a proposed takeover price, as well as a $14.5 million cash fund for Landry's shareholders who sold their shares when the CEO's alleged misconduct became public. Mr. Lebovitch also served as co-lead trial attorney in the landmark case challenging the Airgas board's use of a poison pill.
Previously, Mr. Lebovitch represented public pension systems seeking to vindicate shareholder voting rights allegedly infringed by Yahoo!, Inc.'s employee severance plan and by unique standstill provisions used in the private equity buyout of Ceridian Corporation. He obtained up to $57 million for shareholders of Dollar General Stores, and has helped obtain higher prices and meaningful corporate governance improvements in suits arising from, among other things, the hostile takeover battles over Caremark Rx, Inc., CBOT Holdings, Inc., Longs Drug Stores, Inc., and Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
Mr. Lebovitch also prosecutes securities litigations, and in that capacity was the lead litigation attorney in In re Merrill Lynch Bondholders Litigation, which settled for $150 million, and is currently a member of the team prosecuting In re Bank of America Securities Litigation.
In recognition for his many achievements, Mr. Lebovitch was named one of Lawdragon's 2011 "500 Leading Lawyers in America." Mr. Lebovitch is a co-chair of the ABA Business Law Committee's Subcommittee on Delaware Law, and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Institute for Law and Economics. He is an author and a frequent speaker and commentator at industry events and continuing legal education programs on a wide range of corporate governance and securities related issues. He has taught at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto and at Harvard Law School on corporate governance issues. His prior publications include "Making Order Out of Chaos: A Proposal To Improve Organization and Coordination in Multi-Jurisdictional Merger-Related Litigation;" "'Novel Issues' or a Return to Core Principles? Analyzing the Common Link Between the Delaware Chancery Court's Recent Rulings in Option Backdating and Transactional Cases" (NYU Journal of Law & Business, Volume 4, Number 2); "Calling a Duck a Duck: Determining the Validity of Deal Protection Provisions in Merger of Equals Transactions" (2001 Columbia Business Law Review 1) and "Practical Refinement" (The Daily Deal, January 2002), each of which discussed evolving developments in the law of directors' fiduciary duties.
Mr. Lebovitch clerked for Vice Chancellor Stephen P. Lamb on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, and was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, where he represented clients in a variety of corporate governance, commercial and federal securities matters.