Lawyers

Matthew Schwartz is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation Group. He joined the Firm in 2007 after clerking for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was elected partner in 2011.

Matt’s wide-ranging practice comprises complex litigation, arbitration, and government investigations in the areas of securities law, financial advisor M&A, derivative suits, antitrust, bank regulation, contracts, and general commercial litigation. He has represented some of the world’s leading corporations, financial institutions, and industry organizations, including Barclays, Cablevision, Emigrant Bank, Giants Stadium, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Kinross Gold, Kohl’s, MSG, M+T Bank, Popular, Revlon, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, UBS, and Volkswagen. Mr. Schwartz provides regular advice on legislation and regulations in the banking, FinTech, and payments fields.

Matt also regularly speaks and writes on legal ethics issues.
 

• “Ethical Issues in Complex Securities Litigation,” Practicing Law Institute’s “Securities Litigation 2023: From Investigation to Trial” (March 2023)
• ​“Ethical Issues in Complex Securities Litigation,” Practicing Law Institute’s “Securities Litigation 2022: From Investigation to Trial” (March 2022)
•  “Commencement of a Civil Action,” Practicing Law Institute’s “Securities Litigation 2020: From Investigation to Trial” (August 2020)
• “Ethical Issues for In-House Counsel,” New York City Bar Association Program (November 2019)
• “Defeating Event-Driven Securities Class Actions,” Strafford Webinar (July 2019)
• “Recent Developments in Securities Class Actions,” New York City Bar Association’s “7th Annual Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute” (January 2019)

SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS

Class Action and Derivative Litigation

• ​Represented Revlon, Inc. and certain current and former executives in obtaining dismissal of a putative securities class action in the Eastern District of New York regarding Internal Controls over Financial Reporting and implementation of SAP, an enterprise resource planning program.
• ​Represented Barclays in a class action litigation concerning Barclays’ dark pool. Obtained dismissal of separate putative class actions in New York and California federal court brought by Barclays’ dark pool customers.
• Represented Kohl’s corporation and current executives in obtaining full dismissal of a putative securities class action brought in the Eastern District of Wisconsin concerning Kohl’s restatement of its financials. Decision was upheld on appeal.
• Represented Goldman Sachs in obtaining full dismissal of aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty claims in an M&A litigation. Decision was upheld on appeal.
• Represents Riverstone Holdings and Pattern Development in an M&A lawsuit. Obtained dismissal of a securities class action in the District of Delaware.
• Represented Banco Popular and Popular Securities in obtaining full dismissal of a putative class action brought in the Southern District of New York concerning Puerto Rican mutual funds.
• Represents M&T Bank and its directors in a shareholder derivative action concerning M&T’s acquisition of Hudson City Bank. Obtained dismissal of all claims.
• Represented members of Cablevision’s compensation committee in successfully obtaining dismissal of a derivative action in the Chancery Court of Delaware concerning Cablevision’s executive compensation practices. The decision was the first to rule that the business judgment rule applies to an independent committee’s decision concerning executive compensation for a controlling stockholder.
• Represented UBS and former officers and directors in obtaining the dismissal of putative securities class action brought in the Southern District of New York concerning allegations about UBS’s mortgage-related and auction rate securities losses and its DOJ and SEC settlements relating to UBS’s U.S. cross-border tax issues. Plaintiffs sought damages amounting to almost all of UBS’s market capitalization decline—nearly $115 billion—during the financial crisis. Previously, Mr. Schwartz obtained the dismissal of all claims brought by all UBS shareholders who purchased shares on foreign exchanges, eliminating more than 85% of the theoretical damages. These decisions were upheld on appeal, in a decision establishing that the protections of NAB v. Morrison apply to stock that is listed on a U.S. exchange but is purchased abroad.
• Represented UBS and several current and former officers and employees in obtaining the dismissal of a putative ERISA “stock drop” class action brought in the Southern District of New York. This decision was upheld on appeal.
• Represented Cablevision and current and former executive officers in obtaining the dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action brought in the Eastern District of New York concerning statements about the causes of Cablevision’s decline in net video subscribers in certain quarters.
• Represented M&T Bank and various individuals in a putative class action in the Western District of New York alleging violations of ERISA through purportedly underperforming 401(k) investment options.
• Represented Kinross Gold Corporation and former executives in a putative securities class action brought in the Southern District of New York concerning the development of a gold mine in Mauritania.
• ​Represents MSG Entertainment in various M&A lawsuits.
• Represented Goldman Sachs in securities class actions brought in the Southern District of New York arising from the tech bubble.
• Represented Penn West Petroleum (now Obsidian Energy) in a putative securities class action brought in the Southern District of New York concerning Penn West’s restatement of its financials. Also represents Penn West in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the restatement.

Complex Litigation and Arbitration

• Represents Emigrant Bank in a mortgage lending case.
• ​Represents Volkswagen and affiliated entities in anti-tampering lawsuits brought by numerous state attorneys general and counties. Obtained full or partial dismissal of claims in numerous cases.
• Represented a Queens real estate project in obtaining dismissal of claims in the Eastern District of New York concerning an EB-5 partnership.
• Represented UBS in obtaining dismissal of a $500 million breach of contract claim in New York Supreme Court.
• Represented Goldman Sachs in numerous court cases and FINRA arbitrations concerning auction rates securities.  Mr. Schwartz also obtained injunctions against numerous FINRA arbitrations, including victories in the 2nd and 9th Circuits, and dismissal of all claims in the Eastern District of Michigan and Southern District of New York.
• Represented Barclays in litigation concerning the termination of total return swaps.
• Represented Giants Stadium in its claims in the Lehman bankruptcy concerning swaps used to hedge the risk of financing the new stadium.
• Represented various plaintiffs in a New York Supreme Court action to recover fees improperly taken by the plaintiffs’ principals in relation to numerous commercial real estate buildings across the United States.
• Secured dismissals of lawsuits in New York and Florida brought against UBS by purchasers of CDOs.
• Represents financial advisors in various M&A litigations.
• Represented the New York Bankers Association successfully in persuading the Southern District of New York to strike down the “New York City Responsible Banking Act” under the U.S. and New York State constitutions. The RBA had sought to impose city regulation over banks in contravention of the exclusive regulatory power of the federal and state governments.
• Represents The Bank Policy Institute in filing numerous amici briefs on cases important to the financial industry, with a specialty in federal preemption of state and local laws.

Governmental and Regulatory Investigations and Other Advisory Work

• Represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a lawsuit challenging the SEC 2022 Proxy Advisor Rule.
• ​Advises clients on Madden/Midland and True Lender issues.
• Provides ongoing regulatory advice to The Clearing House Association LLC and The Bank Policy Institute on domestic regulatory and litigation issues.
• Represented a financial institution in investigations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
• Advised UBS on regulatory inquiries and investigations brought by the SEC in connection with the financial crisis.
• Successfully represented a company in regards to a confidential SEC investigation, obtaining a no-action letter.
• ​Advises numerous financial advisors in relation to regulatory inquiries.

Antitrust

• Represents Barclays in putative antitrust class action and opt-out litigations concerning FX.
• Represents Barclays in putative antitrust class action concerning the U.S. Treasury. Obtained dismissal of all claims at district court.

Pro Bono

Mr. Schwartz is a member of the Firm’s wills clinic, which provides pro bono legal advice on the drafting and execution of wills, powers of attorney and health care proxies.

Other Professional Activities

• Member, New York State Bar Association Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct
• ​Member, American Bar Association
• ​Board Member, Judges & Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert