Ira A. Schochet

Partner

Overview

A seasoned litigator with three decades of experience, Ira A. Schochet concentrates his practice on class actions involving securities fraud. Ira has played a lead role in securing multi-million dollar recoveries and major corporate governance reforms in high-profile cases such as those against Countrywide Financial, Caterpillar, Spectrum Information Technologies, InterMune and Amkor Technology.

A longtime leader in the securities class action bar, Ira represented one of the first institutional investors acting as a lead plaintiff in a post-Private Securities Litigation Reform Act case and ultimately obtained one of the first rulings interpreting the statute's intent provision in a manner favorable to investors. His efforts are regularly recognized by the courts, including in Kamarasy v. Coopers & Lybrand, where the court remarked on "the superior quality of the representation provided to the class." Further, in approving the settlement he achieved in the InterMune litigation, the court complimented Ira's ability to secure a significant recovery for the class in a very efficient manner, shielding the class from prolonged litigation and substantial risk.
 
From 2009-2011, Ira served as President of the National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys (NASCAT), a membership organization of approximately 100 law firms that practice class action and complex civil litigation. During this time, he represented the plaintiffs' securities bar in meetings with members of Congress, the Administration, and the SEC.

Since 1996, Ira has served as Chairman of the Class Action Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. During his tenure, he has served on the Executive Committee of the Section and authored important papers on issues relating to class action procedure including revisions proposed by both houses of Congress and the Advisory Committee on Civil Procedure of the United States Judicial Conference. Examples include: "Proposed Changes in Federal Class Action Procedure"; "Opting Out On Opting In" and "The Interstate Class Action Jurisdiction Act of 1999." He also has lectured extensively on securities litigation at continuing legal education seminars.
 
Ira was featured in The AmLaw Litigation Daily as Litigator of the Week on September 13, 2012 for his work in In re El Paso Corporation Shareholder Litigation. He has also been awarded an AV Preeminent rating, the highest distinction, from the publishers of the Martindale-Hubbell directory.