Samuel J. Lieberman

Practice areas

Securities Litigation, Business Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar

Focus areas

White Collar Crime

Sam Lieberman serves as the Co-Head of Sadis’s Litigation department, demonstrating his unwavering dedication as a formidable trial attorney. He consistently achieves favorable outcomes for high-profile plaintiffs and defendants involved in securities and business disputes. His practice encompasses a broad spectrum of cases, including high-stakes securities matters, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder rights, blockchain technology, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and business dissolution disputes. Additionally, Sam is adept at defending clients facing investigations initiated by regulatory bodies such as the SEC, FINRA, U.S. Attorneys’ Office, and others.

In his role advocating for plaintiffs, Sam has secured judgments and recoveries exceeding $100 million on multiple occasions. When acting as defense counsel, he has a strong track record of obtaining full dismissals of claims during the pleading stage and at trial. Sam has also effectively persuaded government regulators to close investigations without pursuing charges against his clients. His outstanding legal acumen has garnered recognition from prominent legal publications and organizations, including SuperLawyers, Martindale-Hubbell (with an AV rating), the American Lawyer, and the National Law Journal.

Notable achievements in Sam’s portfolio of cases include:

SECURITIES LITIGATION & INVESTOR RIGHTS:

• Secured a remarkable $57.7 million victory at trial while representing private equity investors in an appraisal action. The valuation achieved was 25 times higher than the merger consideration’s trading price on the date of judgment, significantly surpassing the opposing party’s position and the deal price.
• Achieved a $25 million outcome as lead counsel for a hedge fund, alleging fraudulent valuation of mortgage-backed securities. This victory was attained by defeating motions to dismiss and presenting evidence exposing the defendants to substantial liability.
• Successfully obtained $12.1 million for investors in roles as co-lead counsel in cases involving M&A fiduciary duties and appraisal actions. This included securing a trial verdict in an appraisal action and partial summary judgment in an M&A fiduciary duties action, resulting in a remarkable 195% premium over the deal price for all investors.
• Recovered over $3.7 million as lead counsel for a family office investor in securities litigation related to a hedge fund investment. This followed a Second Circuit appeal reinstating the case and ordering a trial.
• Acted as lead counsel for several major hedge funds, representing them as certificateholders in disputes related to residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) trusts, particularly concerning write-up allocations and principal payments.

BROKER & BLOCKCHAIN ARBITRATION/DISPUTES:

• Successfully recovered $8 million in Polkadot (DOT) cryptocurrency tokens for a hedge fund from a former officer.
• Secured three of the five largest FINRA Arbitration awards ever issued against a major online broker at the time. This included a $2.4 million FINRA arbitration award for a VIX Futures trader stemming from the broker’s misstatement of settlement date and a $1.9 million FINRA arbitration award for a hedge fund regarding the broker’s inability to trade WTI Oil Futures at negative prices.
• Achieved favorable arbitration awards and settlements worth millions of dollars for customers who were victims of various improper practices by broker-dealers.
• Currently representing a cryptocurrency hedge fund in arbitration proceedings against a former officer concerning the ownership of MobileCoin cryptocurrency and the terms of termination.

GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS:

• Successfully defended a Managing Director of an investment bank against SEC insider trading claims. This involved obtaining a rare summary disposition that dismissed part of the SEC’s case and ultimately reaching a favorable settlement that reduced nine fraud claims to a single negligence claim with no suspension.
• Effectively defended executives of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund in investigations conducted by the U.S. Attorneys’ Office and the SEC related to valuation fraud. No charges were filed against the individuals.
• Currently representing a fund portfolio manager and a venture capital fund in separate ongoing SEC and FINRA investigations focused on cryptocurrency trading and valuation.
• Successfully defended the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of a $1 billion-plus investment adviser in an SEC investigation related to the misallocation of expenses and soft-dollar credits. This resulted in a termination notice with no charges filed against the client.
• Effectively defended a broker-dealer and its CEO in a FINRA investigation into front-running and cross-trading, obtaining a letter of caution with no monetary sanctions, even after the SEC referred the investigation to the FINRA Department of Enforcement.
• Successfully defended the CEO of a broker-dealer in an SEC insider trading investigation, resulting in the closure of the investigation without any claims being brought by the SEC.

Sam’s remarkable cases have received extensive coverage in national, high-profile media outlets such as Law360, Bloomberg, the New York Post, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been named Runner Up Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer and featured on the National Law Journal’s Appellate Hot List. Additionally, Sam has received the highest possible AV Preeminent* rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University in 1996, Sam pursued his legal education at Columbia Law School. As a Kent Scholar and Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, he obtained his Juris Doctor in 1999. Sam is admitted to practice law in the state of New York and is also admitted before multiple federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.