Joseph A. Fonti

Joseph A. Fonti leads the Firm’s U.S. Securities Litigation practice.  With over two decades of experience representing institutional investors in complex litigation, Joseph’s commitment to clients, dedication to his cases, and advocacy skills have led to exceptional results in several of the most prominent cases in recent decades.  Joseph has made significant recoveries for investors since founding BFA while also securing landmark and sweeping corporate governance improvements. 
 
As a result of his success, Joseph has consistently been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiff’s-side financial lawyers.  He has been named a Titan of the Plaintiffs’ Bar by Law360, a SuperLawyer by Thompson Reuters, and a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer by Lawdragon and has been “recommended” in the field of securities litigation by the Legal 500. Most recently, Joseph has been profiled by The New York Law Journal, Forbes & Fortune, and CT Insider for the landmark achievements he achieved for investors. 
 
Joseph led the team that prosecuted the Firm’s derivative stockholder action against Tesla’s Board of Directors in Delaware Chancery Court, resulting in a historic resolution valued at $919 million, which is among the largest such settlements in Delaware history (pending court approval).  Joseph also led BFA’s prosecution of the securities class action against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. arising from misrepresentations concerning price fixing and other unlawful conduct.  BFA secured a $420 million settlement after five years of hard-fought litigation, including class certification, completing intensive fact and expert discovery, and preparing a summary judgment motion. 
 
Throughout his career, Joseph has led historic litigations representing U.S. institutional investors as well as a number of Canada’s most significant pension systems and asset managers.  He served as co-lead counsel in the $219 million recovery on behalf of shareholders of Genworth Financial, a long-term care insurer, which represents the largest securities class action settlement in the history of the Eastern District of Virginia.  Likewise, Joseph served as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action involving Computer Science Corporation, and resolved the case for $97.5 million for the class at the brink of trial.  Joseph also helped lead the prosecution and ultimate resolution of the Weatherford securities litigation achieving a $120 million recovery for Weatherford shareholders.  He also contributed to securing a $173.5 million settlement in In re Broadcom Corp. Securities Litigation, which, at the time, was the second-largest cash settlement involving a company accused of options backdating.
 
Joseph’s career is also marked by significant successes in the area of auditor liability.  He represented shareholders in the $671 million recovery in In re HealthSouth Securities Litigation and recovered $109 million from HealthSouth’s outside auditor Ernst & Young LLP, one of the largest recoveries to date against an auditing firm.

Currently, Joseph is leading BFA’s securities class actions against Exicure, Bioventus, Enochian, Talis Biomedical and Citigroup.

Additionally, Joseph has achieved notable success as an appellate advocate.  He successfully argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Celestica Inc. Securities Litigation and was instrumental in advocacy before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the In re Broadcom Corp. Securities Litigation.

Joseph is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Bar of the City of New York, and the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA).
 
Dedicated to community service, Joseph serves as Chair of the Leadership Committee for the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal for the Archdiocese of New York, which supports local communities throughout ten New York counties.