Mr. Leviton is a co-founding partner of Block & Leviton LLP and focuses his practice on investor protection and shareholder rights matters. He is also the co-chair of the Firm’s New Case Investigation Team. After receiving his law degree from the Gonzaga School of Law (cum laude, Editor of the International Law Journal, member of the Moot Court Council), Mr. Leviton attended the Georgetown University Law Center and received a Master’s of Law (LL.M.) in Securities and Financial Regulation (Dean’s Award, 1of 6). While attending Georgetown, he was the inaugural LL.M. student selected for an externship with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Enforcement Division, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Leviton is currently a member of the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni.
Mr. Leviton has dedicated his practice to upholding shareholder rights. Prior to forming Block & Leviton, he was an attorney at two of the preeminent securities class action firms in the nation and worked on behalf of numerous institutional and individual investors. For instance, Mr. Leviton represented several State of Ohio Pension Funds against BP following the largest oil spill in United States history (In re BP plc Securities Litigation, 10-cv-2185 (S.D.Tex.)). He was also instrumental in recovering $10.5 million in the Welmon v. Chicago Bridge & Iron, 06-CV-01283,securities class action litigation. In that case, Mr. Leviton represented Fortis Investments, a major European asset management company and, in addition to the monetary settlement, was able to institute numerous corporate governance changes at the company. In granting the Chicago Bridge & Iron settlement, the Honorable John Sprizzo stated that “Plaintiffs’ Counsel have conducted the litigation and achieved the Settlement with skill, perseverance and diligent advocacy.” Chicago Bridge & Iron, 06-CV-01283 (June 3, 2008). Moreover, in the Ong v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 03 C 4142 (N.D. Ill.), securities class action, Mr. Leviton represented the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) and helped settle the action for $15.5 million. He also represented the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, the Policemen’s Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund in the securities class action against MF Global that recently settled for $90.0 million. See Rubin v. MF Global, LTD., et al., 08-cv-02233 (S.D.N.Y.). Likewise, he was a member of the In re VeriSign Securities Litigation, C-02-2270 (N.D. Cal.) team that recovered more than $78.0 million for investors. Furthermore, Mr. Leviton represented the Oklahoma Firefighter’s Pension and Retirement System in In re Smith & Wesson Corp. Securities Litigation, 07-cv-30238 (D. Mass.). He has also litigated and settled cases involving SourceCorp, Inc., 04-cv-02351 (N.D. Tex.) (settled for $3.0 million), Xybernaut Corporation, 05-cv-01705 (E.D.Va) (settled for $6.3 million), and Mid-American Waste Management, C-2-97-449 (S.D. Ohio) (settled for $7.5 million).
Mr. Leviton also has considerable experience litigating cases involving mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and other toxic assets. For example, he represented the Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office and the Wyoming Retirement System in the In re IndyMac Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation, 09-Civ.-04583 (S.D.N.Y.), and SURS in an action involving General Electric (In re General Electric Securities Litigation, 09-cv-0195 (S.D.N.Y.)). Similarly, he represented the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System and the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System of Louisiana in the In re BankUnited Financial Corp. Securities Litigation, 08 CIV 22572 (S.D. Fla.) action that recently settled for $3.0 million.
In addition to his class action experiences, Mr. Leviton has litigated other forms of complex litigation. For instance, he worked with a former State of New York Attorney General in the defense of an attorney accused of insider trading, which included a criminal referral to the United States Department of Justice. He was also heavily involved in the representation of four detainees being held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba.
Mr. Leviton is a frequent commentator and author on issues relating to the federal securities laws and corporate governance issues. For example, he has been a recurring guest on Rights Radio, including programs entitled “Stock Fraud: How to Get A Portion of Your Money Bank”and “Protecting Shareholder Rights Through Civil Prosecutorial Litigation.” He was also interviewed and quoted by Securities Law360 in an article entitled “CB&I Settles Securities Class Action for $10 million”. Likewise, he was the primary author of SEC Litigation Release No. 18638, “SEC Charges Cedric Kushner Promotions and Three of its Officers and Directors with Fraud; Chairman and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer Charged with Filing False Certifications Required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002”and was acknowledged for contribution in a Nebraska Law Review article entitled, “After the Ball is Over: Investor Remedies in the Wake of the Dot-Com Crash and Recent Corporate Scandals.” Mr. Leviton was also invited to speak with Georgetown University Law Center students on issues arising when prosecuting securities class action lawsuits.
Mr. Leviton has always been active in his community as well. For example, he tutored at-risk children, volunteered at several Rotary Club fundraising events, and participated with the Kiwanis Club’s Mentally Challenged Adults Program. He was also an Election Supervisor for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and the 2010 Mid-Term Elections.
Mr. Leviton is admitted to the Bars of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and is on voluntary inactive status for the Bars of Washington State and Florida. He is also a member of the District of Massachusetts, District of the District of Columbia, and Western District of Washington federal courts.
