Jeffrey M. Norton

Jeffrey M. Norton, a member of the firm and Chair of the firm's Class Action and Complex Litigation Group, practices primarily in the areas of shareholder rights, ERISA litigation, consumer fraud, products liability, and civil rights. He has played a lead role in numerous actions where plaintiffs or class members won substantial benefits, including In re Zynga Inc. Securities Litigation, 12-cv-04007-JSW (N.D. Cal.) ($23 million settlement); In re Royal Dutch/Shell Transport ERISA Litig., (D.N.J.); ($90 million settlement); In re AIG ERISA Litig., 04-CV-9387 (S.D.N.Y.) ($24.5 million settlement); In re Conagra Foods, Inc. ERISA Litig., 8:05-CV-00348 (D. Neb.) (settlement valued over $14 million); Salvato v. Zale Corp. et al., 3:06-CV-1124-D (N.D. Tx.) (settlement valued over $7 million); Graden v. Conexant Systems, Inc., 2:05-CV-00695 (D.N.J.) (settlement valued at over $12 million); and In re Veritas Software Corp. Securities Litigation, Civ. No. 04-831-SLR (D. Del.) ($21.5 million settlement). In Edmans v. Hurt, et al., No. D-1-GN-13-000874 (Travis County District Court, Texas), a shareholder derivative action involving Bazaarvoice, Inc. and allegations that the company’s officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties by causing the company to violate federal antitrust laws and engaged in insider trading, Mr. Norton and his co-counsel negotiated a massive overhaul of corporate policies, including changes to the company's antitrust compliance procedures and executive compensation program.

In the Conexant case, Mr. Norton argued and won an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, setting a precedent that established statutory standing under ERISA for millions of otherwise disqualified former employees. See Graden v. Conexant Systems, Inc., 496 F.3d 496 (3d Cir. 2007), cert. denied 128 S.Ct. 1473 (2008)). Mr. Norton subsequently achieved a similar result before the Eleventh Circuit in Lanfear v. Home Depot, Inc., 536 F.3d 1217 (11th Cir. 2008). Mr. Norton was involved in In re: New York ReNu with Moistureloc Product Liability Litig., 766,000/2007 (NY Sup. Ct.), and a member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in In re: Zicam Cold Remedy Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litig., 2:09-MD-02096 (FJM), pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

The high quality of Mr. Norton’s work has been noted by Judges. For example, in shareholder derivative case involving Hewlett-Packard Company, U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker (ret.), sitting as the arbitrator on a fee application, noted that “the filings, oral argument and general demeanor of [Mr. Norton and his co-counsel] reflect that they are highly experienced, knowledgeable, hardworking, efficient and reputable counsel of high standing and ability.” Judge Walker noted additionally that [Mr. Norton and his co-counsel]’s contributions to the case “demonstrate the high caliber of their work and the quality of time and effort they expended on achieving the corporate governance revisions… Their efforts to litigate in an efficient, constructive manner and to cooperate with other counsel resulted in decreased litigation expenses that substantially benefitted HP and its shareholders.” See Riccardi v. Lynch, Case No. 12-6003-CRB (N.D. Cal.), Docket No. 252 (October 23, 2014).

In addition to representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of civil-litigation matters, Mr. Norton is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Pace University School of Law, where he teaches Class Action Litigation and Mass Torts, and he has been a presenter and panelist for various CLE seminars. Mr. Norton is admitted in the state courts of New York and Connecticut, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Eastern District of Michigan, the District of Colorado, and the Northern District of Ohio, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Norton graduated with honors from Arizona State University in 1992 and cum laude from Pace University School of Law in 1997.

Mr. Norton currently serves on the board of UJA Greenwich.