 Daniel S. Sommers Daniel Sommers, a Partner at the Firm, joined Cohen Milstein in 1988. He has served as the head of the firm’s Securities Fraud/Investor Protection practice group and currently is the chief operating lawyer for that group.
During his career at Cohen Milstein, Mr. Sommers served as lead or co-lead counsel or otherwise played a significant role in numerous securities fraud class actions in federal courts throughout the United States. Many of those cases resulted in multi-million dollar recoveries for individual and institutional investors. For example, these cases include: Steiner v. Southmark Corporation (N.D.Tex.) (over $70 million recovery ); In re PictureTel Inc. Securities Litigation (D.Mass.) ($12 million recovery); In re Physician Corporation of America Securities Litigation (S.D. Fla.) ($10.2 million recovery); In re Gilat Satellite Securities Litigation (E.D.N.Y.) ($20 million recovery); In re Pozen Inc. Securities Litigation (M.D.N.C.) ($11.2 million recovery); In re Nextel Communications Securities Litigation (D.N.J.) (up to $27 million recovery); In re PSINet Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Va.) ($17.8 million recovery); In re Cascade International Inc. Securities Litigation, (S.D. Fla.) (global recovery of approximately $10 million); and In re ECI Telecom Securities Ltd. Litigation (E.D.Va.) ($21.75 million recovery). He currently is actively involved in the prosecution of the In re Fannie Mae Securities Litigation (D.D.C).
Mr. Sommers is also experienced in non-class action litigation. He represented TBG Inc., a multi-billion dollar privately-held overseas corporation, in a multi-party, complex action alleging fraud in a corporate acquisition and represented individuals in connection with investigations brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He also has represented publicly traded corporations in the prosecution and defense of claims. Mr. Sommers has litigated cases covering a wide-range of industries including the financial services, computer software, pharmaceutical, insurance, real estate and telecommunications industries among others. He also has substantial experience in cases presenting complex accounting and auditing issues.
Mr. Sommers is a frequent commentator on the federal securities laws and corporate governance issues and addresses institutional investor groups and others on these topics as illustrated below:
Guest panelist on “It’s Your Business,” a nationally syndicated television program, where he spoke on investor lawsuits. Panelist at the George Washington University Law School, where he spoke on the practice of law from the plaintiff’s perspective. Addressed the California State Association of County Retirement Systems, to whom he spoke on corporate governance and fiduciary duties and liabilities. Spoke at a District of Columbia Bar Association program in 2005 where he addressed “Attorney Liability in the Post-Enron, Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era.” Panelist at a 2006 presentation to Illinois-based institutional investors on the topic of "The Growing Emphasis on Fiduciary Responsibility: Implications For Illinois Pension Funds and the Emergence of Guiding Principles." Addressed the Professional Liability Underwriting Society in 2007 on the topic of "Global Companies, Global Risk: Exposure Arising Outside the U.S."
In 2007, Mr. Sommers was appointed to serve as the chairman of the Investor Rights Committee of the Corporation, Finance and Securities Law Section of the District of Columbia Bar. In addition, he is a member of the Securities Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association and is a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys.
He is a 1983 graduate of Union College, earning a B.A. in Political Science (magna cum laude), and a 1986 graduate of the George Washington University Law School. Mr. Sommers is admitted to practice in federal courts including the United States District Courts for the Districts of New Jersey, Maryland, Eastern District of Michigan and the District of Columbia as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits. Mr. Sommers is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Mr. Sommers is a member of the bar of the states of New York and New Jersey as well as the District of Columbia.
Contact: dsommers@cmht.com Practice Area: |
