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Arthur N. Abbey

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Mr. Abbey, the Firm's chief trial attorney has been lead counsel for many major class action securities matters, including one of the largest class action securities cases to go to trial, In re Vivendi Universal, S.A. Securities Litig., 02 Civ. 5571 (RJH/HBP)(S.D.N.Y.) which culminated with a jury verdict finding Vivendi Universal, S.A. liable for securities fraud on all 57 material misstatements. The Vivendi case is just one of nine securities class actions tried to verdict based on wrongs committed following the passage of the PSLRA.  The Vivendi jury verdict is believed to be the largest jury verdict in any securities class action.

For his work in Vivendi, Mr. Abbey was nominated for the 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award.  The Public Justice Foundation presents this nationally prestigious award each year to the attorney or legal team that made the most outstanding contribution to public interest through precedent-setting or otherwise extraordinary litigation. 

For the forth year in a row, Mr. Abbey was selected to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2014-2015.  The Lawdragon 500 profiles annually the practitioners, judges and academics who are handling the biggest cases and deals that are making the greatest impact on the law.

Mr. Abbey, the Senior and Founding Partner of Abbey Spanier, LLP, is a leading practitioner in the field of securities, antitrust and consumer litigation. As a result of his expertise in class and complex litigation, Mr. Abbey has negotiated hundreds of class action settlements achieving extraordinary results for class members.

Mr. Abbey is recognized as an authority on class and complex litigation, securities fraud and corporate governance, contests for corporate control and directors' and officers' insurer's liability. He is frequently asked to lecture and serve on panels before the plaintiffs' and defendants' bar and Corporate America alike on these issues as well as other complex litigation issues.

Mr. Abbey has lectured or served as a panel member in the following seminars: January 20, 2011, a lead presenter at the SEC Hot Topics 2011 luncheon on class actions and derivative actions; March 4, 2010, a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School on the Vivendi trial; February 17, 2010, a guest lecturer at New York Law School on the Vivendi trial; February 4, 2010, P.L.I Seminar on Mergers and Acquisitions; February 5, 2009, P.L.I. seminar "Contests for Corporate Control 2009"; April 24, 2008, a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School on securities litigation pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934; April 9, 2008, Willis Executive Risks Practice Meeting: Securities Panel; January 2008 P.L.I. seminar “Contests for Corporate Control”; June 21, 2007, a guest commentator on CNBC speaking on shareholder litigation involving leveraged buy-outs; March 2007 "Spotlight on Litigation"; 2007 Federal Bar Counsel’s Winter Meeting, Panelist – “The Lawyer’s Role in Corporate Governance”; January 2007 P.L.I. seminar “Contests for Corporate Control”; 2007, guest lecturer at Columbia Law School on securities litigation; 2006 PLUS Seminar on D&O Liability & Insurance Issues, June 2006 Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. Fourth Annual D&O Conference on “The Forgotten Promise – Strategies and Tactics to Maximize the Value of D&O Insurance”; January 2006 P.L.I. seminar “Contests for Corporate Control”; 2005 PLI Seminar on Contests for Corporate Control – Current Offensive & Defensive Strategies in M&A Transactions; 2004 Glasser LegalWorks Panel on “Preliminary Issues Regarding Forum Selection, Jurisdiction and Choice of Law; June 2004 The Association of the Bar of the City of New York seminar on "D&O Liability & Insurance in the Financial Institution Crisis - A Sarbanes-Oxley Update"; 2004 PLUS D&O Liability & Insurance Issues Symposium on “An Overview of the Securities Litigation Landscape”; 2003 ABA Conference on “Pension Plans and Investment Banks: In the Cross Hairs of ERISA and Securities Law”; 2003 Second Circuit Judicial Conference; 2003 PLUS Seminar on D&O Liability & Insurance Issues; January 2003 P.L.I. seminar “Contests for Corporate Control"; 2002 AIG National Union Seminar "The Changing Landscape of Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance Panel"; 2002 Trowel Trades Trust Fund Educational Conference "Post-Enron: The Importance of Being an Active and Informed Trustee"; 2002 NERA Securities Litigation Seminar “Challenging The Traditional Thinking in Securities Class Actions”; 2002 PLUS seminar on D&O Liability & Insurance Issues; 2002 Federal Bar Counsel’s Winter Bench & Bar Panel “Developments Under the New PSLRA of 1995”; January 2002 P.L.I. seminar “Contests for Corporate Control”; November 2001 Glasser LegalWorks panel on New Developments in Shareholder Litigation; May 2001 Association of the Bar of City of New York panel on Current Issues in D&O and Professional Liability Insurance; March 2001 Council of Institutional Investors’ panel on Pension Funds and Litigation 2001; 2000 PLUS seminar on D&O Liability & Insurance Issues; December 2000 Glasser LegalWorks seminar on Litigation & Resolution of Complex Class Actions; July 2000 ABA Annual Meeting – Panel on “Protecting Mergers And Acquisitions-When Is A Deal Really A Deal?”; January 2000 P.L.I. seminar on Contests for Corporate Control-Directors’ Fiduciary Duties in a Takeover; 1999 PLUS D&O Liability & Insurance Issues Symposium on "Legal Developments and Trends in Securities Fraud Litigation"; 1998 Glasser LegalWorks Seminar on Litigation & Resolution of Complex Class Actions; 1998 Plus International Conference on the Effect and Future of the Private Securities Law Reform Act of 1995; October 1998 TIX Seminar Series for Insurance Professionals on Director's & Officer's Liability; July 1998 Annual Meeting of the ABA Section of Business Law on the Subject of Mergers and Acquisition Transactions; May 1998 Chubb Group Executive Protection Seminar on Litigation Issues; February 1998 Federal Bar Counsel Winter Bench & Bar Conference's Roundtable on Law Ethics; January 1998 P.L.I. seminar on Contests for Corporate Control - The New Environment; January 1998 PLUS seminar on D&O Liability & Insurance Issues; November 1997 Professional Liability Underwriting Society's 1997 International Conference; September 1997 Glasser LegalWorks seminar on Litigation and Resolution of Complex Class Actions; September 1997 Chubb Group seminar on D&O Advanced Training; January 1997 P.L.I. seminar on Contests for Corporate Control - The New Environment; October/November 1996 P.L.I. seminar on Litigation Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and SEC Enforcement Developments; August 1996, ABA Section of Business Law on "Counseling Your Board through An M&A Transaction"; February 1996 P.L.I. seminar on "Sweeping Reform, Litigating and Bespeaking Caution Under New Securities Law"; January 1996 Securities Fraud Seminar on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995; January 1996 Glasser LegalWorks Seminar on Class and Derivative Litigation in the Reform Era; January 1996 P.L.I. seminar on Contests for Corporate Control; January 1995 P.L.I. seminar "Mergers and Acquisition in the 1990's - Step by Step Guide"; October 1994/November 1994 Prentice Hall "Fifth Annual Institute: Class & Derivative Litigation in 1990's -- Post-Recession Battleground"; April, 1994 ABA Panel "Revolution or Evolution"; July 1994 Prentice Hall 14th Institute on Acquisition and Takeovers; February 1994, Investment Management Institute and Investors Fiduciary Services on Corporate Governance; June 1990, ALI-ABA University of Virginia Law School co-sponsored practice workshop entitled "Trial of a Securities Case".

Mr. Abbey currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of New York Law School, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Bar Council and Chairman of the Joint Audit Committee of the Federal Bar Council and the Federal Bar Foundation.