News and Events

—Co-Chair, Securities Litigation and SEC Enforcement Group

Brian Pastuszenski, a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Corporate and Litigation Groups, has achieved national prominence in the defense of securities class action and shareholder litigation matters and proceedings brought by the SEC and other regulatory organizations, and the related insurance and indemnification issues that such matters involve.

Mr. Pastuszenski’s practice is concentrated in the areas of securities class action and shareholder litigation defense, defense of SEC proceedings, internal corporate investigations, corporate governance and compliance matters, merger and acquisition-related litigation, and other high-stakes business litigation.

Work for Clients
Mr. Pastuszenski spends a significant amount of his time advising senior management and boards of directors on how to minimize securities liability risks, and how best to manage crises when they occur. Mr. Pastuszenski’s clients have included, among others, Acorn Mutual Funds, Columbia Funds, Lycos, Inc., Presstek, Inc., Ionics, Incorporated, Alkermes, Inc., Earthlink, Oracle Corp., AsiaInfo Holdings, ON Semiconductor, Sipex Corp., Ibis Technology, Apropos Technology, Avici Systems, Teradyne, Inc., Digital Equipment Corporation, Copley Pharmaceutical, Inc., Cognos Incorporated, Newcourt Credit Group, Inc., SystemSoft Corporation, CareMatrix Corporation, Network Computing Devices, Inc., Discreet Logic, Inc., ACT Manufacturing, Inc., former members of the Audit Committee of Peregrine Systems, Inc., the former senior management of Rhythms Netconnections, and numerous venture capital, private equity, and mutual funds.

Mr. Pastuszenski represents his clients tenaciously, and prides himself on the results he has achieved for them. A representative list of his recent victories can be found here.

Mr. Pastuszenski’s securities and shareholder litigation matters have involved allegations of insider trading, market manipulation, improper revenue recognition and other alleged accounting irregularities, self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty, and inaccurate earnings and revenue projections, among other issues. His clients in these matters have included manufacturers of computer hardware and software companies, semiconductor manufacturers, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, an Internet portal company, a maker of special effects systems for the entertainment industry, venture capital firms, information technology providers, and telecommunications products companies, among numerous others.

Mr. Pastuszenski’s securities and shareholder litigation practice is national in scope. He has represented both United States and foreign-based issuers and their directors and officers in securities and corporate governance matters across the country, including matters in California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., among others. Mr. Pastuszenski has significant experience in mediating, arbitrating, and trying securities and financial fraud-related matters, including serving as an arbitrator in a $25 million accounting malpractice litigation between a big 5 accounting firm and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mr. Pastuszenski is currently representing several public companies that have been sued in the IPO “allocation” class action litigation cases in federal court in New York City , which attack the way IPO underwriters allegedly allocated shares in “hot” IPOs to their customers. These cases constitute the largest, or one of the largest, securities class action litigations ever filed in the United States. Mr. Pastuszenski has also been appointed to serve on a committee of six law firms who represent issuer defendants in those cases. This committee acts as a liaison between the issuer defendants, on the one hand, and the court, the plaintiffs, and the underwriters on the other hand.

Professional Activities
Mr. Pastuszenski is past chair of the Business Litigation Committee of the Boston Bar Association. He has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers.

Publications/Presentations
Mr. Pastuszenski writes and speaks nationally on securities and shareholder litigation, corporate governance and compliance, and related insurance matters. A representative list of his articles and speeches is attached.

Professional Experience
Prior to joining Goodwin Procter in 2005, Mr. Pastuszenski was a partner at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, where he chaired the Securities Litigation Group and co-chaired the Corporate Finance and Securities Group. Before that, Mr. Pastuszenski clerked for then Chief Judge Raymond Pettine of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Bar and Court Admissions
Mr. Pastuszenski is admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Honors and Awards
Mr. Pastuszenski was recently recognized by Boston Magazine as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Massachusetts.

Education
J.D., Cornell Law School, 1981 (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif) B.A., Dartmouth College, 1978 (summa cum laude)

While attending law school, Mr. Pastuszenski was an editor of the Cornell Law Review.