Motley Rice Strengthens Securities Fraud and SEC Whistleblower Practice

One of largest U.S. plaintiffs’ law firms welcomes new member Rebecca M. Katz

NEW YORK – July 17, 2012 – Motley Rice LLC announced that plaintiffs’ attorney Rebecca M. Katz, who has committed more than 20 years to fighting for the rights of clients harmed by corporate malfeasance, has joined the firm as a managing member of its New York office and leader of its expanding SEC whistleblower practice. With a history of helping defrauded investors recover their losses, Katz brings a strong securities work background to the firm’s efforts on behalf of individual and institutional investors.

“As our work involving securities fraud and SEC whistleblower litigation continues to grow, the addition of Rebecca comes at a great time for our firm and, more importantly, our clients. She has repeatedly demonstrated her considerable legal abilities throughout her career, and we are fortunate that an attorney of her standing has decided to join forces with our team,” said Securities and Consumer Fraud practice group leader William Narwold.

Prior to joining Motley Rice, Katz was a partner with a New York-based plaintiffs’ firm for almost a decade after first serving nearly nine years as a senior counsel for the SEC’s Enforcement Division and three years as an associate with another securities plaintiffs’ firm. She has extensive experience in both qui tam and whistleblower litigation and has held a leadership role in a number of major cases involving both domestic and international clients. In addition to adding diverse experience to the services that Motley Rice offers its public pension, Taft-Hartley and other institutional investor clients, her strong relationships within the securities field serve as a compliment to the firm’s focus on the building and nurturing of co-counsel and other outside relationships such as unions.

She has been joined in the New York office by Paralegal and Practice Development/Client Relations Specialist, Lotan Korenblit, and Client Development Support, Daniel Isaacson, both of whom have worked with Katz for many years and are adept at not only meeting the high demands of securities litigation work but also at maintaining effective communication with clients.

“Rebecca’s knowledge and legal skill bring tremendous benefit to our work in the securities field. I’m pleased that she has chosen to continue her career here at Motley Rice, and it is my privilege to welcome her and her colleagues to the team,” said Motley Rice co-founder Joe Rice.  

Katz consistently welcomes challenge and has played an integral management role in numerous high-profile cases. Among these are In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), a securities fraud case involving hundreds of coordinated actions that resulted in a favorable $586 million settlement for her clients, and Republic of Iraq v. ABB AG, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), a case in which she represented the Republic of Iraq and the Iraqi people to bring to light the alleged corruption of the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Programme that was originally designed to help them. She also represented both the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board and Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico in individual securities cases against such big-name defendants as Wells Fargo & Company, and is a frequent presence on the public fund speaking circuit.

A sought-after guest speaker at legal conferences nationwide, including public pension and Taft-Hartley fund conferences, Katz has presented on numerous issues that include the SEC whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and developments impacting securities litigation. She is a published author and former faculty member at the Practising Law Institute’s Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute and has also lectured at the Fordham University School of Law’s Eugene P. and Delia S. Murphy Conference on Corporate Law – Corporations, Investors and the Securities Markets. A graduate of Hofstra University and Hofstra University School of Law, Katz is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her work in securities plaintiffs’ litigation and is a member of the New York City Bar Association Securities Litigation Committee.

About Motley Rice                                                                     
Motley Rice is one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ litigation firms. With a tradition of representing those whose rights have been violated, Motley Rice attorneys gained recognition for their pioneering asbestos lawsuits, their work with the State Attorneys General in the landmark litigation against Big Tobacco and their representation of 9/11 families in the groundbreaking lawsuit against terrorist financiers.

The firm continues to handle an array of complex litigation in numerous areas, including securities and consumer fraud, mesothelioma lawsuits, environmental contamination such as the BP oil spill; prescription drugs such as Topamax® and Actos®; medical devices such as pelvic mesh and Depuy hip replacements; human rights; aviation disasters; and wrongful death. Motley Rice is headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and has additional offices in California; Connecticut; Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; New York; Rhode Island and West Virginia.

For more information about Motley Rice or its securities practice, visit www.motleyrice.com.