Berna M. Lee
Staff Attorney
Berna Lee is a staff attorney in the Boston office of Berman Tabacco.* She is committed to seeking redress on behalf of investors and consumers and has worked on a wide range of matters, focusing on complex cases involving securities fraud, RICO, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, antitrust, ERISA, and consumer fraud. Berna’s experience includes conducting case evaluations, drafting complaints, client retention and relations, researching and drafting briefs and motions, and handling electronic document discovery. Prior to joining the firm, Berna was an associate at a large New York law firm.
During law school, Berna interned with the Honorable Gladys Kessler on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was a member of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics and Georgetown’s Appellate Litigation Clinic.
* Not admitted in Massachusetts.
Experience
- Part of the litigation teams in Laydon v. Mizuho Bank Ltd., et al., No. 12-cv-03419 (S.D.N.Y.); Sonterra Capital Master Fund Ltd., et al. v. UBS AG, et al., No. 15-cv-05844 (S.D.N.Y.); and Sullivan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 13-cv-02811 (S.D.N.Y.), which seek to hold several major banks and financial institutions responsible for colluding to manipulate interest rate benchmarks including Yen-Libor, EuroYen Tibor, and Euribor.
- Member of the litigation team that prosecuted the federal RICO class actions against the operators and financial backers of unlawful online payday lending schemes, including Solomon, et al. v. American Web Loan, Inc., et al., No. 17-cv-145 (E.D. Va.), and Gingras, et al. v. Rosette, et al., No. 15-cv-0101 (D. Vt.).
- Member of the litigation team in Daccache v. Raymond James Financial, Inc. et al., No. 16-cv-21575 (S.D. Fla.), representing a class of investors in limited partnerships associated with the Jay Peak ski resort in Vermont, which resulted in a $150 million monetary recovery for investors defrauded by an alleged Ponzi-like scheme.
- Served as a member of the litigation team representing co-lead plaintiff in In re BP p.l.c. Securities Litigation, No. 10-md-2185 (S.D. Tex.), a major securities fraud class action that arose out of the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The litigation resulted in a $175 million settlement on behalf of holders of BP’s American Depository Shares.
- Part of the litigation team representing direct truck purchasers in Wallach, et al. v. Eaton Corp., et al., No. C.A. 10-00260-SLR (D. Del.), against the makers of Class 8 truck transmissions and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks for engaging in a wide-ranging conspiracy to monopolize the market and raise prices.
Berna Lee is a staff attorney in the Boston office of Berman Tabacco.* She is committed to seeking redress on behalf of investors and consumers and has worked on a wide range of matters, focusing on complex cases involving securities fraud, RICO, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, antitrust, ERISA, and consumer fraud. Berna’s experience includes conducting case evaluations, drafting complaints, client retention and relations, researching and drafting briefs and motions, and handling electronic document discovery. Prior to joining the firm, Berna was an associate at a large New York law firm.
During law school, Berna interned with the Honorable Gladys Kessler on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was a member of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics and Georgetown’s Appellate Litigation Clinic.
* Not admitted in Massachusetts.
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 1999)
- Dartmouth College (B.A., English Literature, 1993)
Experience
- Part of the litigation teams in Laydon v. Mizuho Bank Ltd., et al., No. 12-cv-03419 (S.D.N.Y.); Sonterra Capital Master Fund Ltd., et al. v. UBS AG, et al., No. 15-cv-05844 (S.D.N.Y.); and Sullivan v. Barclays PLC, et al., No. 13-cv-02811 (S.D.N.Y.), which seek to hold several major banks and financial institutions responsible for colluding to manipulate interest rate benchmarks including Yen-Libor, EuroYen Tibor, and Euribor.
- Member of the litigation team that prosecuted the federal RICO class actions against the operators and financial backers of unlawful online payday lending schemes, including Solomon, et al. v. American Web Loan, Inc., et al., No. 17-cv-145 (E.D. Va.), and Gingras, et al. v. Rosette, et al., No. 15-cv-0101 (D. Vt.).
- Member of the litigation team in Daccache v. Raymond James Financial, Inc. et al., No. 16-cv-21575 (S.D. Fla.), representing a class of investors in limited partnerships associated with the Jay Peak ski resort in Vermont, which resulted in a $150 million monetary recovery for investors defrauded by an alleged Ponzi-like scheme.
- Served as a member of the litigation team representing co-lead plaintiff in In re BP p.l.c. Securities Litigation, No. 10-md-2185 (S.D. Tex.), a major securities fraud class action that arose out of the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The litigation resulted in a $175 million settlement on behalf of holders of BP’s American Depository Shares.
- Part of the litigation team representing direct truck purchasers in Wallach, et al. v. Eaton Corp., et al., No. C.A. 10-00260-SLR (D. Del.), against the makers of Class 8 truck transmissions and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks for engaging in a wide-ranging conspiracy to monopolize the market and raise prices.
Admissions
- State Bar of Rhode Island
- State Bar of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Not admitted in Massachusetts.
Affiliations
- Rhode Island Bar Association