Christopher T. Heffelfinger

Christopher T. Heffelfinger, Of Counsel in Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office, has devoted most of his professional career to pursuing justice on behalf those who have been harmed by financial fraud and anticompetitive-unfair trade practices.

For over thirty years, Chris has worked collaboratively as co-lead and participatory counsel in a variety of cases covering many industries in both securities and antitrust matters. Chris has also given lectures on deposition practice and laying evidentiary foundations.

Chris’s distinctions include that he is AV Preeminent^® rated by Martindale Hubbell^®, has been consistently named as a Super Lawyer by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine (2009-2024), is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® in Litigation-Antitrust (2018-2025) and Litigation-Securities (2023-2025), and is recognized in Northern California Best Lawyers for Litigation-Antitrust (2021-2024) and Litigation-Securities (2023-2024).  He was also recognized as a Recommended Attorney in Antitrust by The Legal 500 (U.S. edition 2019-2020).  He has also been recognized by Lexology Index (formerly Global Competition Review’s Who’s Who Legal) in Competition (2021-2023) and was also selected by Lawdragon for its 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide (2019-2024), as featured in Lawdragon’s The Plaintiff Issue magazine.

Education

• University of San Francisco School of Law (J.D., 1984)
• Claremont McKenna College (B.A., Economics, 1977)

Experience

• Participated with other Berman Partners as Lead Counsel in In re Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 18-cv-04993-NRB (S.D.N.Y.). The case alleged that certain officers, directors and outside auditors were engaged in a massive fraudulent scheme to materially overstate Aegean’s income and revenue, to materially overstate Aegean’s assets and the strength of its balance sheet, and to mislead investors concerning the adequacy of Aegean’s internal controls over financial reporting. Settlements were reached with the four foreign defendants in totalling $41,749,999.
• Member of Trial Team in San Francisco Superior Court in the Canadian Car antitrust litigation, Automobile Antitrust Cases I and II, JCCP Nos. 4298 and 4303 (Cal. Super. Ct. San Francisco Cty.), working on pretrial matters just before the case settled with Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. on eve of trial; final approval for that settlement in the sum of $82 million was granted by the Court in 2022. The lawsuit had alleged that Ford Canada and other automakers conspired to restrict the import of less expensive new cars from Canada to the United States.
• Lead Counsel from Berman Tabacco defending the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the Regents of the University of California (Regents) in the Tribune Fraudulent Transfer Actions (involving transfers of publicly traded securities) both in the MDL in the Southern District of New York and in the California Superior Court, fully resolved in favor of clients in 2022 in both forums. The actions in both the federal MDL and California involved overlapping claims for constructive and intentional fraudulent transfers. CalPERS, CalSTRS and the Regents were part of a group of many investors who were sued for monies they received when they tendered their Tribune shares back to Tribune prior to Tribune’s 2008 bankruptcy as part of a two-step leveraged buyout transaction. The Plaintiffs in the MDL included Deutsche Bank Trust Company, Law Debenture Trust Company, and Wilmington Trust Company who were also plaintiffs in the California Action, and who had sought to recover proceeds paid to defendant shareholders in connection with the Tribune’s 2007 LBO. Those payments resulted fraudulent transfer actions initiated in the federal courts (later transferred to the Southern District of New York as part of an MDL) and in Alameda State Court, California.
• In In re Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation (Indirect Case), No. M:02-cv-01486 (N.D. Cal.), Chris was appointed by the Special Master, Ret. U.S. District Court Judge Charles B. Renfrew, to serve as settlement allocation counsel for indirect reseller purchasers in DRAM. The case obtained final approval, with the Special Master acknowledging in his Report and Recommendations to the Court that the efforts by the parties to resolve the allocation issues were an essential link in the sequence of negotiations that culminated in the proposed plan of distribution.
• Lead partner for the firm in the prosecution of In re Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Antitrust and Patent Litigation, MDL No. 05-1671 (C.D. Cal.) which alleged that defendants manipulated the California gas market for summertime reformulated gasoline and artificially increased prices for consumers. As co-lead counsel, the firm achieved a settlement valued at $48 million.
• Integral member of the team representing toy purchaser consumers as co-lead counsel in In re Toys “R” Us Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y. 2000), a Federal Multi District Litigation alleging that Toys “R” Us had conspired with certain toy manufacturers to not sell certain popularly promoted toys to deep discount retailers such as Costco, in contravention of the antitrust laws and various state unfair competition/practices statutes. The team achieved a settlement with a combined value of $56 million.
• Significantly involved in the prosecution of In re LDK Solar Securities Litigation, No. C-07-05182-WHA (N.D. Cal.), a class action alleging an inventory accounting fraud by LDK Solar Company, a Chinese company, and its principal officers involving the accounting treatment of different grades of poly-silicon used in the production of solar panels. Chris participated in all phases of discovery including deposition practice in Hong Kong, expert work, summary judgment and trial preparation. The case settled for $13 million.

Honors & Distinctions

• Awarded a rating of AV Preeminent^® by Martindale-Hubbell^®
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® for Litigation-Antitrust (2018-2025) and Litigation-Securities (2023-2025)
• Recognized in Northern California Best Lawyers for Litigation-Antitrust (2021-2024) and Litigation-Securities (2023-2024)
• Recognized as a Recommended Attorney in Antitrust by The Legal 500 (U.S. edition 2019-2020)
• Recognized by Lexology Index (formerly Global Competition Review’s Who’s Who Legal) in Competition (2021-2023)
• Named a Super Lawyer in 2009-2024 by Northern California Super Lawyers magazine, which features the top 5% of attorneys in the region
• Selected by Lawdragon for its 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers guide (2019-2024), as featured in Lawdragon’s The Plaintiff Issue magazine
• Received Meritorious Service Award from Legal Aid at Work (August 2022)
• Received U.S. Marine Corps Letter of Thanks for role played in the cy pres settlement distribution of toys to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program in connection with the In re Toys R Us Antitrust Litigation (2000)
• Certificate of Appreciation from YWCA Legal Information Clinic (2004)

Admissions

• State Bar of California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• Ninth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals

Education

• Nepal Youth Foundation (member of Board of Directors since 2014; Board Secretary and Chair of Development Committee 2015-2021; Board Chair 2021-2024)
• Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center (LA-ELC) (member of Board of Directors 2010-Present; Chair of Development Committee and member of Executive Committee 2015-2020)
• Mountain Play Association (working Director involved in production, running concession booths and board/legal matters, 2010-2018, President of Board 2018)
• Episcopal Church (Sausalito), assisting and advising on periodic legal matters pro bono (2008 to present)
• Volunteer attorney with the YWCA’s Legal Information Clinic in Marin County (1-2 evenings per month) (2003-2006)
• U.S. Marine Corps (platoon leaders class Jr. an Sr. sessions, summers 1974 & 76, commissioned active-duty service 1977-1980; active reserve service 1988-90; and recalled to active duty for nearly one year, 1990-91, as Captain with rifle company in support of Operations Desert Shield/Storm)

Publications, Presentations & Appearances

• Presenter on Deposition Practice: Protocols for Laying Documentary Foundations at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center in San Francisco, May 20, 2014
• Summary, Update & Commentary on Tribune Multi-District Litigation, National Public Pension Attorneys handout materials (2013)
• Presenter on Deposition Practice: Laying Documentary Foundations in San Francisco, 2011