Partner

Daniel J. Delaney is a partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group.  His practice concentrates on securities and shareholder litigation, class actions, accountants’ liability and other complex financial litigation.  Dan also has significant experience in mass tort defense.  He has represented clients in state and federal courts, at the trial and appellate levels, as well as in alternative dispute resolution proceedings and in government administrative proceedings related to securities and financial regulation.  Among other matters, Dan is currently defending a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in a federal securities class action asserting fraud claims concerning the company’s valuation of its auction-rate securities; defending a “Big Four” accounting firm in negligence and fraud claims concerning its audits of a publicly traded real estate firm; defending negligence claims against another international accounting firm; and representing another publicly traded company in its pursuit of claims concerning significant misstatements in the financial statements of a recently acquired company.  Dan also advises business clients in transactional settings on various issues related to risk management, SEC compliance, disclosure obligations and fiduciary duties.

Securities Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions and Accountants’ Defense.  Dan has extensive national experience representing companies, auditors and individuals in federal securities law claims and shareholder derivative actions.  He has obtained pre-discovery dismissals for large accounting firms and multinational companies in numerous cases involving novel issues arising in securities claims and acquisition disputes, fought class certification in other cases, and successfully defended these clients in other matters at trial or on appeal. Dan has also represented numerous auditors and accounting firms in proceedings initiated by the SEC and other regulators.

Representative experience in securities litigation and accountants’ defense includes:

• Obtaining dismissal for Ernst & Young LLP in consolidated multi-district federal securities litigation arising from Ernst & Young’s audits of a family of mutual funds and the valuation of illiquid securities;
  
• Obtaining dismissal of all federal securities claims asserted against Deloitte & Touche LLP concerning its audits of an insurer and the reserves recorded on the insurer’s financial statements;
  
• Obtaining dismissal of shareholder derivative claim asserted against Ernst & Young LLP concerning its audits of a publicly traded manufacturer;
  
• Obtaining summary judgment for Deloitte & Touche LLP in an accounting malpractice claim asserted by the creditors’ committee of a bankrupt real estate firm;
  
• Trying to judgment and then obtaining entry of final judgment from the Third Circuit for The Dow Chemical Company in a claim asserting misrepresentations in the financial statements and offering materials for a subsidiary sold in a private transaction;
  
• Defending Deloitte & Touche LLP in litigation and administrative proceedings involving the FDIC and the OCC related to loss reserve issues during Deloitte’s audits of a failed bank, with the regulators ultimately taking no action against the client;
  
• Obtaining favorable settlement in an action asserting Section 10(b) and Section 20(a) claims concerning the sale of a public company’s interest in another publicly traded entity, after obtaining summary judgment from the trial court without allowing plaintiff any discovery; and 
  
• Successfully representing numerous auditors from multiple “Big Four” accounting firms in various SEC investigations.

Mass Torts. Dan has also worked as national counsel in developing global strategies in multidistrict mass tort cases. He represented one of the major defendants in the silicone implant litigation for many years, and was a member of the trial team for the first breast implant case that went to trial for that client. More recently, Dan has represented companies in asbestos litigation in a national counsel role, working with expert witnesses, developing national litigation strategy and negotiating the resolution of significant claims.

General Business Disputes. Dan represents clients in a variety of commercial disputes involving contract and business tort claims and has obtained many successful outcomes through summary disposition, victories at trial and on appeal, and negotiated settlements.

Client Counseling. Outside the context of active litigation, Dan also regularly counsels clients in business transactions and regulatory matters. Drawing on his commercial litigation and professional liability experience, he frequently advises clients on a variety of issues related to risk management, fiduciary duties, regulatory compliance and financial disclosure. He has assisted many clients in negotiating resolutions to business disputes while avoiding the significant burden and expense protracted litigation might have entailed.

In General.  Dan joined the firm in 2007 after 18 years with Mayer Brown.  He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago and his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.