Keith M. Fleischman
Keith Fleischman is a nationally recognized litigator and trial lawyer having successfully
investigated, litigated and tried to verdict some of the largest and most complex
civil and criminal prosecutions in the United States. Mr. Fleischman’s practice
presently focuses on representing public and private companies, financial institutions,
and institutional and individual investors in connection with the prosecution and
defense of complex financial and commercial litigation on a national scale.
Mr. Fleischman began his legal career with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office
in the Investigations Bureau and then the elite Major Offense Bureau, where he investigated
and successfully tried numerous cases, including one of the first state court bank
fraud prosecutions. He was also cross-designated as an Assistant United States Attorney
during a joint state and federal investigation into corruption by New York City
public officials.
In 1988, Mr. Fleischman joined the United States Department of Justice, Criminal
Division, Fraud Section as a trial lawyer. During his tenure, he supervised international
undercover operations involving counterfeiting, money laundering and passport fraud.
He also successfully tried to verdict several of the largest criminal prosecutions
brought by the government during the savings and loan crises, including serving
as the chief federal prosecutor in a two year investigation that culminated in a
four month trial,
United States v. Heath, 970 F.2d 1397 (5th Cir. 1992).
The defendants received the largest sentences obtained during the savings and loan
prosecution of 30 and 20 years respectively.
In 1990, Mr. Fleischman accepted a position as an Assistant United States Attorney
in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, where he
was in charge of financial fraud, originated the Connecticut Bank Fraud Working
Group and was a member of the New England Bank Fraud Task Force Coordinating Committee.
As an AUSA, he successfully investigated and prosecuted major financial, violent
and white-collar violations.
After leaving the government, Mr. Fleischman spent eleven years at the national
plaintiffs’ firm Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach, where he rose to Senior
Managing Partner and established himself as one of the premier plaintiffs’ lawyers
in the United States. During this period, Mr. Fleischman litigated and negotiated
to settlement numerous high profile individual and class actions. Among other accomplishments,
he investigated and successfully tried to verdict a securities fraud case against
a former big six accounting firm,
Robbins v. Koger Properties, Inc., 116
F.3d 1441 (11th Cir. 1997). Mr. Fleischman also litigated and argued before the
Second Circuit the precedent-setting decision of
Novak v. Kasaks, 216 F.3d
300 (2nd Cir. 2000), a significant decision regarding the PLSRA that has been cited
and followed by courts throughout the United States.
Prior to founding the Fleischman Law Firm in 2011, Keith served as a Director in
the New York office of Grant & Eisenhofer, litigating high profile complex cases
and class actions. While at G&E, Mr. Fleischman spent four years as co-lead counsel
litigating and ultimately negotiating a $400 million settlement with Marsh & McLennan.
Mr. Fleischman has been lead or co-lead counsel and chief litigator in numerous
successful litigation actions
(see current
and notable representation).
Mr. Fleischman has been a trial practice instructor at the Trial Practice Institute
of the U.S. Justice Department, and served for ten years as co-chairman of the Practicing
Law Institute’s annual conference on class actions. He has lectured in the United
States, Canada and Europe on the investigation, litigation and prevention of securities
and financial fraud.