Mr. Ladner is Co-Chair of the firm's Financial Services Litigation Practice Group and practices in the area of antitrust and complex business litigation with an emphasis on the defense of banks and other financial institutions. He has tried cases in state and federal courts throughout the country and has had substantial experience in multi-district litigation.

In the financial services area, he has defended financial institutions in a variety of class actions challenging the structure and practices of the payment card industry, the setting of credit card fees, the propriety of collateral protection insurance programs, and the disclosure and setting of charges to holders of credit cards. These cases have involved issues arising out of the Sherman Act, the Federal Arbitration Act, the RICO Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and state insurance and deceptive trade practices acts.

Mr. Ladner has also represented companies in regulatory investigations regarding alleged violations of state antitrust and unfair trade practice laws and has conducted internal investigations regarding allegations of money laundering, bid rigging and other unfair trade practices.

Mr. Ladner currently serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and was formerly Managing Partner of the New York office. He has been recognized as a “New York Super Lawyer” in the area of antitrust litigation.

• In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y.): Representing Bank of America in an antitrust action by a class of all merchants who accept Visa and Master Card payment cards alleging price-fixing and tying claims.
• In re Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.): Representing Bank of America in a class action challenge on behalf of holders of Visa and MasterCard credit cards to the foreign currency conversion practices of the associations and the major card-issuing banks. Plaintiffs allege that defendants’ practices violate the Sherman Act and TILA. 265 F. Supp. 3d 385 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (arbitration provision in cardholder agreement enforced).
• In re Late Fee and Over-Limit Fee Litigation, (N.D. Cal.): Representing Bank of America in class action challenging the imposition of late and overlimit fees by the five largest issuers of Visa and MasterCard credit cards. Plaintiffs allege that defendants’ practices violate the Sherman Act, National Bank Act and state deceptive practices acts.
  
• American Express v. Visa, et al. (S.D.N.Y.): Represented Bank of America in an action brought by American Express alleging that defendants violated the Sherman Act by conspiring to exclude American Express from the card-issuing and network services markets. Succeeded in negotiating a resolution.
• Hilton v. Bank of America (Texas state court): Represented Bank of America in putative nationwide class action under Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act challenging disclosure of “dealer discount” in auto loans assigned to Bank, which resulted in a defense verdict after a jury trial. See Peltier Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Hilton, 51 S.W.3d 616, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 8451 (Tex. App. – Tyler 2000)