“Jordan is the total package of what you could want from a lawyer: judgment, expertise, toughness, and business savvy. — Chambers USA Client Quote
Jordan Eth is a partner in Morrison Foerster's Securities Litigation group. Jordan is one of the leading securities litigators in the United States, known for his success in handling complex, high-stakes cases. He has more than 30 years of experience representing public companies and their officers and directors in:
- Securities class actions
- SEC investigations
- Derivative suits
- Mergers and acquisitions litigation
- Internal investigations
Jordan understands the big-picture challenges facing companies and individuals in securities litigation, as well as the intricacies of the legal issues. As co-leader of the successful defense of JDS Uniphase Corp. and its former executives in a securities class action jury trial seeking $20 billion in damages—the largest in history—Jordan is one of the few lawyers who has taken a securities class action to trial and won a complete jury defense verdict.
Jordan’s clients cover a broad range of industries, including financial services, computer software and hardware, life sciences, manufacturing, and consumer products. He is routinely recognized for his exceptional client service, including in Best Lawyers in America, where a client noted that, “Jordan Eth is in a class of his own. He is deeply knowledgeable and experienced and a natural leader without ego issues. He thinks strategically and is extremely responsive, realistic, and clear in his assessments of situations. He is able to marshal resources within Morrison Foerster as necessary. And if that were not enough, he is easy to work with. I could not recommend him more highly.” Jordan is also regularly praised by clients for his strong courtroom advocacy and deep expertise in securities litigations and class actions:
“Jordan is impressive before the courts. He is straight to the point and his voice carries a lot of weight with the bench.” – Chambers USA
“Jordan understands the CEO mentality with respect to securities actions and navigates the corporate politics of these matters with the same expertise with which he handles the legal case.” – Client
Full Disclosure Resource CenterExperience
(N.D. Cal.) Co-led the team that obtained a complete defense verdict on behalf of JDS Uniphase Corp. and its former executives in a securities class action seeking $20 billion for alleged securities fraud and illegal insider trading in the largest securities class action jury trial in history.
(N.D. Cal.) Defeated an effort by three plaintiffs' firms to enjoin the shareholder vote on the $4.5 billion sale of Yahoo's operating assets to Verizon. Represented Altaba (formerly Yahoo!) and its former officers in a securities class action arising out of the then-largest data breach in U.S. history. After defeating a preliminary injunction, negotiated a favorable settlement.
(9th Cir.; Del.; N.D. Cal., Del. Ch.) Defended Yahoo! and its directors and officers against multiple securities and derivative claims, including claims arising from a high-profile data breach and from the company’s share buy-back program. These representations included an action in New York Supreme Court Commercial Division, a “demand refused” derivative action, and a California State Court preliminary injunction motion, where he defeated plaintiffs’ attempts to enjoin the stockholder vote on Yahoo!’s $4.5 billion sale of its operating business to Verizon. On multiple occasions, secured dismissal of derivative claims that the Delaware Supreme Court, and Ninth Circuit have affirmed in published opinions.
(Alameda Cty. Sup. Ct.) Represented Clorox and its directors in a shareholder suit that sought to undo the results of its 2012 vote on proposals regarding executive compensation and an amendment to increase the number of authorized shares under the company’s stock incentive plan. Won a complete defense verdict.
(D. Colo.; 10th Cir.) Represented Level 3 and its executives and directors in a securities class action arising out of its acquisition of another company. Won a motion to dismiss. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal.
(N.D. Cal.) Represented Solazyme and its executives and directors in a securities class action that challenged the accuracy of statements relating to the company’s launch of a new production facility overseas. Won a motion to dismiss with prejudice.
(E.D. Va.) Represented Capital One in shareholder derivative litigation alleging breach of the duty of loyalty, corporate waste, and unjust enrichment. Won a motion to dismiss without leave to amend.
(N.D. Cal.) Represents the board of directors of Oracle in a shareholder derivative action that followed on the heels of a federal securities class action pending in the same court related to the company’s Cloud business. Also represented Oracle in multiple shareholder derivative litigations after it announced a $199.5 million settlement of a qui tam action. Guided all matters to a single mediation, which resulted in a favorable global settlement.
(N.D. Cal.; San Francisco Sup. Ct.; D. Del.) Represents Fitbit and its officers and directors in multiple class actions alleging Fitbit misled investors about the accuracy of its heart rate monitoring technology and made accusations of insider trading. In a related case, successfully moved the San Francisco Superior Court to stay the state actions in favor of the federal litigation before negotiating a favorable settlement.
(N.D. Cal.) Represented RH and its officers in defense of claims that they hyped the launch of a new product line. Negotiated a favorable settlement of the case.