Robbins Geller’s Mike Dowd Receives 2017 Trial Lawyer Excellence Award

The Jury Verdict Reporter recognized Robbins Geller’s Michael J. Dowd with an award for the Highest Reported Illinois Verdict or Settlement at the 8th Annual JVR Awards for Trial Lawyer Excellence. Held at The Peninsula Chicago hotel, the event recognizes “superior outcomes and record verdicts achieved by individuals and teams of trial lawyers from both the plaintiff and defense bars.” Dowd was honored at the reception and awards ceremony, which attracted more than 300 trial attorneys and judges.

The award is the result of Dowd’s tireless work on the Household International (now HSBC Finance Corporation) securities class action, which yielded a record-breaking $1.575 billion recovery after 14 years of litigation. The $1.575 billion recovery is the largest ever following a securities fraud class action trial, the largest securities fraud settlement in the Seventh Circuit and the seventh-largest settlement ever in a post-PSLRA securities fraud case.

“I am proud to be part of a firm with so many great attorneys,” said Dowd. “It is an honor to be recognized by the Jury Verdict Reporter for our record-breaking $1.575 billion recovery in Household, which was the product of hard-fought litigation. Robbins Geller excels because we have real trial lawyers. We never would have won without the sacrifices and outstanding efforts of our partners, Spence Burkholz, Dan Drosman, and Luke Brooks.”

Dowd has been practicing securities litigation for more than 20 years, prosecuting dozens of complex securities cases and recovering billions of dollars for investors. In addition to Household International, his other notable cases include UnitedHealth ($925 million recovery), WorldCom ($657 million recovery), AOL Time Warner ($629 million recovery), Qwest ($445 million recovery) and Pfizer, Inc. ($400 million recovery). This award comes on the heels of several other notable recognitions for Dowd, including being named a Best Lawyer in America by Best Lawyers®, a Recommended Lawyer by The Legal 500 and a Leading Lawyer in America by Lawdragon.