Louis F. Burke


HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Worked for the enforcement division of the Securities Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office.
  • Has served as counsel in commodities, futures, and securities Class Action cases that have resulted in settlements exceeding $2.5 billion.
  • Has been a floor trading member of the Intercontinental Commodities Exchange and was President of The Volatility Exchange, Inc.
  • Continually recognized by Super Lawyers
  • Continually recognized by Best Lawyers

BIO:

Louis F. Burke is based in New York City and serves as Of Counsel to the Firm as an expert in commodities/futures litigation before federal and state courts, arbitration proceedings before securities and commodities exchanges and their regulatory counterparts, and administrative proceedings before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Mr. Burke has represented several lead plaintiffs in commodity market manipulation Class Action suits and has gained renown for his successful out-of-court resolution of disputes.

Mr. Burke worked for the enforcement division of the Securities Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office; was a floor trading member of the New York Board of Trade, formerly the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCA) and the New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE); and served as the first in-house General Counsel for the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (Comex), a precious metals futures exchange, where he supervised the enforcement of the Comex Rules and By-Laws and also oversaw the Exchange’s compliance with CFTC regulations.

An expert in arbitration proceedings, Mr. Burke has served as an Arbitrator for NFA, FINRA, NYCA, CSCE, Finex Europe, and the Intercontinental Commodities Exchange, Inc. He has served as the appointed co-chair of the Class Action Committee, the Securities Litigation Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and has been a member of Council of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association. He has also served on the Council for the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution where he is co-chair of the Arbitration Committee. Mr. Burke is an author and editor of Alternate Dispute Resolution in the Futures Industry, the preeminent resource regarding the arbitration process in the securities and commodities industries.

Additionally, Mr. Burke is the author of Arbitrating Disputes in the Futures Industry, ABA Securities News (1998); Ponzi Schemes: Common Tactics, Red Flags, and a Selection of Cases, UIA 53rd Congress, Seville, Spain (2009) and Survey of Class Actions Alleging Violation of the CEA for Manipulation, ABA Business Law Section (2010). He was a contributing editor to Energy Futures, McGraw Hill (1983) and International Derivatives Law, A Country by Country Analysis, Risk Publications (1996).

REPRESENTATIVE CASES:

  • In Re Libor-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litig., 11 MD 2262 (NRB)
  • In Re Merrill, B of A and Morgan Stanley Spoofing Litig., No. 19–cv–06002 (LJL) (S.D.N.Y.)
  • In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litig., No. 13-cv-7789 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y.) ($2.3 billion settlement
  • In re:  Commodity Exchange, Inc. Gold Futures and Options Trading Litigation, No. 14-md-02548-VEC (S.D.N.Y.)
  • In Re Crude Oil Commodity Futures Litigation, No. 11-cv-3600-KBF (S.D.N.Y.) ($16.5 million settlement)
  • In Re:  Commodity Exchange Inc. Silver Futures and Options Trading Litigation, No. 11-md-02213-RPP (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Deangelis v. Corzine, et al., No. 11-cv-07866-VM-JCF (S.D.N.Y.) ($100 million partial settlement with defendant JPMorgan)
  • In Re:  Platinum and Palladium Commodities Litig., No. 10-cv-3617-WHP (S.D.N.Y.) (proposed partial settlement of $48,400,000 plus a $35 million judgment and assignment)
  • In Re: Amaranth Natural Gas Commodities Litig., No. 07-cv-6377-SAS (S.D.N.Y.) ($77.1 million settlement)
  • Kohen v. Pacific Investment Management Co LLC, No. 05-cv-4681-RAG (N.D. Ill.) ($118,750,000 settlement)
  • Cornerstone Propane Partners v. Reliant Energy, et al., No. 03-cv-06186-VM (S.D.N.Y.)  ($100,800,000 settlement).
  • In Re: WorldCom, Inc. Securities Litig., No. 02-cv-03288-DLC (S.D.N.Y.) ($6.15 billion in settlement monies on behalf of the investor class; additional settlement of $38 million obtained in October 2012)
  • In Re: Global Crossing Ltd. Securities & “ERISA” Litig., No. 02-md-01472-GEL (S.D.N.Y.) (various partial settlements in the case, totaling $448 million)
  • Leider v. Ralfe, et al., No. 01-cv-03137-HB-FM (S.D.N.Y.) (settled with other pending class actions for an aggregate of $295,000,000 and substantial injunctive relief for the class)
  • In Re:  Initial Public Offering Securities Litig., No. 01-cv-02014-WHP (S.D.N.Y.) (Pursuant to the Stipulation, a Settlement Fund consisting of $586 Million in cash has been established for the settlement of all of the 309 constituent Actions)