“We are extremely fortunate to be able to expand our footprint in Chicago with the addition of this talented team,” said Kip Reader, the Firm’s Managing Partner.  “Randy, Scott, David and Jim will strengthen the breadth and depth of our financial services practice area.”  "We are delighted to welcome these top-flight financial services lawyers to the Firm," said Fran Goins, Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services Group. "Drawing on the national scope of their practices, they will greatly enhance our capabilities in complex civil litigation and arbitration, as well as in the regulatory and enforcement areas.  Scott, David, Randy and Jim are dynamic attorneys whose wide ranging experience will enable us to do more for our clients both in Chicago and throughout the country.”  

“We are very excited about joining this Go-To Law Firm® as recognized nationally by Fortune 500 companies,” said Scott Meyers.  “Ulmer & Berne’s sophisticated 175-lawyer full-service platform provides substantial depth and breadth to our financial services clients.  The Firm’s recognized commitment to quality client service coupled with its highly competitive rate structure offers our clients tremendous value.  Our team’s depth and experience will mesh well with Ulmer & Berne’s highly regarded litigation practice.  We are truly delighted to be here.” 

“Our Firm has historically worked with many of the largest financial institutions in the nation – many of them with a significant presence in the Midwest,” said Mike Ungar, Chair of the Litigation Department.  “These additions help fortify our ability to provide top-notch legal services to our banking, finance, corporate and asset management clients.  Clients will not have to choose between reasonable costs and high-quality, high-value legal services.”   

Ken Berg, Partner-in-Charge of the Chicago office added, “Our Firm recently completed a substantial expansion of our Chicago office space to accommodate our continued growth.  As a full-service Firm, we continue to look for strategic opportunities to expand our presence and expertise in Chicago, and we remain very excited about our prospects for growth in this market.” 

With the recent expansion in Chicago, Ulmer & Berne now has a team of 59 attorneys across all offices serving the needs of its financial services clients. 

Randall D. Lehner – Randy joins Ulmer & Berne with more than 13 years of experience handling complex securities and commercial litigation matters.  Following his completion of a clerkship with a federal district judge in Chicago, Randy practiced with the firms of Sidley Austin LLP and Reed Smith LLP in Chicago.  His practice focuses on securities litigation and enforcement matters, including defense of SEC investigations and enforcement actions for corporations, directors, officers, and regulated professionals.  He has represented investment advisors, mutual fund portfolio managers, and other individuals and entities in the financial services industry.  He also has defended securities fraud class actions brought by shareholders. In addition, Randy investigates and prosecutes professional liability cases on behalf of failed financial institutions and federal regulators and has been directly responsible for the recovery of tens of millions of dollars.  He also has defended a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters including director and officer liability, trademark and contract disputes, trade secrets and non-competition clauses, class actions, and insurance coverage.  Randy received his law degree with high honors from Duke University in 1996 and his undergraduate degree with high honors from the University of Michigan in 1993.

Scott A. Meyers – Scott joins Ulmer & Berne with 18 years of sophisticated legal experience in complex financial matters, having previously worked at both Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York and Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago.  Scott’s practice concentrates on civil litigation and arbitration, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, internal investigations, and employment disputes in the securities and financial services industries, with a particular emphasis on hedge funds, investment advisers, and broker-dealers. Scott has been named to The Best Lawyers in America®, Illinois Super Lawyers, and Leading Lawyers.  He also publishes and speaks extensively, and is regularly quoted by the financial media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and Barron's.  Scott has successfully litigated a number of high-profile matters, and his victories include complete defense verdicts in a $900 million securities arbitration involving allegedly fraudulent analyst research and a $450 million securities arbitration involving complex hedging transactions with synthetic derivatives.  Scott is a 1991 cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center where he received a John M. Olin Law & Economics Fellowship, and a 1988 cum laude graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 

David W. Porteous – David has more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry.  He regularly represents clients in arbitration, enforcement proceedings and investigations, and counsels clients on compliance matters. He has represented a variety of institutions in the securities and commodities futures markets, including broker-dealers, clearing firms, hedge funds, commodity pools, public companies and their committees, directors, officers, and other senior managers.  David was previously an attorney in the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in New York.  He also worked for Regional Counsel of the National Association of Securities Dealers Regulation – Enforcement Division (now FINRA) in the Chicago and New Orleans offices.    David is a 1997 cum laude graduate of Tulane University Law School and a 1991 honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. 

James G. Martignon – Jim comes to Ulmer & Berne with an impressive business background in the financial services sector.  In addition to his legal practices at both Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC and Jenner & Block LLP, Jim worked as a financial analyst in the banking industry in Russia for several years. He has both presented and written on topics including investment management, securities regulations, and strategic alternatives for distressed businesses. Jim’s legal practice concentrates on complex civil litigation, securities litigation, investigations and enforcement proceedings, corporate and shareholder disputes, and bankruptcy matters.  Jim received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in 2002 and earned his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1991. 

Ulmer & Berne’s Financial Services Group represents many of the nation’s most prominent financial institutions, insurance companies and hedge funds in a variety of matters.  The Firm’s financial services attorneys are nationally recognized by various rankings, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America®, Leading Lawyers and Illinois and Ohio Super Lawyers.  In a survey of general counsel conducted by the publishers of Corporate Counsel magazine, the Firm was named a 2008 Go-To Law Firm® for Leading Financial Services Companies.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Randy, Scott, David or Jim or Partner-in-Charge of the Chicago office, Ken Berg.