Justin S. Nematzadeh

Personal Introduction

Justin S. Nematzadeh, Esq. is the Founder and Managing Member of Nematzadeh PLLC, which he launched in 2021. Through a wealth of experience from practicing at some of the most prestigious plaintiffs-focused and defendants-focused law firms in the world, he has amassed a track record of results through first-chair experience, especially in trials, on behalf of asset managers, small businesses, large corporations, entrepreneurs, government entities, public and private institutional investors, and individuals in United States federal and state courts, arbitration, and abroad. On behalf of plaintiffs, he has played roles in class and individual actions that have collectively resulted in recoveries amounting to over $3.53 billion. He started his career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His team is headquartered in New York City but handles matters across the globe. He regularly prosecutes and defends arbitrations, class actions, collective actions, individual actions, and mass actions arising from laws concerning the following: antitrust and unfair competition, including U.S. federal antitrust laws, state laws, such as the New York Donnelly Act (that may be amended through the New York “Twenty First Century Anti-Trust Act”), regulatory actions and investigations, and merger review; U.S. federal securities laws and state laws; mergers and acquisitions; corporate fiduciary duties; consumer protection; deceptive business practices; mass torts; whistleblower, qui tam, and False Claims Act matters; intellectual property; real estate; and other types of civil litigation. He was a core member of the plaintiffs’ team in the In re Petrobras Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), in which the team achieved a historic $3 billion settlement for the class. As of 2018, in terms of securities class actions, this was the largest settlement in a decade, the largest settlement ever involving a foreign issuer, the largest settlement ever achieved by a foreign lead plaintiff, the largest settlement ever that did not involve financial restatements, and in general, the fifth-largest class action settlement ever achieved in the United States. In praising the lawyers who worked on this historic class action, the Honorable Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York stated that the “lawyers in this case [are] some of the best lawyers in the United States, if not in the world.” Justin has also played roles in over a dozen other actions that resulted in total recoveries amounting to over $530 million for plaintiffs. He has been honored as a Rising Star under 40 years of age by Law360® in Class Actions, a prestigious award given to a select few “top litigators and dealmakers practicing at a level usually seen from veteran attorneys,” for which Law360® selected the 5 “winners after reviewing more than 1,200 submissions.” And he has been honored by Lawyers of Distinction® in securities law and Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star in antitrust and securities law for several years. Justin has represented plaintiffs and defendants in several antitrust actions, such as Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al. (S.D.N.Y.), In re Aluminum Warehousing Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), In re Generic Digoxin and Doxycycline Antitrust Litigation (E.D. Pa.), Hagele, et al. v. Shell Oil Co., et al. (S.D. Tex.), In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), and In re Treasury Securities Auction Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.). And Justin currently has leadership roles representing class plaintiffs in Casey’s Distributing, Inc., et al. v. Major League Baseball, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), Casey’s Distributing, Inc., et al. v. National Football League, Inc., et al. (S.D.N.Y.), Dream Big Media, Inc., et al. v. Alphabet Inc., et al. (N.D. Cal.), and Dunham, et al. v. The Sherwin-Williams Company, et al. (N.D.N.Y.). Reflecting the diversity of Justin’s practice, he also played a role in litigation against the fashion mogul Peter Nygard on behalf of over a dozen women who are alleged to have been raped by him when they were underage, Does v. Nygard, et al. (S.D.N.Y.). Prior to predominantly representing plaintiffs, Justin practiced at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and represented defendants in bet-the-company litigation. Justin’s practice involved U.S. federal and state and international complex litigation, arbitration, and internal and regulatory investigations, with an emphasis on antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty, commodities, contract, fraud, intellectual property, and securities litigation. Justin played roles in representing defendants in Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., et al. (S.D.N.Y.), Garofalo, et al. v. Revlon, Inc., et al. (D. Del.), In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.), and In re LIBOR-Based Financial Instruments Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.). And Justin played a role on the trial team in iBasis Inc.’s lawsuit against Koninklijke KPN NV in connection with an alleged inadequate tender offer, which settled during trial in 2009 before the Delaware Court of Chancery. Justin’s zealous advocacy has been demonstrated further through pro bono work that has achieved staggering results for those with disabilities: for example, for his work in representing plaintiffs in Toney-Dick, et al. v. Doar, et al. (S.D.N.Y.), Justin was awarded a 2013 Pro Bono Publico award from The Legal Aid Society.