Juan Monteverde is an experienced attorney who has committed the bulk of his professional career to advocating for shareholder rights.
Monteverde is the founding partner of Monteverde & Associates PC, a New York City area law firm that specializes in class actions designed to protect shareholders and consumers from corporate wrongdoing.
A skilled attorney, Monteverde regularly takes on high-profile merger cases to pursue maximum shareholder value. Over the course of his career, he has recovered damages and changed the terms of merger transactions to support shareholders and consumers.
He has been named by Super Lawyers as a New York metro rising star in securities litigation four times — in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The award is given to fewer than 2.5 percent of all attorneys in each field. In addition, he has been selected by Martindale-Hubbell as a top-rated lawyer three times, in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
A Distinguished Career in Law
Juan Monteverde graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2002. In 2005, he graduated cum laude with a J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law, where he was staff editor of the law review and president of the school’s newspaper. While in law school, he was a summer associate at Diaz Reus, LLP.
He is admitted to practice in New York and in the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Eastern District of Wisconsin, the District of Colorado, and the 7th and 8th circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Following graduation, Monteverde worked as an associate at Smith Mazure Director Wilkins Young & Yagerman, P.C. In 2007, he became an associate at Levi & Korsinsky, LLP.
In July 2010, Monteverde joined Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a national law firm representing investors and individuals in nationwide class action lawsuits. Monteverde was a partner and chair of the mergers and acquisitions litigation department at the firm.
In June 2016, he formed Monteverde & Associates PC. After a decade of working at other firms and running a department, Monteverde felt strongly he had the foundation to launch his own law firm.
The company’s attorneys have extensive experience litigating securities class action lawsuits and mergers and acquisitions on behalf of investors. The firm focuses on recovering money and remedying corporate malfeasance.
Monteverde & Associates also represents consumers in cases where companies have used false or misleading advertising to cheat customers. The firm has a successful record of accomplishment in cases before trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Its primary practice areas are mergers and acquisitions class action litigation, securities class action litigation, shareholder derivative litigation and consumer class action litigation. The firm has offices in New York City, Mt. Kisco, New York, and Culver City, California.
Monteverde & Associates has been named one of the top 50 law firms by Institutional Shareholder Services Securities Class Action Services in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Groundbreaking Work and Settlements
Juan Monteverde is a skilled litigator whose work has led to significant findings on behalf of his clients. He was a pioneer in challenging proxies related to compensation issues after passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, challenging corporates that failed to provide accurate disclosures to shareholders so informed votes could be cast. In that case, Monteverde was able to enjoin a 2012 shareholder vote because information about projected executive compensation was not properly disclosed in a proxy statement. The issue was an equity plan share increase for executives that had a potentially dilutive effect on shareholders.
Some of his other notable cases and achievements are:
- Obtaining significant disclosures pre-close for stockholders in a case against Harleysville Group, Inc. In addition, he secured significant relief post-close via an anti-flip provision that provided former stockholders with 25 percent of any profits from a qualifying sale
- Serving as co-lead counsel in a case versus Jefferies Group, Inc. that led to a $70 million post-close settlement
- A $17.5 million cash settlement, post-close, in a case versus American Capital, Ltd.
- Acting as co-lead counsel for an $11 million post-close cash settlement in a case against Force Protection, Inc.
- As co-lead counsel, securing a $10.725 million post-close cash settlement against Orchard Enterprises, Inc.
- A $7.5 million cash settlement, post-close, in a case versus Hansen Medical, Inc.
- A $6.5 million cash settlement in Riche v. Pappas
- A $5 million post-close cash settlement in a case against Clubcorp Holdings
- Obtaining a post-close cash settlement of $1.9 million as co-lead counsel in a case against Cogent, Inc.
Monteverde has written for the American Bar Association and others about executive compensation issues and speaks regularly at conferences for the ABA, Practising Law Institute and other groups about executive compensation and merger litigation.
A Strong Work Ethic at the Heart of Success
Monteverde begins each morning with a dark cup of coffee and the Wall Street Journal. If he’s awake, he says, he’s working. Before he arrives in the office, he makes sure that near-term tasks are in motion and deadlines are on track for being met.
He also and has a maxim to not go home until his work is done. This trait is critical, he notes, because of the strict court deadlines.
He is a stickler for details (“Read everything,” he encourages would-be entrepreneurs). He cites his organization and focus on details as key to his firm’s success. He spends a good part of each day reading and editing briefs when he’s not in court or at a deposition.
As a firm working on contingency fees, he knows the importance of customer service and delivering excellent outcomes for his clients. But he also notes that law firms must be sure to market those successes and make them known, demonstrating a track record of success for prospective clients.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Monteverde also was timely, shutting down his offices two weeks before it was required in New York City in the interest of his employees’ health.
In the future, he sees an opportunity to help shape corporate law nationwide in merger and acquisition cases, always with an eye on protecting shareholders and consumers.
