Michael Blatchley focuses on securities fraud litigation. He is a member of the firm’s case development and client advisory group, in which he, along with a team of attorneys, financial analysts, forensic accountants, and investigators, counsels the firm’s clients on their legal claims.
Over the course of his career, Michael has helped recover billions of dollars for injured investors. For example, Michael played a key role on the BLB&G team that recovered over $2 billion for 35 institutions that invested in the Allianz Structured Alpha Funds. Most recently, Michael helped lead the federal securities class action lawsuit In re Wells Fargo & Company Securities Litigation, which recovered $1 billion on behalf of the firm’s clients and a class of investors. The settlement is the largest ever in a securities class action not involving a restatement, an SEC action, or DOJ criminal charges.
Michael was also a member of the team that achieved a $250 million recovery in In re Allergan, Inc. Proxy Violation Securities Litigation, a precedent-setting case alleging unlawful insider trading by hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, and served as a key member of the litigation teams in In re JPMorgan Chase & Co. Securities Litigation ($150 million recovery), In re Medtronic, Inc. Securities Litigation ($85 million recovery), and In re CenturyLink, Inc. Securities Litigation ($55 million recovery).
Michael has been repeatedly named to Benchmark Litigation’s “Under 40 Hot List,” selected as a leading plaintiff financial lawyer by Lawdragon, and recognized as a “Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters. He frequently presents to pension fund professionals and trustees concerning legal issues impacting their funds, and has authored numerous articles addressing investor rights, including, for example, a chapter in the Practising Law Institute’s 2017 Financial Services Mediation Answer Book.