Jonathan D. Uslaner

For Uslaner, it's not just the type of law he practices that energizes him, it's the colleagues he works with every day at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman.

Not only does the firm promote an "open-door policy" that Uslaner said gives him a front-row view of the work of longtime litigators, but the firm encourages "relatively junior partners to stay on top of all cutting-edge legal issues." Uslaner's career has benefited from both.

"Corporate actors seem to develop new ways to commit fraud, so it keeps the practice entertaining and it keeps the field developing and the nature of the cases evolving," Uslaner said. "It's a fascinating field."

Uslaner, who joined the firm in 2010, has recovered $3 billion for defrauded investors through securities litigation targeting some of the world's biggest financial players, including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. He took the deposition of senior Merrill Lynch banker Peter Kraus while representing Bank of America shareholders regarding misleading statements and omissions about the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2009. In re: Bank of America Securities Litigation, 09-MDL-2058 (S.D. N.Y., filed Sept. 25, 2009) The case settled just before trial in 2012 for $2.43 billion.

"It was a pretty fantastic experience exposing that level of corporate wrongdoing," said Uslaner, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.

Uslaner also traveled the country taking 16 of 19 depositions in a mortgage fraud case on behalf of client Cambridge Place Investment Management Inc. against more than a dozen major financial institutions. Cambridge Place Investment Management Inc. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., et al.,10-2741 (Mass., filed July 9, 2010) The case settled in 2012 for undisclosed terms.

In March, Uslaner's team secured a $219 million class-action settlement for shareholders against Genworth Financial Inc. related to its understating of insurance reserves. The settlement is the largest recovery ever obtained in a securities class action in Virginia. In re: Genworth Financial Inc. Securities Litigation, 3:14-cv-00682-JRS (E.D. Va., filed Oct. 6, 2014)

Uslaner was involved in every aspect of litigation, including overseeing the discovery process and taking depositions of Genworth's key actuaries.

"Our team brought a level of energy to the case that caused that result to come about," Uslaner said.

One of the lead co-plaintiffs in the case was the Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association.

"Our clients often are the pension funds who represent people just like my parents," Uslaner said.

- Meghann M. Cuniff