Nicole C. Lavallee

Lavallee, a veteran at pressing complex securities cases, is managing partner of Berman Tabacco’s San Francisco office and a member of its executive committee. She calculates that she has recovered more than $1 billion for clients and class members.

She’s lead plaintiffs counsel in a class action accusing a biopharma of making materially misleading statements about its blood thinner product to justify massive loans, support a public offering and artificially inflate stock prices. Alameda Co. Employees’ Retirement Ass’n. v. Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc., 3:20-cv-00367 (N.D. Cal., filed Jan. 16, 2020).

Following a hearing on the defendant’s dismissal motion, she said the judge appears receptive. “He’s possibly inclined to let the case go forward if we make some amendments to clarify our witnesses’ testimony,” she said.

Among Lavallee’s interests is the Board Balance initiative of the Women’s Impact Network, which aims to advance women in the legal profession and educate them about serving on boards of directors.

“Lack of women on boards of directors is always an issue,” she said, having observed corporate culture for years in lawsuits she has litigated. “But studies have shown that when boards are diverse, companies do better.”

She’s a member of the team putting on a Board Balance virtual program set for November, with sessions on creating paths to for-profit and nonprofit company board service.

The board of directors of Alphabet Inc. is the target of one of her cases in the settlement stage filed on behalf of shareholders alleging that certain officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties by engaging in a culture of concealment that perpetuated a pattern of sexual harassment and discrimination by Google’s male-dominated leadership. Cases from Santa Clara County, the Northern District of California and Delaware were joined for a global settlement deal. In re Alphabet Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, 19CV341522 (S. Clara Co. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 9, 2019).

The court gave preliminary approval of the settlement, which calls for Google to establish a $310 million fund for diversity training, support and jobs for people of color and women, at a hearing on October 22. The hearing for final approval is Nov. 30.

“This is an excellent settlement, and it feeds into my diversity interests,” Lavallee said.

— John Roemer