Ira M. Press is Of Counsel to our New York office. 

Mr. Press’s practice focuses on securities and consumer litigation.  He joined the firm in 1993, and currently leads the firm’s institutional investor monitoring program.  In this capacity, he has provided advisory services to numerous government pension funds and other institutional investors.  He has authored articles on securities law topics and has lectured to audiences of attorneys, experts and institutional investor fiduciaries.  From 2012-2022, he was named a Top Rated Securities Litigation attorney by Super Lawyers. 
 
Mr. Press’s advocacy has resulted in several landmark appellate decisions, including Rothman v. Gregor, the first ever appellate reversal of a lower court’s dismissal of a securities class action suit pursuant to the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

Some of Mr. Press’s relevant experience includes:
 

• Co-lead counsel in Kokareva v. Bristow Group Inc., a securities class action alleging that an aviation services provider focused on the oil and gas sector, made materially false and misleading statements about its internal controls relating to covenants in the company’s secured financing agreements.  The case resulted in a $6.25 million settlement that has received final approval.
• Counsel in Maverick Neutral Levered Fund, Ltd. v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., alleging that Valeant materially misrepresented its business model, touting artificial and unsustainable growth that was enabled by the company’s deceptive and illegal conduct.
• Representation of the NY State Common Retirement Fund as lead plaintiff in In re National City Corporation Securities, Derivative & ERISA Litigation, a securities class action arising from National City’s alleged misrepresentations regarding exposure to subprime mortgage related losses.  During the class period, the company’s stock fell from approximately $37 to $6.  This case resulted a settlement of $168 million.
• Representation of the New York City Pension Funds as lead plaintiff in a class action against Wachovia Corporation arising from Wachovia’s alleged misrepresentations of their exposure to the subprime market.  This case resulted in a settlement of $75 million.
• Lead counsel in In re Citigroup Inc Securities Litigation, a class action arising out of Citigroup’s alleged misrepresentations regarding their exposure to losses associated with numerous collateralized debt obligations.  This case settled for $590 million.

Prior to joining KM, Mr. Press practiced at Warshaw Burstein Cohen Schlesinger & Kuh, LLP, where he focused on commercial litigation.