News
Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP Promotes Four Attorneys to Partnership
BFA is thrilled to announce the elevation of four talented lawyers to our partnership: Anne Davis, Evan Kubota, Matt Melamed and Ross Shikowitz. “These promotions were earned through the diligence, commitment and excellence of each individual candidate. It just so happened that each of these four earned partnership at the same time, and BFA is proud to recognize them in this way,” said Joe Fonti.
“We are demonstrating our commitment to the careers and development of our talented team,” added Javier Bleichmar. BFA Partner Peter Borkon, recently appointed to the bench of Alameda County Superior Court, noted “It has been a pleasure to work with Anne, Evan, Matt and Ross and I look forward to watching their careers blossom.”
Anne K. Davis
Anne Davis has more than a decade of experience litigating complex matters in both federal and state courts. She focuses her practice on litigation of antitrust, consumer, and securities matters. Prior to joining BFA, Anne served as a Principal Counsel for Sales Practice Enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory (FINRA), where she conducted investigations and pursued enforcement actions pertaining to violations of FINRA, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules, and the federal securities laws by registered individuals and FINRA member firms. Before FINRA, she was a senior associate at Morrison & Foerster, LLP, where she specialized in securities litigation and enforcement, complex civil litigation, and internal investigations. She also maintained a pro bono practice involving Title IX compliance in California public schools, litigation on behalf of prisoners asserting Section 1983 excessive force claims, and asylum claims.
Evan A. Kubota
Evan Kubota brings more than a decade of experience in all stages of complex litigation, including trial and appeals. His experience includes complex securities and derivative actions, bankruptcy confirmation and adversary proceedings, and civil and criminal investigations. Prior to joining BFA in 2019, Evan was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he litigated high-profile matters on behalf of financial institutions and issuers in a variety of industries. Representative matters include plaintiff's counsel in breach of contract, fraud and civil RICO litigations against a distressed insurance company; debtor's counsel in a leading media company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which eliminated over $1 billion in debt; and the defense of numerous RMBS-related litigations, arbitrations, and investigations in the wake of the financial crisis.
Matt Melamed
Matt Melamed joined the firm in 2021, focusing on prosecuting complex consumer and antitrust matters. Before joining the firm, Matt was a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, where he represented cities, counties, and states in nationwide litigation concerning the marketing, distribution, and dispensing of prescription opioids. Among other roles in those cases, he represented the City and County of San Francisco, whose case was remanded as an MDL bellwether from In re: National Opiate Litigation. Matt also litigated numerous securities fraud lawsuits, including Jones v. Pfizer Inc., In re St. Jude Medical, Inc. Securities Litigation, and Villella v. Chemical & Mining Company of Chile, Inc.
Ross Shikowitz
For over a decade, Ross has been advising many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutional investors concerning their rights and potential legal claims arising out of securities-related matters. He is a senior member of the firm’s Client Monitoring and Case Evaluation Group in which he, together with a team of attorneys and financial analysts, develops and recommends legal strategies to the firm’s clients. Prior to joining the firm, Ross was an associate at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP where he was a senior member of its New Matter Department. Ross was also an instrumental member of the litigation teams responsible for recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of injured investors that were misled when purchasing residential mortgage-backed securities. He also served as a member of the litigation team that prosecuted the securities fraud class action against Volkswagen, which resulted in a recovery of $48 million for investors in Volkswagen American Depositary Receipts. Ross also served as a member of the team that successfully litigated the securities class action concerning GT Advanced Technologies and recovered approximately $40 million for investors.
“We are demonstrating our commitment to the careers and development of our talented team,” added Javier Bleichmar. BFA Partner Peter Borkon, recently appointed to the bench of Alameda County Superior Court, noted “It has been a pleasure to work with Anne, Evan, Matt and Ross and I look forward to watching their careers blossom.”
Anne K. Davis
Anne Davis has more than a decade of experience litigating complex matters in both federal and state courts. She focuses her practice on litigation of antitrust, consumer, and securities matters. Prior to joining BFA, Anne served as a Principal Counsel for Sales Practice Enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory (FINRA), where she conducted investigations and pursued enforcement actions pertaining to violations of FINRA, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules, and the federal securities laws by registered individuals and FINRA member firms. Before FINRA, she was a senior associate at Morrison & Foerster, LLP, where she specialized in securities litigation and enforcement, complex civil litigation, and internal investigations. She also maintained a pro bono practice involving Title IX compliance in California public schools, litigation on behalf of prisoners asserting Section 1983 excessive force claims, and asylum claims.
Evan A. Kubota
Evan Kubota brings more than a decade of experience in all stages of complex litigation, including trial and appeals. His experience includes complex securities and derivative actions, bankruptcy confirmation and adversary proceedings, and civil and criminal investigations. Prior to joining BFA in 2019, Evan was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he litigated high-profile matters on behalf of financial institutions and issuers in a variety of industries. Representative matters include plaintiff's counsel in breach of contract, fraud and civil RICO litigations against a distressed insurance company; debtor's counsel in a leading media company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which eliminated over $1 billion in debt; and the defense of numerous RMBS-related litigations, arbitrations, and investigations in the wake of the financial crisis.
Matt Melamed
Matt Melamed joined the firm in 2021, focusing on prosecuting complex consumer and antitrust matters. Before joining the firm, Matt was a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, where he represented cities, counties, and states in nationwide litigation concerning the marketing, distribution, and dispensing of prescription opioids. Among other roles in those cases, he represented the City and County of San Francisco, whose case was remanded as an MDL bellwether from In re: National Opiate Litigation. Matt also litigated numerous securities fraud lawsuits, including Jones v. Pfizer Inc., In re St. Jude Medical, Inc. Securities Litigation, and Villella v. Chemical & Mining Company of Chile, Inc.
Ross Shikowitz
For over a decade, Ross has been advising many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutional investors concerning their rights and potential legal claims arising out of securities-related matters. He is a senior member of the firm’s Client Monitoring and Case Evaluation Group in which he, together with a team of attorneys and financial analysts, develops and recommends legal strategies to the firm’s clients. Prior to joining the firm, Ross was an associate at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP where he was a senior member of its New Matter Department. Ross was also an instrumental member of the litigation teams responsible for recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of injured investors that were misled when purchasing residential mortgage-backed securities. He also served as a member of the litigation team that prosecuted the securities fraud class action against Volkswagen, which resulted in a recovery of $48 million for investors in Volkswagen American Depositary Receipts. Ross also served as a member of the team that successfully litigated the securities class action concerning GT Advanced Technologies and recovered approximately $40 million for investors.