Joseph A. Fonti

Joseph A. Fonti co-founded BFA and leads the firm’s U.S. Securities Litigation practice. With over two decades of experience representing institutional investors in complex litigation, Joseph’s commitment to clients, dedication to his cases, and advocacy skills have led to exceptional results in several of the most prominent securities and derivatives cases in recent decades. Joseph has achieved significant recoveries for investors while also securing landmark and sweeping corporate governance improvements.
 
Joseph has consistently been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs’-side financial lawyers. He has been named a Titan of the Plaintiffs’ Bar by Law360, a SuperLawyer by Thomson Reuters, and a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer by Lawdragon and has been “recommended” in the field of securities litigation by Legal 500. He has also been recognized by Chambers USA for his securities litigation prowess, with clients quoted in Chambers praising him as “a vigorous, strong litigator who does everything he can to represent his clients.” Joseph has been profiled by The New York Law Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and CT Insider, among others, for the landmark results he achieved for investors.
 
Joseph led the team that prosecuted the firm’s derivative stockholder action against Tesla’s Board of Directors in Delaware Chancery Court, resulting in a historic resolution valued at $919 million–the largest derivative settlement in Delaware history. He also led BFA’s prosecution of the securities class action against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. arising from misrepresentations concerning price fixing and other unlawful conduct. After five years of hard-fought litigation, including securing class certification, extensive fact and expert discovery, and preparing a summary judgment motion, BFA secured a $420 million recovery for shareholders.  
 
Throughout his career, Joseph has led historic litigations representing U.S. institutional investors and a number of Canada’s most significant pension systems and asset managers. He served as co-lead counsel in the $219 million recovery on behalf of shareholders of long-term care insurer Genworth Financial, the largest securities class action settlement in the history of the Eastern District of Virginia. Joseph also served as sole Lead Counsel in the securities class action involving Computer Science Corporation, recovering $97.5 million for the class at the brink of trial. In addition, he helped lead the prosecution and ultimate resolution of the Weatherford securities litigation, achieving a $120 million recovery for Weatherford shareholders; and contributed to securing a $173.5 million settlement in In re Broadcom Corp. Securities Litigation, which, at the time, was the second-largest cash settlement involving a company accused of options backdating.
 
Joseph has also achieved significant successes for clients in the area of auditor liability. He represented shareholders in the $671 million recovery in In re HealthSouth Securities Litigation, recovering $109 million from HealthSouth’s outside auditor Ernst & Young LLP, one of the largest recoveries to date against an auditing firm.
 
Currently, Joseph is leading BFA’s actions against TD Bank, Boeing, CVS, Citigroup, UiPath, TaskUs, and Talis Biomedical ($32.5 million settlement, pending final approval). Joseph also led the teams prosecuting actions against Bioventus ($15.25 million settlement) and Gatos Mining ($21 million settlement).
 
In addition to his success in trial and settlement, Joseph has distinguished himself  as an appellate advocate. For example, he successfully argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Celestica Inc. Securities Litigation and was instrumental in advocacy before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Broadcom Corp. Securities Litigation.
 
Dedicated to community service, Joseph served for four years as Chair of the Leadership Committee for the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal for the Archdiocese of New York, which supports local communities across ten New York counties. He currently serves as a member of the board of Saint Joseph's Seminary of the Archdiocese of New York and as a trustee of Saint Augustine Parish in Larchmont, New York.