Daniel C. Girard has 25 years of experience in securities litigation and leads the firm's securities law practice group.  He has repeatedly been recognized as an expert in securities class actions and complex litigation by the federal judiciary, and was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court to serve two terms on the United States Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.   Mr. Girard has prosecuted securities matters in state and federal courts throughout the United States and is experienced in all aspects of securities and derivative litigation.

Mr. Girard currently serves as lead counsel in the Royal Bank of Scotland Securities Litigation, representing investors who held the company’s Non-cumulative Dollar Preference Shares.  He also serves as a member of the executive committee charged with managing In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Securities and ERISA Litigation, multidistrict proceedings arising out of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.  

Some representative securities matters in which Mr. Girard served as lead or liaison counsel include Billitteri v. Securities America, Inc. ($150 million settlement), In re American Express Financial Advisors Securities Litigation, ($100 million settlement), In re Prison Realty Securities Litigation, ($104 million settlement), In re i2 Technologies Securities Litigation, representing Kansas Public Employees Retirement System ($88 million settlement);  In re Total Renal Care Securities Litigation, Louisiana Teachers’ Retirement System and the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System ($25 million settlement and corporate governance reforms); In re UDC Homes Securities Litigation ($19.5 million in partial settlements);  Calliott v. HFS, Inc. (In re Amre Securities Litigation), ($7 million settlement, representing substantially all available insurance); and In re Towers Financial Corporation Noteholders Litigation, liaison counsel and plaintiffs’ executive committee member in this securities and RICO class action ($250 million judgment against four senior Towers executives).

Mr. Girard has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America 2012, and has been consistently honored as a Northern California Super Lawyer (2007-2011).  He has been named among the highest class of attorneys for professional ethics and legal skills with an AV-Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell.  

Jonathan K. Levine has practiced exclusively in the area of securities litigation for 24 years, and has successfully prosecuted over 30 securities fraud actions in state and federal courts.  He is particularly experienced in cases of complex accounting fraud.

He has worked on several significant securities class actions including, the American Express Financial Advisors Securities Class Action ($100 million settlement), Rosen v. Macromedia, Inc. ($48 million settlement), and the Providian Financial Class Action, where he helped to obtain a $105 million recovery, one of the largest class action recoveries ever achieved in consumer credit card litigation.

Mr. Levine is also experienced in derivative litigation, having served as lead attorney in Wixon v. Wyndham Resort Development Corporation, a class and derivative action alleging that the directors of WorldMark violated their fiduciary duties by taking actions for the financial benefit of Wyndham, the timeshare developer, to the detriment of the timeshare owners.  Mr. Levine led the firm’s pre-trial preparation in Sallie Mae Securities Litigation.  He also participates in the firm’s representation of structured note holders in the In re Lehman Brothers Equity/Debt Securities Litigation, and preferred share purchasers in the In re Royal Bank of Scotland Securities Litigation.   

In addition to his trial work, Mr. Levine has lectured on securities litigation under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and electronic data retention risk control.  He is the author of “E-Mail and Voice Mail Discovery Issues,” Glasser LegalWorks (1998), “Discovery Techniques in Commercial Litigation and Recent Developments In the Rules of Discovery,” American Trial Lawyers Association (1991), and the co-author of “The Business Judgment Rule and Derivative Actions,” Practicing Law Institute (1989).   He was recently a featured speaker addressing Successful Direct Examination of Expert Witnesses at the Bridgeport 2011 Conference on Working With and Deposing Experts (March 2011). 

Amanda Steiner is a partner with Girard Gibbs specializing in complex securities litigation.  She has represented plaintiffs in all phases of class action practice since she began practicing law in 1997.  Ms. Steiner specializes in legal analysis, briefing and strategy  in securities matters. 

Ms. Steiner helped achieve recoveries on behalf of class members in Billitteri  v. Securities America, Inc., ($150 million settlement achieved on behalf Provident Royalties and Medical Capital investors).  She is currently involved in the prosecution of In re SLM Corporation Securities Litigation, securities fraud litigation on behalf of investors in SLM common stock, recently granted class certification.  She also participates in the firm’s representation of structured note-holders in the In re Lehman Brothers Equity/Debt Securities Litigation.

Ms. Steiner is a 1997 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, where she served as an Associate Editor for the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law (1995-96) and Articles Editor for the Berkeley Women’s Law Journal (1994-97). She received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Carleton College in 1991. 

Dena Sharp is an associate with the firm's Securities Law Practice Group. Ms. Sharp has dedicated her career to the protection of investors’ rights through securities and financial fraud class action lawsuits.

She has successfully managed a series of complex electronic discovery projects in such matters as In re SLM Corporation Securities Litigation, In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Securities and ERISA Litigation, and Billitteri v. Securities America, Inc.   She is an expert on emerging electronic discovery practice.

Ms. Sharp is a 2006 graduate, cum laude, of the University of California, Hastings College of Law.  She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University in 1997.   She was selected as a Rising Star by Northern California Super Lawyers (2009-2011), recognizing her as one of the top young attorneys practicing in Northern California. She is an active member of The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, the leading think tank on ediscovery. 

Ian Samson is an associate with the firm’s Securities Law Practice Group.  He is dedicated to protecting investors’ rights through securities and financial fraud class action lawsuits. 

Since graduating cum laude from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, Mr. Samson has worked on cases involving a variety of complex securities issues.  Currently, Mr. Samson is a member of the litigation team representing purchasers of certain “principal protection notes” and other structured products issued by Lehman Brothers and sold by UBS Financial Services, former employees of MF Global, and investors who purchased Groupon’s common stock following its initial public offering.  In addition to the on-going litigation, Mr. Samson regularly consults individuals concerning potential claims under the securities laws and through the SEC whistleblower program.

Prior to joining Girard Gibbs, Mr. Samson served as an extern to the Honorable Marsha S. Berzon of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Mr. Samson was a senior executive editor of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.  He is admitted to practice in California and before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.  

Lesley Vittetoe has focused her career on representing investors in securities matters.  Prior to joining Girard Gibbs, Ms. Vittetoe represented investors in securities arbitration and other dispute resolution proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against brokers and brokerage firms. As a student at the University of San Francisco School of Law, Ms. Vittetoe was a member of the Investor Justice Clinic, assisting investors in legal actions involving allegations of wrongdoing by securities firms.  Ms. Vittetoe’s work with the Investor Justice Clinic was focused on assisting elderly investors who had been targeted or deceived by fraudulent investment practices.

As a member of the firm’s Securities Law Practice Group, Ms. Vittetoe has continued her work protecting investors’ rights through securities and financial class action lawsuits.

Ms. Vittetoe has also served as an extern for the Honorable William Alsup of the United States District Court, Northern District of California. She is a member of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association and is admitted to the California Bar.