Levi Y. Silver
Partner | Litigation Chair
Education
- Columbia University School of Law, J.D. 2005
- Brooklyn College, City University of New York, B.A. 2001
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Profile
My clients rely on me to leverage a firm grasp of the facts and law and, just as important, achieve their stated objectives with clear thinking, efficient strategy, and a thorough appreciation of the incentive structures of all sides.
Mr. Silver specializes in complex litigation, with a particular focus on business, commercial, securities, and shareholder disputes.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Silver received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Law from Brooklyn College, where he graduated summa cum laude and was selected to be in the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. He then earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Articles Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.
Mr. Silver spent the formative years of his legal career as a litigator in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he worked with some of the country’s most well-respected litigators on some of the highest profile, highest stakes litigations of the early 2000s. Since relocating to San Diego in 2010, Mr. Silver has represented businesses and individuals in complex litigation matters in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate court levels. Mr. Silver’s broad experience includes matters involving breach of contract, commercial torts, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, trade secrets, securities litigation, shareholder derivative litigation, business ownership disputes, class action litigation, construction litigation, and regulatory investigations. Mr. Silver currently serves as the firm’s Litigation Department Chair.
Experience
- Represented Board of Directors of Fortune 100 company in shareholder derivative suit filed in New York State Supreme Court, in which the Court dismissed all claims asserted against the Board.
- Represented “Big Four” audit firm in nationwide securities class action litigation filed by shareholders of firm’s audit client.
- Represented two investment banks in coordinated litigation consisting of 309 separate class action lawsuits, in which the plaintiffs alleged various underwriters manipulated the prices of securities during the dot-com bubble.
- Lead attorney in numerous investor fraud cases, including industries such as real estate investment, oil exploration, internet technology, investment management, and movie production.
- Lead attorney representing corporation asserting multi-million dollar claims for breach of contract, tortious interference, and misappropriation of trade secrets against publicly-traded company that ended negotiations to acquire Mr. Silver’s client and then hired client’s General Counsel and began competing with it.
- Lead attorney representing investor asserting claims of $1.5 million against publicly-traded company for wrongfully inducing client to not exercise stock options expiring before company’s initial public offering.
- Lead attorney securing an early global termination following a successful motion to dismiss of three federal lawsuits and an arbitration in which plaintiffs alleged that Mr. Silver’s corporate client breached the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
- Lead attorney representing law firm accused of fraudulently disbursing funds it held in escrow in connection with a corporate stock acquisition.
- Lead attorney representing subcontractor in multi-million dollar dispute litigated in consolidated arbitration involving claims totaling more than $100 million asserted by and between the project owner, prime contractor, two subcontractors, and two surety companies.
- Part of team that represented Merrill Lynch before the U.S. Supreme Court in landmark case Merrill Lynch v. Dabit, in which the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Mr. Silver’s client, reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and reshaping the landscape of securities litigation in the United States.
Achievements & Affiliations
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Rated
- Current Litigation Department Chair
- San Diego Magazine’s Top Lawyers in San Diego® – Business Litigation, Multi-Year Recipient
- San Diego Super Lawyers® – Business Litigation, 2022-2023
- San Diego Business Journal Top 100 Leaders in Law Honoree, 2022
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars®, 2015 – 2017
- Member, California Bar Association
- Member, New York Bar Association
- Member, San Diego County Bar Association
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Columbia University School of Law
- Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
- Interned for the Honorable Theodore H. Katz, former Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York