Brian P. O’Connell joined Pomerantz as an associate in August 2021 and was elevated to Of Counsel in August 2024. Brian focuses his practice on securities and financial services litigation.

Brian leads some of the Firm’s most important securities class actions, winning decisions that expand investor rights. Among these is a case against Ginkgo Bioworks (“Ginkgo”), a synthetic biology company that merged with a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”). The case alleges that Ginkgo made false and misleading statements about its revenue, customers and value before the merger. Brian recently reached a settlement agreement with Ginkgo defendants for $17.75 million, representing favorable recovery for the class of investors.

In March 2024, Brian survived a motion to dismiss another de-SPAC case against Grab Holdings, Inc., known as the Uber of Southeast Asia, giving the oral argument that sustained Section 11 of the Securities Act and Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act claims. Brian also played an integral role in the litigation and settlement of three Pomerantz cases that recently reached final approval of settlement: telecommunications giant Sprint Corporation ($3.75 million), biopharmaceutical company Orphazyme A/S ($2.5 million), and energy and oil company Berry Corporation ($2.5 million).Brian P. O’Connell focuses his practice on securities and financial services litigation.

Prior to joining Pomerantz in its Chicago office, Brian was an associate at Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, where he specialized in antitrust and commodity futures litigation. Brian has successfully litigated complex class actions involving securities, as well as manipulation of futures and options contracts. Brian also previously worked at the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as a contractor focusing on options trading regulation. Following law school, Brian was a legal fellow at the chambers of Judge Marvin E. Aspen in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Brian is passionate about finance and securities law, having previously interned for the Chicago Board Options Exchange and for Susquehanna International Group. Brian has served as a Vice Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Securities Law Committee. Brian was recently recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star for 2024.

Brian earned his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. During his time there, he had the opportunity to work at the Center on Wrongful Convictions, where he argued in court on behalf of a client serving a life sentence and was later exonerated. Brian also served as Executive Articles Editor for the Journal of International Human Rights Law and as a teaching assistant for the Northwestern Center on Negotiation and Mediation.

A graduate of Stanford University, Brian majored in Political Science and minored in Economics. During his senior year, he was Editor-in-Chief of The Stanford Review, where he had previously been a Features Editor and a staff writer.

Brian is admitted to practice in Illinois and California, the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Northern and Central Districts of California, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.