Michael Grunfeld

Michael Grunfeld joined the Firm in July 2017 as Of Counsel and was elevated to Partner in 2019. He has extensive experience in securities, derivative, complex commercial, and white-collar matters in both federal and state courts nationwide. In 2020 and 2022, Michael was included on Benchmark Litigation‘s 40 & Under Hot List, an honor granted to a few of the “best and brightest law firm partners [under 40 years old] who stand out in their practices.” In 2019, Law360 named him a Rising Star. Michael has been ranked by Super Lawyers® as a Top-Rated Securities Litigation Attorney from 2020 – 2025, and as a New York Metro Rising Star in 2018 and 2019.

Michael has led litigations against companies that were alleged to have defrauded investors by convincing them to sell their shares for less than they were worth in take-private transactions. This issue formed the basis of two securities class actions against Chinese companies Qihoo 360 and JA Solar, in which Michael achieved settlements of $29.75 million and $21 million, respectively. In both cases, the companies convinced investors to sell their shares in management-led buyouts before relisting in China at much higher valuations, allegedly concealing these plans from shareholders and thus depriving them of the fair value of their shares. Both Qihoo and JA Solar were appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where Michael obtained favorable rulings on the plaintiffs’ behalf. Michael’s work in these cases is at the forefront of seeking to define to what extent companies can be held liable to investors for misrepresenting the company’s plans or value in the merger context.

Michael has also played a leading role in some of the firm’s other most notable cases, such as the class action against Yahoo!, Inc., where Pomerantz, as lead counsel, secured an $80 million settlement on behalf of the Class. This landmark settlement made history as the first substantial shareholder recovery in a securities fraud class action related to a cybersecurity breach.

Michael led Lerman, et al. v. Apple Inc., a consumer class action against Apple alleging that its iOS 9 operating system harmed the performance of iPhone 4S devices. Michael led this litigation through the class certification process, merits discovery, and mediation. He achieved significant victories when the district court certified the class in October 2020 and, in February 2021, the Second Circuit denied Apple’s petition seeking leave to appeal. The court approved a $20 million settlement on behalf of the class in 2022.

Michael also led Pomerantz’s litigation on behalf of the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement System as an intervenor in The Doris Behr 2012 Irrevocable Trust v. Johnson & Johnson. At issue was an activist investor’s attempt to have Johnson & Johnson shareholders vote on a proxy proposal that would have required all securities fraud claims against the company to be pursued through mandatory arbitration and waived shareholders rights to bring securities class actions. In March 2022, the district court handed down an important victory for shareholders when it granted Johnson & Johnson and the Intervenors’ Motion to Dismiss the Third Amended Complaint. The Third Circuit affirmed that decision on appeal.

Michael co-authored a chapter on damages in securities class actions for the LexisNexis treatise, Litigating Securities Class Actions.

His earlier career highlights include serving as a clerk for Judge Ronald Gilman of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and as a foreign law clerk for Justice Asher Grunis of the Israeli Supreme Court. Before joining Pomerantz, he worked as a litigation associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Show More