Joni S. Jacobsen

Joni S. Jacobsen is a partner in the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Ms. Jacobsen’s practice is focused on the defense of publicly traded companies and their directors and officers in securities actions, directors’ and officers’ liability actions, SEC investigations, corporate governance disputes and other complex commercial litigation. She has substantial experience counseling and conducting internal investigations for public and private companies, boards of directors and special committees. Ms. Jacobsen has represented clients in a wide range of matters arising from allegations of options backdating, accounting irregularities, insider trading, inadequate or misleading public disclosures, breaches of fiduciary duties and short-swing trading. In addition, she has handled a number of commercial litigation matters, including class actions involving allegations of unfair consumer practices.  Ms. Jacobsen is also a member of the firm’s Electronic Discovery and Evidence Practice.

Representative Cases

• In re Section 16(b) Litigation (W.D. Washington, 9th Circuit) Represent 26 public companies named as nominal defendants in 55 related cases brought pursuant to Section 16(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act seeking disgorgement of profits by underwriters as a result of short-swing trading in initial public offerings. Representative clients include Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Priceline.com, TheStreet.com, and Amazon.com. Appointed liaison counsel for 55 nominal defendant companies. Successfully obtained dismissal from the District Court. Appeals are currently pending before the Ninth Circuit. 
• In re Keithley Instruments, Inc. Derivative Litigation (N.D. Ohio) Represented 20 current and former officers and directors of public companies named as nominal defendants in litigation brought derivatively on behalf of the corporation alleging federal securities laws and various state law claims, including breach of fiduciary duties based on an alleged options backdating scheme. Successfully obtained dismissal of all claims, with prejudice.    
• ProQuest, Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Michigan) Represented former CEO, president and chairman of the board of company in putative class action alleging violations of federal securities laws. 
• Cordova, et al. v. Lehman Brothers, et al. (S.D. Florida) Represented HSBC Bank USA, N.A. in consolidated class action securities litigation filed in the Southern District of Florida alleging violations of the Exchange Act and the Securities Act. Complaint arose out of alleged false representations and material omissions in solicitation materials allegedly used by a bank customer in the fraudulent sale of unregistered securities.
• Securities and Exchange Commission Investigation (Chicago, Illinois) Represented public company in connection with SEC investigation alleging violations of federal securities laws and related document production concluding in favorable resolution for client.
• Seinfeld v. Boeing, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., 2nd Cir.) Team represented Boeing’s Board of Directors in consolidated derivative actions filed in the Southern District of New York and Illinois state court alleging violations of Exchange Act and common law relating to directors’ oversight and control arising from company’s stock incentive plan, hiring former Air Force officer and obtaining competitors’ inside information regarding government defense contracts. Dismissal with prejudice of Southern District of New York claims was affirmed by Second Circuit.
• Acceptance Insurance Companies, Inc. (D. Neb., 8th Cir.) Represented Acceptance Insurance Companies, Inc. and its directors and officers in consolidated class action filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, alleging violations of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act. Action arose out of alleged failure to establish adequate reserves and fully disclose reinsurance liabilities. Achieved summary judgment in favor of all defendants on a fully developed factual record after successfully defeating plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint after close of discovery. Summary judgment and denial of leave to amend were affirmed by the Eighth Circuit.

Lectures and Articles

Ms. Jacobsen has authored several articles, including co-authoring “Recent Developments in Delaware Corporate Governance” in the 2008 Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute Practicing Law Institute Handbook. Ms. Jacobsen also lectures on class action, securities litigation and electronic discovery.

Professional Activities and Community Involvement

Ms. Jacobsen is a member of the Women’s Board of the American Cancer Society and is the 2009 Chair of the organization’s 24^th Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon, featuring Maria Pinto. Ms. Jacobsen also is a member of the Hubbard Street Dance Company’s Board of Directors. She is a founder and served on the Steering Committee for the Coalition for Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms, and serves on the Coalition’s Policy Committee. Ms. Jacobsen also serves on the National Committee of Katten’s Women’s Leadership Forum.

Education and Bar Admissions

Ms. Jacobsen received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Utah in 1991. Ms. Jacobsen is admitted to practice in Illinois and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Michigan.