Lane L. Vines
Biography
Lane L. Vines’s practice is concentrated in the areas of securities/investor fraud, consumer and qui tam litigation. For more than 17 years, Mr. Vines has prosecuted both class action and individual opt-out securities cases for state government entities, public pension funds, and other large investors. Mr. Vines also represents consumers in class actions involving unlawful and deceptive practices, as well as relators in qui tam, whistleblower and False Claims Act litigations. Mr. Vines is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and numerous federal courts.
Mr. Vines also has experience in the defense of securities and commercial cases. For example, he was one of the Firm’s principal attorneys defending a public company which obtained a pre-trial dismissal in full of a proposed securities fraud class action against a gold mining company based in South Africa. See In re DRDGold Ltd. Securities Litigation, 05-cv-5542 (VM), 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7180 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 31, 2007).
During law school, Mr. Vines was a member of the Villanova Law Review and served as a Managing Editor of Outside Works. In that role, he selected outside academic articles for publication and oversaw the editorial process through publication.
Prior to law school, Mr. Vines worked as an auditor for a Big 4 public accounting firm and a property controller for a commercial real estate development firm, and served as the Legislative Assistant to the Minority Leader of the Philadelphia City Council.
Mr. Vines has achieved the highest peer rating, “AV Preeminent” in Martindale-Hubbell for legal abilities and ethical standards. Mr. Vines is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several federal courts.
Professional Leadership
- Villanova Law J. Willard O’Brien American Inn of Court, Pupillage Team Captain and Master member, 2004 to present
- Villanova Law School, Guest lecturer in “Accounting for Lawyers” course, 2012 & 2011
Business and Community Leadership
- Serves on the American Inns of Court Program Awards Committee
- He served as the Vice Chairman/Member of the Ethics Board of Radnor Township (Pennsylvania) from January 2014-December 2017.
- He currently serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster and Merit Badge Counselor for Boy Scout Troop Paoli 1 in Wayne, PA.
- Previously, he has served as a member of the Planning Commission for Narberth Borough (Pennsylvania), as well as an officer or director and participated in numerous other civic organizations.
Judicial Praise:
From United States Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey:
I do want to compliment all counsel for how they litigated this case in a thoroughly professional manner. All parties were zealously represented in the highest ideals of the profession, legitimately and professionally, and not the usual acrimony we see in these cases…I commend the parties and their counsel for a very workmanlike professional effort.
Transcript of the September 10, 2020 Final Fairness Hearing in Somogyi, et al. v. Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Prominent Judgments and Settlements
- Dodona I, LLC v. Goldman, Sachs & Co., No. 10-cv-7497, 296 F.R.D. 261 (S.D.N.Y. 2014) ($27.5 million class settlement involving collateralized debt obligations offerings)
- Vasco v. PHRG No. 15-cv-4623 (E.D. Pa.) ($5.2 million class recovery)
- Pa. Pub. School Employees’ Ret. Sys. v. Citigroup Inc., No. 05028, Jan. Term, 2011 (Pa. Common Pleas Ct.-Phila.) (confidential settlement)
- In re NetBank, Inc. Secs. Litig., No. 07-cv-2298-TCB (N.D. Ga.) (class recovery of $12.5 million, where target company was in bankruptcy)
- In re Bayou Hedge Funds Investment Litig., No. 06 MDL 1755 (CM) (S.D.N.Y.) (confidential settlements involving hedge fund fraud)
- Breakaway Solutions, Inc. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., C.A. No. 19522-NC (Del. Ch.) (confidential settlement involving IPO)
- Pa. Pub. School Employees’ Ret. Sys. v. Time Warner Inc., No. 002103, July Term, 2003 (Pa. Common Pleas Ct.-Phila.) ($23 million settlement in securities opt-out action)
- In re Aerosonic Corp. Secs. Litig., No. 03-cv-2373-T-24 SCB-TBM (M.D. Fla.) ($5.35 million class recovery, approximately 65% of claimed investor losses)
- Kelly v. McKesson HBOC, Inc., C.A. No. 99C-09-265 WCC (Del. Super.) (confidential settlement in securities opt-out action)
- In re Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Research Reports Secs. Litig. 02 MDL 1484 (JFK) (S.D.N.Y.) ($15 million recovery in securities class action involving analyst research)
- In re Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Secs., Deriv. and ERISA Litig. No. 07-cv-9633 (S.D.N.Y.) ($475 million recovery in securities class action involving subprime exposures)
- Sapir v. Delphi Ventures, No. 99-cv-8086-JORDAN (S.D. Fla.) ($3.8 million recovery, yielding net recovery of approximately 50% of claimed losses)
- In re Waste Management, Inc. Secs. Litig., No. H-01-4381 (S.D. Tex.) (confidential settlement in securities opt-out action)
- In re DRDGold Ltd. Secs. Litig., No. 05-cv-5542 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.) (successfully defended public gold mining company based in South Africa, obtaining early pre-trial dismissal in full of proposed securities fraud class action)