WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Former Justice Department official Geoffrey Graber has joined Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC as a Partner. Prior to joining the firm, Graber served as a Deputy Associate Attorney General and Director of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group at the United States Department of Justice.

As RMBS Working Group Director, Graber oversaw the Department’s nationwide investigation into the packaging and sale of mortgage-backed securities leading up to the financial crisis. These investigations resulted in the $16.65 billion global settlement of RMBS-related claims against Bank of America – the largest settlement with a single entity in American history – as well as the $13 billion global resolution with JP Morgan and the $7 billion global resolution with Citigroup.

Graber will be a Partner residing in Cohen Milstein’s expanding Consumer Protection and Product Safety Practice group, and will contribute substantially to the Firm’s other practice areas, including Whistleblower/False Claims, Securities Fraud, and Public Client, among others.

“We are delighted that Geoff has joined the firm. His experience in handling large, complex investigations will be a great match for our Consumer Protection and other practice group cases,” said Cohen Milstein Chairman Joseph M. Sellers.   

Prior to being tapped to serve as the Director of the RMBS Working Group in March 2013, Graber led the Department’s investigation of Standard & Poor’s concerning the rating of asset-backed securities. That investigation, which made groundbreaking use of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), resulted in the largest enforcement action filed by the U.S. Department of Justice related to the financial crisis. Before joining the Department of Justice in May 2009, he was an Associate at California-based Morrison & Foerster LLP, practicing in the firm’s securities litigation and consumer class action groups. 

“Cohen Milstein is one of the premier firms in the country representing consumers and investors, and being a part of the team will allow me to continue the type of work I handled at the Department of Justice,” said Graber. “I look forward to working with some of the finest lawyers to help build the firm’s growing practice.”

In 2014, Graber received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work relating to the $13 billion settlement with JP Morgan – including, at the time, the largest FIRREA penalty recovered by the Department of Justice. In October 2015, he again received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work on the successful investigation and litigation against S&P. 

Graber earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School, Los Angeles, California, and his B.A. from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the District of Columbia.

For more information, visit http://www.cohenmilstein.com/news.php?NewsID=805.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Founded in 1969, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is a national leader in plaintiff class action lawsuits and litigation. As one of the premier firms in the country handling major complex cases, including consumer protection and product liability issues, Cohen Milstein, with over 80 attorneys, has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Denver, Colo. For more information, visit http://www.cohenmilstein.com or call (202) 408-4600.

Editors Note: Photo Available

CONTACT: Pam Avery
         [email protected]/402-305-0799