Paul J. Geller

In addition to maintaining a full litigation caseload, Paul Geller manages the Firm’s Boca Raton, Florida office and is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.

Paul J. Geller received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Florida, where he was a member of the University Honors Program. Mr. Geller earned his Juris Doctor degree, with Highest Distinction, from Emory University School of Law. At Emory, Mr. Geller was an Editor of the Law Review, was inducted into the Order of the Coif Legal Honor Society, and was awarded multiple American Jurisprudence Book Awards for earning the highest grade in the school in a dozen courses.

After spending several years representing blue chip companies in class action lawsuits at one of the largest corporate defense firms in the world, Mr. Geller became a founding partner and head of the Boca Raton office of a national class action boutique firm, Geller Rudman, PLLC. In July 2004, through a merger of the firms, Mr. Geller opened the Boca Raton, Florida office of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.

In May 2005, Mr. Geller was selected by The National Law Journal (“NLJ”) as one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40” – an honor bestowed upon 40 of the country’s top lawyers under the age of 40. The NLJ previously compiled its “40 Under 40” list in July 2002, and Mr. Geller is the only lawyer in the country selected for inclusion both in 2002 and again in 2005. In July 2006, as well as July 2003, Mr. Geller was featured in Florida Trend magazine as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite.” Mr. Geller was featured in the South Florida Business Journal as one of Florida's top lawyers, and named one of the nation’s top 500 lawyers by Lawdragon in August 2006 and again in May 2010. In June 2007, Mr. Geller was selected by Law & Politics as one of Florida’s top lawyers.

Mr. Geller is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell (the highest rating available) and has served as lead or co-lead counsel in a majority of the securities class actions that have been filed in the southeastern United States in the past several years. Mr. Geller recently served as one of the court-appointed lead counsel in a series of cases involving the alleged manipulation of the asset value of some of the nation's largest mutual funds, including Hicks v. Morgan Stanley & Co.; Abrams v. Van Kampen Funds, Inc.; and In Re Eaton Vance Sec. Litig. ($51.5 million aggregate settlements). He was also counsel in a case against Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V. ($115 million settlement). In the derivative arena, Mr. Geller was lead derivative counsel in a case against Prison Realty Trust (total aggregate settlement of $120 million). In the corporate takeover area, Mr. Geller led cases against the boards of directors of Outback Steakhouse ($30 million additional consideration to shareholders) and Intermedia Corp. ($38 million settlement).

Mr. Geller has also successfully represented consumers in class action litigation. He recently settled Kehoe v. Fidelity Fed., a consumer class action alleging privacy violations filed in the Southern District of Florida, for $50 million. Mr. Geller was instrumental in resolving a case against Dannon for falsely advertising the health benefits of yogurt products ($45 million settlement) and he was personal counsel to the lead plaintiff in Stoddard v. Advanta, a case that challenged the adequacies of interest rate disclosures by one of the nation's largest credit card companies ($11 million settlement).

Mr. Geller also recently represented Emergency Room physicians in Florida against some of the nation’s largest HMOs for improper payment calculations. After Mr. Geller’s appellate victory in the case, he was presented an award by the America Law Media’s Daily Business Review and named one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers.”

During the past few years, several of Mr. Geller's cases have received regional and national press coverage. Mr. Geller has appeared on CNN Headline News, CNN Moneyline with Lou Dobbs, ABC, NBC and FOX network news programs. Mr. Geller is regularly quoted in the financial press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and BusinessWeek.

Honors & Awards

• Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell
• Selected by The National Law Journal (“NLJ”) as one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40”, 2005, 2002
• Featured in Florida Trend magazine as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite”, 2006, 2003
• Featured in the South Florida Business Journal as one of Florida's top lawyers
• Named one of the nation’s top 500 lawyers by Lawdragon, 2010, 2006
• Selected by Law & Politics as one of Florida’s top lawyers, 2007
• Florida Super Lawyer (2007-present)