Paul J. Geller

Paul Geller, managing partner of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s Boca Raton, Florida office, is a founding partner of the Firm, a member of its Executive and Management Committees and head of the Firm’s Consumer Practice Group. Geller’s 25 years of litigation experience is broad, and he has handled cases in each of the Firm’s practice areas. Notably, before devoting his practice to the representation of consumers and investors, he defended companies in high-stakes class action litigation, providing him an invaluable perspective. Geller has tried bench and jury trials on both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ sides, and has argued before numerous state, federal and appellate courts throughout the country.

Geller was recently selected to serve in a leadership position on behalf of governmental entities and other plaintiffs in the sprawling litigation concerning the nationwide prescription opioid epidemic. In reporting on the selection of the lawyers to lead the case, The National Law Journal reported that “[t]he team reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ in mass torts.” Geller was also part of the leadership team representing consumers in the massive Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Emissions case. The San Francisco legal newspaper The Recorder labeled the group that was appointed in that case, which settled for more than $17 billion, a “class action dream team.”

Geller is also currently serving  as Co-Lead Counsel in In re EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Mktg., Sales Practices & Antitrust Litig., a nationwide class action that alleges that pharmaceutical company Mylan N.V. and others engaged in anticompetitive and unfair business conduct in its sale and marketing of the EpiPen Auto-Injector device.

Some of Geller’s other recent noteworthy successes include a $265 million recovery against Massey Energy in In re Massey Energy Co. Sec. Litig., in which Massey was found accountable for a tragic explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Geller also secured a $146.25 million recovery against Duke Energy in Nieman v. Duke Energy Corp., the largest recovery in North Carolina for a case involving securities fraud, and one of the five largest recoveries in the Fourth Circuit.

Additionally, Geller was lead counsel in Kehoe v. Fidelity Fed. Bank & Trust, one of the country’s first cases alleging a class-wide privacy violation, settling the case for a $50 million recovery in addition to enhanced privacy protections. More recently, he was one of the lead counsel in the Sony Gaming Networks Data Breach litigation, which resulted in significant monetary recovery and other benefits to class members.

Geller serves on the Advisory Board of Emory University School of Law and the separate Board of The Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims at Emory. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Advisors for The Center on Civil Justice at the New York University School of Law. In these roles and others, Geller frequently lectures on class action and MDL issues at judicial seminars, bar conferences, and academic programs.  Geller is a member of the faculty of the inaugural Mass Torts MDL Certificate Program at the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School (March 2019). Other presentations include The Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies’ Class Action Settlement Conference (“Compensation of Objectors,” San Diego, California; October 2016), and the Emory Institute’s Complex Settlements Conference co-sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center and the JPML (“Fairness Determinations: Pitfalls and Challenges in Class Settlement,” Atlanta, Georgia; December 2016).

Geller has been rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell (the highest rating available), twice named one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40” by The National Law Journal, and has been named one of “Florida’s Top Lawyers” by Law & Politics and South Florida Business Journal. He has also been named a Leading Lawyer in America by Lawdragon, a Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer by The National Law Journal, one of Florida’s “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend magazine, and one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers” by American Law Media’s Daily Business Review. Additionally, Best Lawyers® named Geller a Best Lawyer in America in the area of “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” and he was additionally chosen as Lawyer of the Year in that same category. Super Lawyers Magazine has also named Geller a Florida Super Lawyer for 12 consecutive years.

Geller earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Florida, where he was a member of the University Honors Program. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Emory University School of Law, with Highest Distinction, where he was an editor of the Emory Law Journal, a member of the Order of the Coif Legal Honor Society and was awarded multiple American Jurisprudence Book Awards for earning the highest grade in class.

Individual Awards:

• Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA) Proven Trial Lawyers
• Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers®, 2017-2019
• Named a Florida Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers magazine, 2007-2018
• Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer, The National Law Journal, 2018
• Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers®, 2018
• Leading Lawyer in America, Lawdragon, 2006-2007, 2009-2018
• Attorney of the Month, Attorney At Law, 2017
• Featured in “Lawyer Limelight” series, Lawdragon, 2017
• Recommended Lawyer, The Legal 500, 2016
• Selected as a Top Rated Lawyer, South Florida’s Legal Leaders, Miami Herald, 2015
• Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2013
• Featured as one of Florida’s “Legal Elite” in Florida Trend magazine, 2003, 2006
• Named one of “Florida’s Most Effective Lawyers” in the Class Action category by American Law Media, 2006
• Featured as one of Florida’s top lawyers in South Florida Business Journal, 2006
• Selected as one of the nation’s top “40 Under 40” by The National Law Journal, 2002, 2005

Firm Awards:

• Elite Trial Lawyers, The National Law Journal, 2014-2016, 2018
• Top Plaintiff Firm, Benchmark Litigation, 2010-2018
• Tier 1 Firm, “Best Law Firms,” U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, 2013-2018
• Band 1 Law Firm, Chambers USA, 2010-2018
• Top-Tier Plaintiffs’ Firm, The Legal 500, 2010-2018
• Practice Group of the Year, Law360, 2015-2017
• Selected as the Securities winner, Elite Trial Lawyers, The National Law Journal, 2016
• Most Feared Litigation Firms, BTI Consulting, 2014-2015
• Most Feared Plaintiffs’ Firm, Law360, 2013-2015
• Plaintiffs’ Hot List, The National Law Journal, 2004-2009, 2011, 2013-2014

Emory University School of Law, J.D., 1993, with Highest Distinction

• Editor, Emory Law Journal
• Order of the Coif Legal Honor Society
• Awarded multiple American Jurisprudence Book Awards for earning the highest grade in class

University of Florida, B.S., 1990, Psychology

• Member, University Honors Program

• Florida
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Courts of Appeals: Fifth and Eleventh Circuits
• United States District Courts: Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida; District of Colorado; Eastern District of Michigan

Notable Cases

• Faculty, Mass Torts MDL Certificate Program, Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School
• Member, Board of Advisors for The Center on Civil Justice, New York University School of Law
• Member, Advisory Board, Emory University School of Law
• Member, Advisory Board of The Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims, Emory University School of Law

• The Duke Law Bolch Judicial Institute, Mass-Tort MDL Certificate Program, Durham, North Carolina; March 13-15, 2019

• HarrisMartin’s Opioid Litigation Conference: The Case Against the Wholesalers: “Wholesalers’ Roles in the Allegations Against All Defendants,”  Surfside, Florida; March 8, 2019
• ValueEdge Advisors’ 2018 Public Funds Forum: “The War on Opioids,” Laguna Beach, California; September 6, 2018
• ValueEdge Advisors’ 2017 Public Funds Forum: “The Opioid Epidemic,” San Diego, California; September 6, 2017
• ValueEdge Advisors’ 2017 Public Funds Forum: “Keynote Address,” Q&A Presentation with President Bill Clinton; San Diego, California; September 5, 2017
• Emory Law Institute for Complex Litigation and Mass Claims, Complex Settlements Conference co-sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center and the JPML: “Fairness Determinations: Pitfalls and Challenges in Class Settlement,” Atlanta, Georgia; December 14, 2016
• The Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies, Class Action Settlement Conference: “Compensation of Objectors,” San Diego, California; October 6-7, 2016
• ValueEdge Advisors’ 2016 Public Funds Forum: “The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal: A Look Under the Hood of Dieselgate,” Deer Valley, Utah; September 2, 2016
• LSI’s Automobile Class Actions with Global Ramifications: “Volkswagen Emissions Scandal:  So What Kind of Case is This Anyway?,” New Orleans, Louisiana; December 2, 2015
• ValueEdge Advisors’ 2015 Public Funds Forum: “Playing to Win: Lessons on Teamwork and Leadership,”  Presentation with Shaquille O’Neal; Laguna Beach, California; September 9, 2015
• Institute for Law & Economic Policy’s 19th Annual Symposium: “Multi-Jurisdiction Litigation – State, Federal & Foreign,” Co-Panelist with Judges Shira Scheindlin and Leo Strine, Jr.; Naples, Florida; April 12, 2013

Featured Articles & Case News

• Carlos Harrison, Where Pit Bulls Fear to Tread: Anywhere Near Attorney Paul Geller, Florida Super Lawyers Mag. (June 2009), http://www.superlawyers.com/florida/article/Where-Pit-Bulls-Fear-to-Tread/df6258d4-73ab-4c28-8479-d02d07162180.html
• David Wilkening, Paul Geller: Ultimate Fighter, Boca Life Mag., Jan. 2007, at 50-51
• Jim McCormick & Maryann Karinch, Business Lessons from the Edge: Learn How Extreme Athletes Use Intelligent Risk Taking to Succeed in Business 189-192 (McGraw-Hill 1st ed. 2009)
• HSBC Faces $2.46 Billion Judgment in Securities Fraud Case, The New York Times (Oct. 17, 2013), http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/business/hsbc-is-fined-2-46-billion-in-securities-fraud-case.html
• Ed Silverman, Pfizer to Pay $400M to Settle Shareholder Suit Over Off-Label Marketing, The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 27, 2015), http://blogs.wsj.com/pharmalot/2015/01/27/pfizer-to-pay-400m-to-settle-shareholder-suit-over-off-label-marketing/
• Institutional Shareholder Services Top 50 Report, May 2015 (ranking Robbins Geller #1 in both the total amount and number of class action recoveries for 2014)
• C.N.V. Krishnan, et al., Who are the Top Law Firms? Assessing the Value of Plaintiffs’ Law Firms in Merger Litigation, Am. L. & Econ. Rev. (Fall 2015) (objectively ranking Robbins Geller as the top law firm out of 336 firms that settled M&A cases in Delaware between 2003 and 2012)