Nationwide Class Action Law Firm

Attorney Eric Lechtzin

Eric Lechtzin

Partner

Practice Areas

  • ERISA Retirement Plan Class Actions
  • Unpaid Overtime Class and Collective Actions
  • Consumer Protection Class Actions
  • Securities Fraud Litigation
Avvo Rating 10.0 Top Attorney Eric Lechtzin
Avvo Top Contributor Award 2019 Eric Lechtzin
Avvo Reviews | 5 Stars Out Of 11 Reviews | Eric Lechtzin
NACA Member | National Association Of Consumer Advocates
Rated By Super Lawyers | Eric Lechtzin | SuperLawyers.com
Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent | Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence | 2020
Super Lawyers Eric Lechtzin, 5 Years
Avvo Top Contributor Award 2021 Eric Lechtzin

Biography

Eric Lechtzin is a founding Partner of Edelson Lechtzin LLP and he leads the firm's practices in the areas of ERISA Litigation, and Unpaid Overtime class actions. Mr. Lechtzin received his J.D. from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1991. Mr. Lechtzin's practice also includes consumer protection class actions and securities fraud litigation. Previously, Mr. Lechtzin was a Shareholder at Berger Montague PC, a large national law firm.

Mr. Lechtzin has served as the Pennsylvania State Chair for the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He has been named a "Super Lawyer" in Pennsylvania for Class and Mass Tort Litigation every year since 2017, he is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and he has received a perfect 10.0 rating by Avvo.com.

In the area of ERISA class actions, Mr. Lechtzin co-authored an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, 140 S. Ct. 592 (2020), where he argued successfully that the Court should not alter the standard to plead claims against fiduciaries of an employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) alleging that such fiduciaries should have made earlier public disclosures of adverse insider information. Mr. Lechtzin's successful ERISA cases also include Wilcox v. Georgetown Univ., 987 F.3d 143 (D.C. Cir.) (in a successful appeal, an order dismissing the case was vacated by Court of Appeals and remanded to District Court); Daugherty v. Univ. of Chicago, 2018 WL 1805646 (N.D. Ill. 2018) ($6.5 million settlement of ERISA claims alleging breach of fiduciary duties by incurring excessive expenses and retaining underperforming funds); and Nicolas v. The Trustees of Princeton University, No. 3:17-cv-03695 (D. N.J.) (member of team that secured a $5.8 million settlement where plaintiffs alleged that fiduciaries of the 403(b) selected imprudent investments and caused the plan to incur unreasonable recordkeeping fees).

Mr. Lechtzin's successful representations in the area of unpaid wages and overtime cases include Arrington v. Optimum Healthcare IT, 2018 WL 5631625 (E.D. Pa. 2018), where plaintiffs' litigation team obtained a $4.9 million settlement of class action that alleged failure to pay overtime compensation to IT consultants. In Meyer v. The LandTek Group, Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-00161-AYS (E.D.N.Y.), Mr. Lechtzin successfully recovered wages for unpaid off-the-clock time on behalf of a group of construction laborers who were "engaged to wait" before their shifts.

In the area of securities fraud, Mr. Lechtzin was a member of the litigation team in In re: Oppenheimer Rochester Funds Group Securities Litigation, No. 09-md- 02063-JLK (D. Col.), which settled for $89.5 million. Mr. Lechtzin also served as lead or co-lead counsel in: In re Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 03-CV-10165-RWZ (D. Mass.) (settled for $50 million after successfully obtaining class certification); The Eshe Fund Group v. Fifth Third Bancorp, No. 1:08-CV-539 (S.D. Ohio) ($16 million settlement); In re Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. Litig., 09-CV-5262-PD (E.D. Pa.) ($3.6 million settlement); In re RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Secs. Litig., No. 1:05-CV-6764 (S.D.N.Y.) ($13.5 million settlement); In re Global Crossing Access Charge Litig., No. 04-MD-1630 (S.D.N.Y) ($15 million settlement); and In re Van der Moolen Holding N.V. Secs. Litig., No. 1:03-CV-8284 (S.D.N.Y.) ($8 million settlement).

Among his successful representations in the area of consumer protection litigation is Silver v. Fitness Intern., LLC, No. 10-cv-2326-MMB, 2013 WL 5429293 (E.D. Pa.), a class action against a national health club chain that resulted in substantial changes of the company's membership cancellation polices. Lechtzin was co-lead counsel in Stromberg v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, No. 15-04719, 2017 WL 2686540 (N.D. Cal. 2017), where he represented a group of California borrowers who alleged that certain lenders had failed to timely reconvey deed of trust documents, as required by Cal. Civ. Code § 2941(b), and ultimately obtained a settlement that paid each member of the class more than 66 percent of their total recoverable damages without the need to submit claim forms.

Education

  • Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • J.D. – 1991
  • Tel Aviv University, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Temple University College of Arts & Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • B.A. – 1988
    • Honors: magna cum laude
    • Honors: Phi Beta Kappa
    • Major: Political Science
    • Minor: Economics

Honors

  • Super Lawyers, Pennsylvania for Class and Mass Tort Litigation (2017 – Present)
  • AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale Hubbell (the highest rating for professional excellence)
  • Avvo Rating 10.0 – Superb, Top Attorney Class Action

Classes and Seminars

  • "Biggest Dos and Don’ts of Class Actions", NACA Spring Training 2022, Class Action Workshop
  • "Attorney Fees in Class Action Settlements," Panelist, National Association of Legal Fee Analysis, August 24, 2017
  • "Expert Testimony & Daubert Motions," Presenter, 2016 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference
  • "Settlement Tenders After Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez," Presenter, 16th Annual Consumer Class Action Symposium, 2016
  • "Trends in Foreclosure-Related Class Actions," Presenter, NLADA Litigation Directors Conference, 2014
  • “Ethics of Fee Petitions,” NACA Spring Training 2023, Class Action Workshop
  • "Ethics and Class Actions", NACA - Class Action eCourse, 2024

Professional Associations

  • National Association of Consumer Advocates, Judicial Nominations Committee Member
  • National Association of Consumer Advocates, Pennsylvania State Chair, 2017 to Present
  • The State Bar of California, 2007 to Present
  • National Association of Consumer Advocates, Member, 2016 to Present
  • Investigative Division of Commission on Judicial Selection & Retention of the Philadelphia Bar Association, 2002 to 2003
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Legislative Liaison Sub-Committee, Environmental Law Section, 2002 to 2003

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1991
  • New Jersey, 1992
  • California, 2007
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court District of Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court District of Nebraska
  • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court Western District of New York
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania

Published Works

  • U.S. Supreme Court in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander, 140 S. Ct. 592 (2020)
  • Daugherty v. Univ. of Chicago, 2018 WL 1805646 (N.D. Ill. 2018)
  • Arrington v. Optimum Healthcare IT, 2018 WL 5631625 (E.D. Pa. 2018)
  • Meyer v. The LandTek Group, Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-00161-AYS (E.D.N.Y.)
  • In re: Oppenheimer Rochester Funds Group Securities Litigation, No. 09-md- 02063-JLK (D. Col.)
  • In re Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Sec. Litig., No. 03-CV-10165-RWZ (D. Mass.)
  • Silver v. Fitness Intern., LLC, No. 10-cv-2326-MMB, 2013 WL 5429293 (E.D. Pa. )
  • Stromberg v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, No. 15-04719, 2017 WL 2686540 (N.D. Cal. 2017)