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Tower C. Snow, Jr. is a partner in Cooley's Litigation department and a member of the Securities Litigation practice group. He is resident in the San Francisco office.
Mr. Snow's area of specialization is securities litigation, including all types of litigation involving the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, investigations and proceedings initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or other federal and state agencies, investigations and proceedings initiated by self-regulatory organizations, internal corporate investigations, special litigation committees, financial services litigation, and litigation involving state securities laws or common law claims as they pertain to the purchase and sale of securities.
Mr. Snow has been lead or co-lead defense counsel in over two hundred securities class actions and has represented public and private companies, their officers and directors, investment banking firms, accountants, venture capital firms, law firms and other enterprises. His many clients have included, among others, Adaptec, Ascend Communications, Adobe Systems, Alex, Brown & Sons, Apple Computer, Artisoft, Bank of America, Bay Networks, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Brooktree Corp., The Cerplex Group, Coastcast Corp., Cowen & Company, Dean Witter Reynolds, Electronic Arts, Emulex Corp., ENCAD Everex Systems, Everen Securities, E*Trade Group, The Fleming Companies, The Gap, Hambrecht & Quist, Insurance Auto Auctions, Iwerks Entertainment, Media Vision Technology, Merrill Lynch & Co., Microelectronic Packaging, Morgan Stanley & Co., MTI Technology, Montgomery Securities, Needham & Company, Network Equipment Technology, Oak Hill Investment Management, LP., Oak Technology, ODS Networks, Olicom A/S, OrthoLogic Corp., Pacific Gas & Electric, P Com, Inc., PaineWebber, Piper Jaffray, Qlogic Corp., Raymond James & Associates, Red Brick Systems, Robertson, Stephens & Co., RS Investments, Sevin Rosen Funds, Siebel Systems, Salomon Smith Barney, Smith Micro Software, STB Systems, Stephens, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Sutro & Co., TA Associates, 3Com Corp., TouchStone Software, Tucker Anthony, Volpe, Brown & Whalen, Wells Fargo Bank and Wessels, Arnold & Henderson.
Representative Matters
- Represented one of two senior officers of Apple Computer, who had been found liable by a Northern California jury for damages allegedly in excess of $100 million, in post-trial motions and on appeal. A motion for JNOV was granted by the trial court and the entire judgment was vacated.
- Represented Apple Computer and all of its officers and directors in nine securities class actions and derivative cases. The plaintiffs initially sought several billion dollars in damages. After discussions with plaintiffs' counsel lasting eighteen months, plaintiffs agreed to dismiss all nine cases voluntarily. No consideration of any kind was paid by Mr. Snow's clients. The case is one of the largest securities class action ever voluntarily dismissed since the federal securities laws were enacted.
- Represented The Gap and all of its officers and directors in several consolidated class actions seeking several billion dollars in damages. The district court dismissed the cases with prejudice, and that ruling was affirmed on appeal.
- Represented BankAmerica Corporation and its officers and directors in litigation seeking damages in connection with losses suffered by the Bank as a result of derivative investments. After discussions with plaintiffs' counsel, plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the litigation voluntarily.
- Represented Bay Networks and all of its officers and directors in two separate class actions filed several years apart. An innovative and unusual defense strategy achieved a very favorable early settlement of the first action. The second action was dismissed voluntarily after discussions with plaintiffs' counsel.
- Represented the lead underwriters in class actions filed against several dozen companies in conjunction with their public offering of securities. All of the cases were successfully resolved with Mr. Snow's clients paying nothing.
- Has acted as lead counsel in dozens of regulatory proceedings, internal corporate investigations and Special Litigation Committee assignments.
Mr. Snow has testified before both United States Congressional and California Senate Committees on a variety of securities issues. He was an advisor on the Securities and Exchange Commission Report to the President and Congress on post-reform developments in 1996. He has also served as an advisor to the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Mr. Snow has also testified as an expert in securities litigation matters and is available to act as a mediator in such matters. He has previously served as an arbitrator for the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers, Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco, American Arbitration Association, and the San Francisco Bar Association.
Mr. Snow is an active member of the American Bar Association, in which he has held several leadership roles, including Litigation Section: Vice Chairman, Committee on Securities Litigation (1988 to 1989), Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Offering Litigation (1985 to 1988), Co-Chairman, Task Force on Securities Arbitration (1988 to 1989). He is also a former President of the Securities Litigation Section of the San Francisco Bar Association, among other leadership roles.
Awards & Honors
- Has been listed by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States.
- Has been listed by California Law & Business as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in California.
- Has been listed by The Lawyer magazine (U.K.) as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the world.
- Has been listed by Corporate Board magazine as one of the 12 "superstar" lawyers in the United States and as the foremost lawyer nationally in his field.
- Has been listed by Chambers USA as one of the best lawyers in the United States.
- Listed by Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the United States, and Who's Who in American Law as one of world's most prominent lawyers.
Selected Presentations
Mr. Snow has moderated or participated in more than 300 presentations on securities and complex litigation or law firm management issues, including:
- Lecturer, American Bar Association Spring Meeting, "A Look at the Practice of Law in 2025," 2006
- Lecturer, Professional Liability Underwriting Society Liability and Insurance Issues D&O Symposium, "Here We Go Again . . . Another Unprecedented Year of Securities Settlements and Claims," 2006
- Lecturer, Professional Liability Underwriting Society D&O Liability and Insurance Issues Symposium, "Current Developments Shaping the Securities Litigation Landscape," 2005
- Lecturer, American Bar Association Spring Meeting, "Challenges for Law Firms in a Changing International Market," 2004
- Lecturer, Professional Liability Underwriting Society D&O Liability and Insurance Issues Symposium, "An Overview of the Securities Litigation Landscape," 2004
- Lecturer, Professional Liability Underwriting Society D&O Liability and Insurance Issues Symposium "The Overall Trend of Securities Liability," 2003
- Lecturer, Securities Regulation Annual Institute, "Private Securities Litigation - Who's To Blame When Things Go Wrong?," 2002
- Lecturer, Legal Marketing Association, "The Business of Practicing Law - A Look Inside and the Impact of Finance," 2003
- Lecturer, Glasser LegalWorks Marketing Partner Forum, "The Role of Marketing in the New Competitive, Consolidating Marketplace: Global vs. National vs. Regional vs. Specialty Practice Consolidation," 2003
- Lecturer, American Bar Association Corporate General Counsel Fall Meeting, "Recent Developments in Class Action Litigation," 2002
- Lecturer, Legal Marketing Association, "Law Firm Economics," 2002
Publications
Mr. Snow has authored over 250 articles on securities and complex litigation issues.
Boards
- Board of Advisors, Securities Reform Act Litigation Reporter
Education- University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
J.D., 1973 - Dartmouth College
A.B., magna cum laude in major, 1969, Rufus Choate Scholar
Court Admissions
- All California State Courts
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- United States Supreme Court
Admissions
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Directors' & Officers' Professional Liability Underwriting Society
- Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
- The Bar Association of San Francisco
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