Deborah S Birnbach

Practice Areas

Deborah Birnbach is Co-Chair of Goodwin’s Public M&A / Corporate Governance practice and a member of the firm’s Life Sciences Disputes and Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practices. She specializes in securities litigation, including class action defense; SEC and internal investigations; M&A-related litigation; stockholder disputes; fiduciary duty claims; and proxy contests. Deborah’s practice is national in scope and clients include public and private companies in healthcare, life sciences and technology, their boards and officers, and private equity firms and their partners.

Deborah represents issuers and their directors and officers in securities and shareholder litigation and corporate governance matters including defending allegations of insider trading, misleading disclosures, M&A transactions, insufficient deal consideration, improper revenue recognition and other alleged accounting irregularities, self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty, among other issues. With colleagues in the Public M&A / Corporate Governance practice, Deborah works with integrated deal teams on public M&A transactions, representing targets, acquirers and their financial advisers. She also counsels on litigation avoidance, including arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods.

Deborah conducts internal corporate investigations for audit committees and other board committees in financial accounting and corporate governance-related matters, including derivative demands and litigation and whistleblower matters. She also represents clients in FINRA inquiries and in regulatory proceedings brought by the SEC and others in possible accounting irregularities, corporate disclosures to investors and insider trading, among other matters.

Deborah formerly served on the firm’s Executive Committee as well as the Allocations committee. She was also co-chair of Women@Goodwin as well as Goodwin’s Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice.

Personal

JD, Columbia Law School 1992; BA, Wellesley College 1986 (cum laude)