Murielle Steven Walsh joined the Firm in 1998 and was elevated to Partner in 2007. She was recognized by SuperLawyers® in 2019 as a Top Rated Securities Litigation Attorney in the New York Metro area, and as a 2018 Lawyer of Distinction, an honor bestowed upon less than 10% of attorneys in any given state.
During her career at Pomerantz, Murielle has prosecuted highly successful securities class action and corporate governance cases. She was one of the lead attorneys litigating In re Livent Noteholders’ Securities Litigation, a securities class action in which she obtained a $36 million judgment against the company’s top officers, a ruling which was upheld by the Second Circuit on appeal. Murielle was also part of the team litigating EBC I v. Goldman Sachs, where the Firm obtained a landmark ruling from the New York Court of Appeals, that underwriters may owe fiduciary duties to their issuer clients in the context of a firm-commitment underwriting of an initial public offering.
Murielle currently leads the high-profile securities class action against Wynn Resorts Ltd., in which Pomerantz is lead counsel. The litigation arises from the company’s concealment of a long-running pattern of sexual misconduct against Wynn employees by billionaire casino mogul Stephen Wynn, the company’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer. Ferris v. Wynn Resorts Ltd., No. 18-cv-479 (D. Nev.). She also leads the Firm’s ground-breaking litigation arising from the popular Pokémon Go game, in which Pomerantz is lead counsel. Pokémon Go is an “augmented reality” game in which players use their smart phones to “catch” Pokémon in real-world surroundings. GPS coordinates provided by defendants to gamers included directing the public to private property without the owners’ permission, amounting to an alleged mass nuisance. In re Pokémon Go Nuisance, No. 3:16-cv-04300 (N.D. Cal.)
Murielle is co-lead counsel in Thorpe v. Walter Investment Management Corp., No. 14-cv-20880 (S.D. Fla.), a securities fraud class action challenging the defendants’ representations that their lending activities were regulatory-compliant, when in fact the company’s key subsidiary engaged in rampant violations of federal consumer financial protection laws, subjecting it to various government investigations and a pending enforcement action by the CFPB and FTC. In 2016, the Firm obtained a $24 million settlement on behalf of the class. She is also co-lead counsel in Robb v. Fitbit Inc., No. 16-cv-00151 (N.D. Cal.), a securities class action alleging that the defendants misrepresented that their key product delivered “highly accurate” heart rate readings when in fact their technology did not consistently deliver accurate readings during exercise and its inaccuracy posed serious health risks to users of Fitbit’s products. The Firm obtained a $33 million settlement on behalf of the investor class in this action.
In 2018 Murielle, along with then-Senior Partner Jeremy Lieberman, achieved a $3,300,000 settlement for the Class in the Firm’s case against Corinthian Colleges, one of the largest for-profit college systems in the country, for alleged misrepresentations about its job placement rates, compliance with applicable regulations, and enrollment statistics. Pomerantz prevailed in the motion to dismiss the proceedings, a particularly noteworthy victory because Chief Judge George King of the Central District of California had dismissed two prior lawsuits against Corinthian with similar allegations. Erickson v. Corinthian Colleges, Inc., No. 2:13-cv-07466 (C.D. Cal.).
Murielle serves as a member and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit organization Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (“CASA”) of Monmouth County. She also serves on the Honorary Steering Committee of Equal Rights Advocates (“ERA”), which focuses on and discusses specific issues that women face in the legal profession. ERA is an organization that protects and expands economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls. In the past, Murielle served as a member of the editorial board for Class Action Reports, a Solicitor for the Legal Aid Associates Campaign, and has been involved in political asylum work with the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Murielle serves on the Firm's Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Committee.
Murielle graduated cum laude from New York Law School in 1996, where she was the recipient of the Irving Mariash Scholarship. During law school, Murielle interned with the Kings County District Attorney and worked within the mergers and acquisitions group of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Murielle is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.