Katherine Lubin Benson is a partner in our San Francisco office specializing in securities and derivative suits and antitrust class actions.

Katherine’s successful cases include a shareholder derivative action against The Boeing Company’s officers and directors. Katherine represented Co-Lead Plaintiffs the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado in the action alleging breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the board of directors’ oversight of the 737 MAX’s design and development. In February 2022, the Delaware Chancery Court approved a settlement comprised of a $237.5 million cash payment and extensive corporate governance reforms including a new board director, mandated director expertise, and an ombudsperson program.

Katherine was also a key member of the Lieff Cabraser team representing Co-Lead Plaintiff Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado in a shareholder derivative action against Wells Fargo’s current and former officers and directors arising from the illicit sales practices scandal. The case settled for a $240 million cash payment and corporate governance reforms in April 2020. The settlement represents the largest insurer-funded derivative settlement in history.

Katherine is also an experienced antitrust litigator. Her recent antitrust successes include representing a class of hospitals, third-party payors, and uninsured persons in an antitrust class action against defendants Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sandoz Inc. for their alleged monopolization of enoxaparin, the generic version of the anti-coagulant blood clotting drug Lovenox. The settlement, totaling $120 million, is the second-largest indirect purchaser antitrust pharmaceutical settlement fund in history. Lieff Cabraser’s work on the case was recognized by the American Antitrust Institute, which honored the firm with the 2020 Outstanding Private Practice Antitrust Achievement award. Katherine was awarded AAI’s Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer award for her contributions to the case.

Katherine serves as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council, and on the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Northern District Practice Program. She previously served on the Board of East Bay Community Law Center. Between 2012 and 2017, she coached a Berkeley Law mock trial team.

Katherine received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) in 2008. During law school, she worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Dean D. Pregerson of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Long form bio (click to open pdf).