Jeroen van Kwawegen, co-founding partner of JVK, is one of the leading shareholder attorneys in the world, widely recognized for his expertise in corporate governance, securities litigation, and breach-of-fiduciary-duty matters.
As a respected thought leader, Jeroen is a regular speaker at the law schools at Berkeley, Columbia, and Harvard, as well as important industry forums. Jeroen co-authored multiple academic and professional articles. He is also deeply engaged in public-interest and governance communities, serving on the boards of Legal Services NYC (providing legal assistance to more than 100,000 New Yorkers in need every year) and on the advisory boards of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School, and the Institute for Law & Economics at the Penn Carey Law School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeroen has been frequently honored by major rankings and publications – including Law360 (“Class Action MVP,” “Securities MVP,” “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar”), Forbes (“Top 200 Lawyers”), Lawdragon (“Legends”), The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and Chambers USA.
He has led or co-led numerous trials and has a proven track record of success in cases involving misrepresentations to investors and breaches of fiduciary duties by corporate insiders – totaling over $4 billion in recoveries and unprecedented corporate governance improvements for investors throughout his career.
Tesla / Elon Musk Compensation action: Jeroen co-led the trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery that resulted in the nullification of Elon Musk’s $56 billion compensation package – one of the most consequential corporate governance rulings in U.S. history.
FirstEnergy derivative action in connection with alleged bribery of government officials. Jeroen led this action in Ohio federal court resulting in a $180 million recovery (the largest derivative recovery in the history of the Sixth Circuit) and corporate governance improvements, including a requirement that six legacy directors leave the board of directors and a mandated process by the refreshed board to review senior executives leading to the replacement of the CEO.
Wells Fargo securities litigation concerning the bank’s alleged failure to comply with government consent decrees. Jeroen was instrumental in achieving a $1 billion settlement for investors, representing the largest U.S. securities class action recovery of 2023 and among the biggest ever.
Credit Suisse derivative action in connection with the lack of adequate risk processes causing significant harm to the bank and contributing to its forced merger with UBS. Jeroen led this action in New York state court resulting in a $115 million recovery (the largest derivative oversight recovery in the history of the New York state courts).
Client-centered. Value driven. Trial-ready