Class Action Experience
Ms. Rodriguez is the attorney in charge of the Firm’s New Jersey office, where she has distinguished herself in the litigation of class actions. For example, she served as co-lead counsel in class actions challenging the practices of some companies in the rent-to-own industry in New Jersey, obtaining summary judgment on liability on behalf of three certified classes. In addition, Ms. Rodriguez is presently litigating cases challenging the practices of lenders relating to the forced placement of insurance, disclosures to borrowers, and debt collection.
Securities and Corporate Governance
Ms. Rodriguez played a substantial role in In re PaineWebber Limited Partnerships Litigation, In re UJB Financial Services Corp. Shareholders Litigation, and Bogart v. National Community Bank, among other cases, each of which resulted in substantial settlements. Ms. Rodriguez serves as counsel to the State of Connecticut pension funds in litigation under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act pending in the District of New Jersey, and has also represented other institutional investors in similar cases. Ms. Rodriguez presently serves as liaison counsel in litigation in New Jersey state court challenging a “squeeze out” bank merger, and as a member of the Executive Committee in litigation on behalf of policyholders raising constitutional and other challenges to the conversion of a mutual insurance company to a stock company. In the antitrust area, Ms. Rodriguez has served as liaison counsel in a number of actions, including in In re Mercedes Benz Antitrust Litigation, (D.N.J.), and in actions relating to the pricing of various name brand and generic drugs.
Appointments & Honors
Ms. Rodriguez has appeared as a panel speaker for the Practicing Law Institute on Securities Regulation and as a Lecturer for the Philadelphia Bar Education Center on consumer and class action issues. She has participated in programs sponsored by consumer organizations, speaking and writing on financial services issues in general, and the rent-to-own industry in particular. Ms. Rodriguez is a member of the Third Circuit Task Force on The Selection of Class Counsel, a position to which then Chief Judge Edward Becker appointed her. In addition, Ms. Rodriguez has served as a member of the Board of Editors of the Fen-Phen Strategist, a publication dealing with litigation concerning widely prescribed diet drugs.
Admissions to Practice
Ms. Rodriguez is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey, and the Northern District of California. She is also admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of New Jersey and the United States Supreme Court. |
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