Achyut J. Phadke

Achyut J. Phadke

Achyut J. Phadke is a partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.

He focuses on high-stakes securities and technology-related disputes. He regularly represents publicly traded companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, shareholder litigation and government and internal investigations, and he has represented leading financial institutions in securities litigation. He also represents and advises technology companies in complex business disputes.

Mr. Phadke is recognized as “Up and Coming” by Chambers and Partners in California Securities Litigation, a recognition given to attorneys at the forefront of their generation and who drive the firm’s growth.

Mr. Phadke is co-chair of the ABA’s Securities Litigation Committee and has spoken and written on securities law topics. He also maintains an active pro bono practice. He helped lead litigation to open Foothills Park in Palo Alto, California, to non-residents and overturn a ban on non-resident access that had been in place for over 50 years, a result that was recognized by the Daily Journal. He also represented the ACLU of Northern California in public records act litigation related to California’s proposed lethal injection regulations. Mr. Phadke is a past board member of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California.

Mr. Phadke graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction, where he was elected to Order of the Coif and was an articles editor on the Stanford Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk with the Honorable Pamela Ann Rymer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Experience

  • Granite Construction in successfully resolving securities litigation in federal and state court, derivative litigation in federal court and Delaware court, and an SEC investigation, all relating to a major accounting restatement.
  • Mattel, Inc. and its executives in:
    • a federal securities class action, securing dismissal of all claims and affirmance of the dismissal order on appeal in the Ninth Circuit. MTO obtained dismissal in a published district court opinion that adopted our arguments and is now a leading decision in the Ninth Circuit on channel-stuffing allegations.
    • a subsequent federal securities class action, securing dismissal of all claims, after which plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice while waiving all appellate rights.  
  • The CEO of a Fortune 10 company in a shareholder derivative action alleging breach of fiduciary duty. 
  • Bank of America and Merrill Lynch in securities and state common law fraud cases federal courts in California, New York, New Jersey and Colorado relating to the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. In many of these cases, MTO secured dismissal of all or a substantial portion of plaintiffs’ claims.
  • Applied Materials in a case against ASM and a former employee alleging threatened misappropriation of trade secrets relating to atomic layer deposition (ALD).
  • Majority stockholders of Books-a-Million in litigation challenging the company’s go-private transaction, securing dismissal with prejudice before Delaware Chancery Court.
  • Wachovia Securities in multiple securities actions brought by the National Credit Union Administration as liquidator of failed credit unions.
  • Hewlett Packard in successfully defeating a putative class plaintiff’s appeal from denial of class certification in a case alleging the improper escheatment of shareholders’ stock.
  • Intel Corporation and Intel Capital in numerous complex commercial and securities disputes.
  • Numerous internal and SEC investigations of publicly traded corporations and their current or former officers.

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Caremark Evolution in 2023 and What Comes Next,” Shareholder Litigation and Securities Enforcement event, Securities Litigation Section, The Bar Association of San Francisco, January 30, 2024
  • Moderator, speaker, West Coast Securities Litigation Regional CLE Program, May 5, 2023

Publications

  • Co-author, “Lessons for Directors as Personal Liability Evolves in Delaware Courts,” Governance Intelligence, September 9, 2024
  • Quoted, “Private Securities Litigation to Watch in 2024,” Law360, January 1, 2024
  • Co-author, “‘Tippee’ Liability After Salman,” The Federal Lawyer, June 2017

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

  • Stanford Law School (J.D., with distinction, 2008) Order of the Coif; articles editor, Stanford Law Review

  • Stanford University (M.A., 2005)

  • Stanford University (B.A., with distinction, 2004)

Clerkships

  • Judge Pamela Ann Rymer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2008-2009

Bar Admissions

  • California

Experience

  • Granite Construction in successfully resolving securities litigation in federal and state court, derivative litigation in federal court and Delaware court, and an SEC investigation, all relating to a major accounting restatement.
  • Mattel, Inc. and its executives in:
    • a federal securities class action, securing dismissal of all claims and affirmance of the dismissal order on appeal in the Ninth Circuit. MTO obtained dismissal in a published district court opinion that adopted our arguments and is now a leading decision in the Ninth Circuit on channel-stuffing allegations.
    • a subsequent federal securities class action, securing dismissal of all claims, after which plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice while waiving all appellate rights.  
  • The CEO of a Fortune 10 company in a shareholder derivative action alleging breach of fiduciary duty. 
  • Bank of America and Merrill Lynch in securities and state common law fraud cases federal courts in California, New York, New Jersey and Colorado relating to the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. In many of these cases, MTO secured dismissal of all or a substantial portion of plaintiffs’ claims.
  • Applied Materials in a case against ASM and a former employee alleging threatened misappropriation of trade secrets relating to atomic layer deposition (ALD).
  • Majority stockholders of Books-a-Million in litigation challenging the company’s go-private transaction, securing dismissal with prejudice before Delaware Chancery Court.
  • Wachovia Securities in multiple securities actions brought by the National Credit Union Administration as liquidator of failed credit unions.
  • Hewlett Packard in successfully defeating a putative class plaintiff’s appeal from denial of class certification in a case alleging the improper escheatment of shareholders’ stock.
  • Intel Corporation and Intel Capital in numerous complex commercial and securities disputes.
  • Numerous internal and SEC investigations of publicly traded corporations and their current or former officers.

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, “Caremark Evolution in 2023 and What Comes Next,” Shareholder Litigation and Securities Enforcement event, Securities Litigation Section, The Bar Association of San Francisco, January 30, 2024
  • Moderator, speaker, West Coast Securities Litigation Regional CLE Program, May 5, 2023

Publications

  • Co-author, “Lessons for Directors as Personal Liability Evolves in Delaware Courts,” Governance Intelligence, September 9, 2024
  • Quoted, “Private Securities Litigation to Watch in 2024,” Law360, January 1, 2024
  • Co-author, “‘Tippee’ Liability After Salman,” The Federal Lawyer, June 2017

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

  • Stanford Law School (J.D., with distinction, 2008) Order of the Coif; articles editor, Stanford Law Review

  • Stanford University (M.A., 2005)

  • Stanford University (B.A., with distinction, 2004)

Clerkships

  • Judge Pamela Ann Rymer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2008-2009

Bar Admissions

  • California