(left to right) Ariana Tadler and Glenn Phillips.

Class action plaintiffs law firm Milberg announced on Monday a strategic partnership with Sanders Phillips Grossman, a national mass torts and personal injury firm, that will see the firms join forces under the moniker Milberg Tadler Phillips Grossman.

In a statement, Milberg said the new firm would be based in a single headquarters in New York, and will have a nationwide focus, representing individual plaintiffs and governments in securities fraud, data breach, antitrust, consumer fraud, opioid and other cases involving a “wide range of commercial and pharmaceutical malfeasance.” Milberg will continue to exist as a legal entity while the firm's future operations are transferred over to Milberg Tadler Phillips Grossman, the firm said.

Milberg's current managing partner, Ariana Tadler, who will become a name partner in the new venture, said the combination would bring together her firm's expertise and track record of challenging corporate wrongdoing with experience, brought by members of the other firm, in pharmaceutical and medical device injury cases.

“Milberg Tadler Phillips Grossman will have the resources necessary to take on the largest corporations and institutions on behalf of consumers, investors, institutional clients, and those that have long been under-represented to achieve justice. We look forward to tapping into the proven experience and capabilities of Glenn Phillips, Marc Grossman and their strong teams in defective drug and device litigation,” Tadler said in a statement. “Our robust combined litigation team is capable of serving clients who have suffered harm or had their rights trampled in other ways by the largest corporations, including from large-scale data breaches such as Yahoo and Equifax.”

Phillips also welcomed the partnership, saying it will help him and others from the Sanders Phillips Grossman side capitalize on Milberg's “strong foundation in pioneering and delivering fierce and effective plaintiffs' representation in litigation against well-financed corporations.”

“Together, we can serve a broader range of clients who are seeking to enforce their rights as consumers and shareholders,” he continued. “My partner, Marc Grossman, and I are excited about working with Ariana and her talented team to deliver to clients the highest quality representation and advocacy in commercial and pharmaceutical litigation, class action, and whistleblower matters.”

The announced strategic partnership brings a new set of names to the Milberg firm, which was an early powerhouse in the realm of securities class actions, but which also had a checkered history in some of its earlier incarnations. Several former partners, including high-flying former name partners Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach, plus fellow erstwhile name partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman, were indicted in the late 2000s on charges they paid kickbacks to named plaintiffs in securities fraud litigation. All four of those lawyers eventually entered guilty pleas and served prison sentences in connection with the scheme.

Despite those troubles with individual lawyers, Milberg has continued as a firm. Tadler, who has been there for more than 20 years, said she believes the strategic partnership announced on Monday will usher her firm into a new, successful era. Tadler will be joined on the new firm's management team by Phillips, Grossman and Peggy Wedgworth, who's been a Milberg partner for several years.

“The new firm's unique combination of legal talent, experience and drive will be its hallmark in combating corporate malfeasance today and well into the future,” she said in a statement.