Morris Ratner

Visiting Assistant Professor of Law

Research Interests

• Civil Procedure
• Complex Litigation
• Legal Profession

Appointments

• Of Counsel, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein

Practice Information

Visiting Assistant Professor Ratner has specialized in complex litigation since 1991, with an emphasis on consumer protection, human rights, and environmental class and other aggregate actions. Beginning in 1996, Mr. Ratner prosecuted Holocaust-era class actions. He served as Court-appointed Settlement Class Counsel in In re Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, a $1.25 billion settlement of Nazi-era claims against Swiss banks. Mr. Ratner also prosecuted and resolved Holocaust-era slave labor, banking and insurance claims against German, Austrian, and French entities, as part of which he participated in international negotiations that produced more than $6 billion in additional payments to victims of Nazi persecution.

Additional Information

Visiting Assistant Professor Ratner will teach Holocaust Litigation in the Winter Term 2010 and Class Actions and other Aggregate Litigation in the Spring Term 2010.

Representative Publications

• "The Legacy of Holocaust Litigation Suits: Have They Broken Ground for Other Cases of Historical Wrongs?," with Caryn Becker Holocaust Restitution, eds. Michael Bazyler and Roger P. Alford (New York University Press, 2006)
• "Factors Impacting the Selection and Positioning of Human Rights Class Actions in United States Courts: A Practical Overview," 58 New York University Annual Survey of American Law 623 (February 2003)
• "The Settlement of Nazi-Era Litigation Through the Executive and Judicial Branches," 20 Berkeley Journal of International law 212 (March 2002)