Murielle Steven Walsh is a forceful advocate for equal rights and a mentor to women in the early stages of their careers. A Partner at Pomerantz, Murielle takes on challenging cases to shift the balance of power within and beyond the corporate world. In over two decades at the Firm, she has successfully led high-profile securities class actions involving #MeToo and other cutting-edge issues.
In March 2023, Murielle won class certification in a major securities class action against Wynn Resorts, arising from its concealment of sexual misconduct by former CEO, Stephen Wynn, against the company’s female employees. This action alleges that Wynn Resorts’ management engaged in a years-long cover-up of Mr. Wynn’s misconduct and failed to report his numerous violations to regulators, despite having a legal obligation to do so. The defendants’ fraud was exposed in an article the Wall Street Journal, which included numerous accounts by Wynn Resorts employees of sexual harassment by Mr. Wynn, who resigned soon after. Class certification is an essential and hard-fought stage in securities fraud litigation, and this is a significant win. In vigorously pursuing this case, Murielle has forged a viable path for tackling #MeToo and other ESG-related issues via securities litigation.
In a securities class action against Ormat Technologies, Murielle achieved a solid financial settlement for investors while expanding investors’ rights. Ormat’s securities are dually listed on the NYSE and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The Supreme Court’s 2010 Morrison decision seemed to sound a death knell for U.S. securities fraud claims predicated on stocks purchased abroad. Murielle and other Pomerantz partners set to work devising new legal strategies to overcome Morrison’s roadblocks. In Ormat, Murielle persuaded the district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction to apply U.S. securities law to the claims in the case, regardless of where investors purchased their securities. This ground-breaking decision exponentially expanded global investors’ rights and has been cited by district courts to support similar claims.
Representing the interests of the underprivileged and disadvantaged is important to Murielle. As a young associate, Murielle successfully represented, pro bono, a young Togolese native in his application for political asylum in the United States after he fled his country due to persecution from its government. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit organization Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (“CASA”) of Monmouth County, New Jersey, which trains volunteers to work with children who were removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and assist the court in making determinations regarding their permanent custody. In addition to her work with CASA, she has served on the Honorary Steering Committee of Equal Rights Advocates (“ERA”), an organization that protects and expands economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls.
Murielle serves on Pomerantz’s Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Committee. In that role, she advances diversity, equity, and non-discrimination at the Firm via its hiring and human resources policies, monitors the implementation of those policies, and ensures that employees have fair recourse if they feel those policies have been breached.
Updated Sep 2023
