Cohen & Malad, LLP
Richard E. Shevitz

Richard E. Shevitz

rshevitz@cohenandmalad.com
(317) 636-6481
(317) 636-2495, voice mail

Practice Groups:

Richard's practice involves class action claims for securities fraud, healthcare and consumer protection matters.

In 2006, Richard served as trial counsel in a case against outside professionals for an insolvent health benefits trust that resulted in a jury verdict of $17.9 million on behalf of 8200 Hoosiers who were left with unpaid claims for health care treatment. In 2008, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in all respects, and the matter was settled with the defendants’ insurer later that year for $16.5 million which, when combined with earlier settlements, produced a recovery for the victims of almost 90 cents on the dollar. In 2007, he brought a class action on behalf of purchasers of prepaid cemetery arrangements seeking to recover millions of dollars of missing trust funds that had been paid in advance for burial goods and services. The matter was settled in 2009 through the establishment of an escrow fund and an agreement with a former owner of the cemetery to provide the burial goods purchased by the class members. In 2005, he negotiated a class action settlement that provided for payments to hundreds of residents of Anderson, Indiana who were forced to evacuate their homes in response to an explosion at a local magnesium processing plant. The prior year, Richard negotiated a class action settlement valued at over $40 million which provided for the remediation of moisture and mold problems in thousands of homes in central Indiana which had been improperly constructed by a national builder.

He played an active role in the historic class action litigation against Swiss banks, which was resolved for $1.25 billion, as well as the prosecution of Holocaust-related claims against leading German industrial enterprises, which were resolved through a $5 billion fund.

Prior to joining Cohen & Malad, LLP, Richard served as Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, where he represented the Indiana Securities Division, the Indiana Department of Insurance, and other government agencies both at trial and on appeal, and presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Indiana Supreme Court and the Indiana Court of Appeals.

From 1987 to 1990, Richard served as Assistant Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the Anti-Defamation League, where he litigated First Amendment cases and civil rights actions. In 1988, he represented one of the plaintiffs before the U.S. Supreme Court in American Civil Liberties Union et al v. County of Allegheny, 492 U.S. 573 (1989). In 1990, he served as co-counsel with Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center in bringing a wrongful death action against white supremacists who murdered an Ethiopian immigrant in Portland, Oregon, that resulted in a $12 million jury verdict.

Educational Background

  • J.D., The Ohio State University College of Law, 1985
    • Managing editor, The Ohio State University Journal on Dispute Resolution
  • B.A., English Literature, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1982
    • With honors

Bar Admissions

  • Indiana, 1985
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, 1987
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 1985
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, 1985
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1988

Professional Associations & Memberships

  • Indianapolis Bar Association
  • Attorney Trial Lawyers Association

Lectures & Seminars Taught

  • Richard is a frequent speaker at seminars involving class action litigation at both the local and national level.

Honors & Awards

  • Richard was named an Indiana Super Lawyer in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009 (voted top 50 Lawyer in Indiana)

Richard E. Shevitz was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1960. He graduated from North Central High School in 1978.

Richard graduated with honors from Indiana University in 1982 with a BA with honors in English Literature. He earned his law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1985, where he served as managing editor of the Ohio State University Journal on Dispute Resolution. After graduating from law school, Richard clerked for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Otte in Indianapolis.

Richard's hobbies include bicycling and reading.

He has been active in the community, and serves on the boards of several local organizations, including The Hasten Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis.