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Harvey represents pension fund trustees, public companies, financial institutions, and private investors in resolving complex disputes involving fiduciary responsibilities. He currently serves as fiduciary, investment, tax and litigation counsel to some of the largest public pension funds in California, including the California State Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the Orange County Employees Retirement System, and the boards of the retirement systems of Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Santa Barbara Counties. He is also investment counsel to the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission. He has substantial experience in advising corporate boards and executives in bankruptcy, unfair competition, and commercial litigation.

Among his most notable engagements, Harvey served as Special Counsel and chief legal strategist to PeopleSoft, Inc. in its response to Oracle Corp.’s lengthy $10.5 billion hostile takeover bid. His duties included directing the target company’s domestic and European legal and political strategies. Other clients include national banking institutions, publicly traded technology companies, equipment manufacturers, private equity firms, industrial corporations and California agri-businesses.

Harvey is a frequent lecturer for state, regional and national organizations, including the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys, the California State Association of County Retirement Systems, California Association of Public Retirement Systems and the Practicing Law Institute. He regularly publishes articles of interest in national journals, including Crain’s Pensions & Investments and Dow Jones’ Corporate Governance. 

Harvey has long been a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Legal Aid Society and its Employment Law Center. He is regularly listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America as well as a “Corporate Counsel Super Lawyer” and "Northern California Super Lawyer" in the peer ratings compiled by Law & Politics magazine. He enjoys the highest professional and ethical rating accorded by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system.

Reported Decisions

• Block v. Orange County Employees' Retirement System, 161 Cal. App. 4th 1297 (2008) (upholding the board of retirement's determination not to allow a retired member with service in two public employee retirement systems to receive more in benefits than he could receive had all his service been in a single system.)
• San Ramon Valley Fire Protection Dist. v. CCCERA, 125 Cal. App. 4th 343 (2004) (a case of first impression, upholding trial court decision not to apply anti-SLAPP statute to challenge to retirement board's action in open and public meeting, but confirming board members' constitutional right to protected free speech)
• Decker v. Advantage Fund, Ltd. 362 F. 3d 593 (9th Cir., 2004) (affirming dismissal of fraudulent transfer claims in bankruptcy and “short swing sales” claims under federal securities laws)
• County of Orange v. Bezaire 117 Cal. App. 4th 121 (2004) (reversing trial court judgment ordering county to abandon real property tax assessment practices, which could have forced county refunds of more than $500 million and more than $10 billion statewide)
• In re Retirement Cases 110 Cal. App. 4th 426 (2003) (upholding pension fund’s payment of retirement allowances funding more than $250 million in benefits)

Publications

• "A Tale of Two Woes (with Apologies to Dickens)," Pensions & Investments, June 2009
• "Relief from Rising Pension Risks,” Business Finance Magazine.com, by Fay Hansen (extensively quoting Mr. Leiderman), July 2006
• “Invitation to Liability? Serving on Private Equity Advisory Committees,” Pensions & Investments, October 2005
• "Corporate Crisis Management," Corporate Compliance and Regulatory Newsletter, October 2005
• "Is Your Independent Committee Truly Independent?" Dow Jones' Corporate Governance, May 2005

Speeches / Presentations

• "AB 1584: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," November 11, 2009. Presentation to the State Association of County Retirement Systems, Santa Ana, CA
• "Pension Spiking: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," October 19, 2009. Presentation to the California Retired County Employees Association, Emeryville, CA
• "Municipal Bankruptcies: A Pension Deficit Disorder?", October 13, 2009. Presentation to the National Conference of Public Employee Retirement Systems, Palm Springs, CA.
• "Fiduciary Principles, Pitfalls and Protections", June 18, 2009. Confidential client presentation, Des Moines, IA.
• “Thoughts on the Use of Fiduciary Counsel,” February 5, 2009. Presentation at the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys Winter Conference, Washington D.C.
• “Municipal Bankruptcies – A Pension Deficit Disorder?” January 30, 2009. Presentation to California Association of Public Retirement Systems, San Jose, California.
• "Proposed Interest Crediting and Undistributed Earnings Policy," January 20, 2009. Presentation to the Orange County Employees' Retirement System, Santa Ana, California.
• "Fiduciary Principles, Pitfalls and Protections", December 5, 2008. Confidential client presentation, Dallas, Texas.
• "Counsel: Ethics Training is for You, Too!", November 12, 2008. Presentation to the Attorneys Breakout Session, State Association of County Retirement Systems, Santa Ana, California.
• "The O.C. Challenge to Law Enforcement Retirement Benefits", May 13, 2008. Presentation to the Chairs and Vice Chairs, State Association of County Retirement Systems, Sacramento, California.
• "Sudan, Iran, Terrorists – and Sovereign Wealth Funds. Reconciling the Divestment Policies with the Fiduciary Duties of Public Pension Fund Trustees," April 22, 2008. Presentation to the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa.
• "Report on Investment Policies and Procedures of OCERS," March 24, 2008. Presentation to the Orange County Employees' Retirement System, Santa Ana, California.
• "Navigating a Steady Fiduciary Course During Hurricane Season," September 14, 2007. Presentation to the Orange County Employees' Retirement System, Santa Ana, California.
• "Safety Member Retirement Benefits," August 27, 2007. Presentation to the Orange County Employees' Retirement System, Santa Ana, California.
• "Pricing of Additional Service Credit Purchases," July 20, 2007. Presentation to the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System, San Diego, California.
• "Oh What a Release It Is – Preparing Effective Settlement Agreements for California Public Retirement Systems," June 1, 2007. Presentation to the California Association of Public Retirement System's General Assembly.
• “Recusals, Refusals, Excusals – What’s a Chair to Do?" Maintaining a Quorum and Decorum in a Conflict-Prone World,” May 8, 2007. Presentation at the State Association of County Retirement Systems Spring Conference, Santa Clara
• "Pension Consultants: Welcome to the Era of Transparency," September 15, 2006. Presentation to the Orange County Employees' Retirement System, Santa Ana, California.
• "Avoiding Conflicts of Interest - Lessons from California's Fault Lines," August 6, 2006. Presentation to the National Association of Public Retirement Administrators, San Diego
• "Today's Schedule of Hardball Games Being Played Just Outside of San Diego's Petco Park," June 2, 2006. Presentation to the California Association of Public Retirement System's Attorneys' Roundtable, San Jose
• "Indemnification and Defense of Civil and Criminal Claims," May 10, 2006. Presentation to the Spring Meeting of the California State Association of County Retirement Systems, Sacramento
• "An Introduction to Chapter 9: The City of San Diego and SDCERS," March 9, 2006. Public presentation at the Board of Retirement, San Diego City Employees' Retirement System, San Diego
• "Big Deal or No Big Deal? Potential Conflicts of Interest Affecting Public Pension Fund Trustees and Executives," March 7, 2006. Presentation to the California Association of Public Retirement System's General Assembly, Palm Springs
• "Ethics for Public Pension Fund Attorneys," January 27, 2006. Presentation to the California Association of Public Retirement System's Attorneys' Roundtable, San Diego

Experience

Legal Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• California

Court Admissions

• All State and Federal Courts - California

Professional Affiliations

• Member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Legal Aid Society and its Employment Law Center

Honors and Recognitions

• Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, Business Litigation (March 2009)