Jason W. Burge

504.586.5241

504.586.5250

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Jason Burge, a partner in our Litigation Section, is the go-to attorney for victims of financial misconduct in single plaintiff, mass action, and class action cases against banks, loan servicers, stockbrokers, and investment firms.

With a background in economics, Jason can distill complex financial transactions into terms that judges, arbitrators, and jurors can understand. Chambers & Partners has described him as “financially well-versed and very capable in translating difficult financial concepts into common tongue.”

He represents individual and institutional investors and borrowers in securities fraud and lender liability cases in state court, federal court, and bankruptcy court, as well as FINRA arbitrations. He handles disputes involving allegations of statutory violations, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, and fraud from fact investigation through trial and appellate practice.

Jason also represents both plaintiffs and defendants in class action litigation. Currently, he serves as interim lead counsel for a putative class of former beneficiaries of an ERISA pension plan of a liquidated insurance company in Puerto Rico. He is also lead counsel defending a Louisiana automotive insurer against multiple putative class actions alleging improper adjustment of total loss claims.

Most recently, Jason led the Fishman Haygood team that reached a nationwide settlement with Navient Solutions, LLC and Navient Credit Finance Corporation (“Navient”) which will result in approximately $236 million in debt relief for private student loan borrowers, as well as $44 million in cash compensation. As stated in the class action lawsuit, Navient and its agents refused to recognize the discharges of these private student loans that were (a) to attend non-Title IV schools and programs or (b) made in excess of the cost of attendance, and continued to collect on the loans even after borrowers obtained bankruptcy discharges.

Finally, as a former clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Jason has argued before the United States Fifth Circuit and the Louisiana Third and Fourth Circuit. Jason regularly briefs and argues state and federal appeals across a broad range of practice areas.

Education

  • J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law, 2006
    • Note Editor of the Annual Survey of American Law
    • Order of the Coif
  • B.M. in Music Composition, summa cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans, 2003
  • B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, from The Ohio State University, 2000

Clerkship

  • Clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit, 2006-2007

Publications / Presentations

  • Panelist, “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence for Lawyers,” PIABA 32nd Annual Meeting and Securities Law, October 25, 2023
  • Jason W. Burge, Investors Cornered: The Risks of Securities-Backed Loans, 30 No. 2 PIABA B. J. 225 (2023)
  • Jason W. Burge and Bradley R. Stark, Investors Cornered: “You Don’t Find Out Who’s Been Swimming Naked Until the Tide Goes Out,” 30 No. 1 PIABA B. J. 89 (2023)
  • Jason W. Burge and Lara K. Richards, Crafting an Argument that Statues of Limitations Do Not Apply in Arbitration, 20 No. 1 PIABA B. J. 31 (2015)
  • Jason W. Burge and Lara K. Richards, A Compelling Case for Streamlining Venue of Actions to Enjoin Arbitration, 88 Tul. L. Rev. 773, 775 (2014)
  • Lara K. Richards and Jason W. Burge, Analyzing the Application of Statutes of Limitations in Arbitration, 49 Gonz. L. Rev. 214 (2014).
  • Jason W. Burge and Lara K. Richards, Defining “Customer”: A Survey of Who Can Demand Finra Arbitration, 74 La. L. Rev. 173 (2013)
  • “Rethinking Fees and Taxes In Light of the New York City Health Care Security Act,” NYU Ann. Surv. Am. Law., Vol. 61:4

Representative Matters

  • Represented public utilities, hospitals, in cities in FINRA arbitrations against their investment banks for fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the issuance of auction rate securities and related interest rate swaps.
  • Tried a week-long FINRA arbitration on behalf of investors in action to recover against their investment advisors for fraud and mismanagement of investments, resulting in an award of 100% of out-of-pocket damages plus attorney’s fees.
  • Represented the City of New Orleans against their underwriter and remarketing agent for claims arising from the issuance of variable rate demand obligations and accompanying interest rate swaps, resulting in a settlement following a federal trial.
  • Represented real estate developer in federal court action to recover against its loan broker and putative lender for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the failure to close a HUD loan.
  • Represents a putative nationwide class of student loan debtors against their lenders for unlawful collections following bankruptcy discharge in cases pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and the Northern District of New York.
  • Represents an automobile insurer against putative state-wide class actions alleging improper adjustment of total loss claims in cases pending in state and federal court.
  • Prosecuted an appeal for pension funds and retail investors in an action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and fraud by their investment advisor, and obtained a reversal of an adverse ruling by the trial court before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Practice Focus

Recognition

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana and Texas
  • U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana
  • U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court

Notable Rankings