Cho Lee

Grant & Eisenhofer is at the forefront in so many fields, testing the boundaries – both in terms of what is procedurally and legally permissible and what might be possible – for class-like or group litigation outside of the United States. I find this thrilling and am so proud of the work I do for my clients as part of G&E’s international litigation team.

Overview

Alice Cho Lee represents thousands of institutional investors from across the globe – some of which are the world’s largest public pension funds – in complex collective actions based on, among other things, securities fraud, data privacy, consumer rights and human rights in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Denmark, France, Belgium, Brazil and Australia, working closely with and overseeing local counsel in the relevant jurisdictions.

During her time at Grant & Eisenhofer, Alice has been a member of the plaintiffs’ counsel team for several of the largest securities class action settlements in the United States and internationally. Over the past decade, Alice has expanded her practice to represent individual consumers and investors in international matters involving such issues as data privacy, consumer rights, and human rights. She has worked at G&E for almost two decades not only because of her immense respect for the firm and practice leadership, but also because she truly believes in the firm’s vision and causes on behalf of our clients.

For example, in an international investment arbitration before the World Bank, Alice represented almost a thousand Greek investors who had their life savings taken without compensation by the Republic of Cyprus. She also successfully obtained favorable decisions by the Netherlands Human Rights Institute that two Dutch shipowners unlawfully discriminated against her clients – one seafarer from Indonesia, the other from the Philippines – solely on the basis of their nationality and race, and is now preparing a collective damages action on behalf of over ten thousand Indonesian and Filipino seafarers based on human rights violations under Dutch and EU law (wage discrimination/unequal pay) for paying Asian sailors two-thirds less than other workers (e.g., from EU countries) based solely on their nationality and/or race.

Before coming to Grant &Eisenhofer, Alice worked at the New York City Human Rights Commission and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. She also served on the board of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY) for seven years and is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and KALAGNY.

Experience

  • Danske Bank, in a securities fraud litigation in Denmark based on Danske Bank’s massive money-laundering scheme and subsequent cover-up in its Estonian branch
  • Google, in data privacy collective actions in the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain on behalf of thousands of Android users
  • Petróleo Brasileiro (“Petrobras”), Vale S/A and IRB-Brasil Resseguros S/A, in separate international securities arbitrations before Brazil’s leading arbitration chamber, the Market Arbitration Chamber
  • Volkswagen, Porsche and Postbank, in separate securities class actions in Germany

  • BHP, in an Australian securities class action in which our class/group includes the class representative, which settled for AU$110M
  • Toshiba, in a securities fraud litigation in Japan, which settled for a confidential amount
  • Steinhoff, a Dutch securities damages class action which settled for €1.4B (U.S. $1.6B) – the largest non-U.S. securities fraud settlement in history
  • Marsh & McLennan, a U.S. securities class action, settled for $400M
  • Merck (Vytorin), a U.S. securities class action that settled for $215M
  • JP Morgan Chase & Co., a U.S. securities class action that settled for $150M

Outside the Office

I enjoy spending time with my husband, son and parents, who live with me. I also relax by playing the piano and cello, and having fun with friends. 

Credentials

Education

  • Law Student Clerk for the Honorable Frederic Block, US District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • Brooklyn Law School (JD, 2004)
  • University at Albany (BA, 1998)

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • US Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit
  • US District Court for the District of Colorado
  • US District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • US District Court for the Southern District of New York

Recognitions

  • Lawdragon 500 Global Plaintiffs Lawyers – 2024-2025

Affiliations

Professional 

  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Member
  • Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Member
  • Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY), Current Member, Former Board Member