Mr. tum Suden is a Senior Associate in the Atlanta office of Johnson Fistel. He is part of the firm’s commercial, shareholder derivative, and securities class action practices and recovered significant cash payments and negotiated comprehensive corporate governance reforms on behalf of numerous publicly traded companies. Mr. tum Suden has also successfully represented investor and consumer classes throughout litigation and appeals in federal and state courts across the country.
Prior to joining Johnson Fistel, Mr. tum Suden served as Assistant Attorney General in the Commercial Transactions and Litigation Division of the Georgia Office of the Attorney General, where he represented state government clients by providing counsel to state agencies and representing the state of Georgia in trial and appellate courts. Notably, Mr. tum Suden wrote an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Georgia Department of Revenue in Heron Lake II Apartments, LP et al. v. Lowndes County Board of Tax Assessors, 306 Ga. 816 (2019) which was influential in upholding a new tax statute as constitutional.
Representative Matters
Mr. tum Suden has helped lead the prosecution of several high-stakes actions and achieved favorable results for clients. Mr. tum Suden played a key role In re GoHealth, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 1:20-cv-05593 (N.D. Ill. 2024), which concerned allegations that the company failed to disclose a strategic business shift that it implemented prior to its IPO, recovering $29.25 million for investors. In Benson v. D-Market Elektronik Hizmetler Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi et. al., Index No. 655701/2021 (N.Y. Sup. Ct, New York Cnty.), Mr. tum Suden had a material role in successfully resolving IPO litigation alleging violations of §§ 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 when a Turkish e-commerce platform company negligently failed to disclose negative growth trends that were affecting the company before the IPO. The resulting class action settlement totaled $13.9 million.
Mr. tum Suden has also materially contributed to the successful resolution of several derivative class action cases, including Hines v. Gowen, et al., No. 2:20-cv-04673-CMR (E.D. Penn.) (Trevena Inc. Derivative Litig.), In re CoreCivic, Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, No. 3:16-CV-03040 (M.D. Tenn.), Zhang v. Sarig et al., No. 1:21-cv-08657 (S.D.N.Y.) (Aterian, Inc. Derivative Litig.), Guzzo v. Gunderman et al., No. 1:22-CV-00366-GLR (D. Md.) (Uniti Grp., Inc. Derivative Litig.), In re 3D Systems Corp. Shareholder Derivative Litig., No. 2021-CP-46-02308 (S.C. Ct. Com. Pl. York Cnty.), In re ATI Physical Therapy, Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litig., No. 1:21-cv-06415 (N.D. Ill.), and other actions. These cases involved allegations that directors and officers made false and misleading statements about company business models, financial and operational prospects, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance policies; which resulted in material, comprehensive changes to corporate governance and compliance.
Areas of Practice
Mr. tum Suden focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, including securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions, representing investors wronged through fraud and other violations of law. Mr. tum Suden has a wide base of knowledge and experience, litigating numerous issues in banking and finance, technology, pharmaceutical and healthcare, automotive, and e-commerce.
Mr. tum Suden has also served as a panelist on the Atlanta Bar Association’s Securities and Corporate Litigation sub-section’s presentation on cryptocurrency and is a member of State Bar of Georgia’s Business Law subsection.
Professional Qualifications
Mr. tum Suden was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2018 and is currently admitted in good standing with the following courts:
- All courts in the State of Georgia
- The United Stated District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Awards and Peer Recognition
Mr. tum Suden was selected to the 2024 Georgia Rising Stars by Super Lawyers. Mr. tum Suden has also provided his expertise as a panelist at the Atlanta Bar Association Securities Law Section’s discussion on cryptocurrency. During law school, Mr. tum Suden received an individual award recognizing his outstanding contributions to the Journal of Intellectual Property.
Education
Mr. tum Suden graduated in 2018 from the University of Georgia School of Lawand served as Notes Editor on the Journal of Intellectual Property where he was individually recognized for his contributions. Mr. tum Suden was also elected President of the Asian Law Students Association and was a member of the A.H. Stephens Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta. Mr. tum Suden graduated cum laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration where he was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi.
During law school, Mr. tum Suden served an Honors Clerk at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Enforcement Division’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit, focusing on fraud in connection with sophisticated financial instruments. While at the SEC, Mr. tum Suden investigated an insider trading ring, resulting in a successful series of prosecutions and built a successful case against a hedge fund manager for misrepresenting the fund’s assets under management and financial operations.
Community and Volunteer Activities
Mr. tum Suden was elected to the Board of Directors for The Essential Theatre, Inc. in 2024, where he also serves as Assistant Secretary and is a member of the Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. tum Suden is a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Japan-America Society of Georgia. Mr. tum Suden also supports several community based programs, including Helping Hands of Paulding County Georgia.
