John Etman is a founding partner of Ertman Dulis & Helisek PLLC, a commercial litigation firm that focuses on the investment management industry. John and his fellow partners have decades of front-line litigation experience handling sensitive matters facing investment managers and their investors.
John has spent the majority of his respected legal career acting as lead litigation counsel on behalf of private equity, hedge fund, and mutual fund clients. He has represented numerous asset managers in the investment management industry in an extensive range of cases, including securities litigation, class actions, mortgage trust disputes, large contract disputes, internal investigations, government enforcement actions, and whistleblower matters.
Prior to founding Ertman Dulis & Helisek in 2020, John was an investment management litigation partner for sixteen years at Ropes & Gray LLP. There, in the words of Ropes’ Managing Partner, John was known “for his extraordinary commitment to clients and his laser focus on delivering great litigation outcomes." Before he joined Ropes & Gray,...John Etman is a founding partner of Ertman Dulis & Helisek PLLC, a commercial litigation firm that focuses on the investment management industry. John and his fellow partners have decades of front-line litigation experience handling sensitive matters facing investment managers and their investors.
John has spent the majority of his respected legal career acting as lead litigation counsel on behalf of private equity, hedge fund, and mutual fund clients. He has represented numerous asset managers in the investment management industry in an extensive range of cases, including securities litigation, class actions, mortgage trust disputes, large contract disputes, internal investigations, government enforcement actions, and whistleblower matters.
Prior to founding Ertman Dulis & Helisek in 2020, John was an investment management litigation partner for sixteen years at Ropes & Gray LLP. There, in the words of Ropes’ Managing Partner, John was known “for his extraordinary commitment to clients and his laser focus on delivering great litigation outcomes." Before he joined Ropes & Gray, he was a partner at Reboul MacMurray Hewitt Maynard & Kristol, a New York-based firm known for its focus on private equity. John became one of Ropes' first litigators in New York in 2003 when Reboul MacMurray and Ropes merged.
John graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College in 1988, and earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991. After graduating from Harvard Law, John served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and was an antitrust litigation associate at Skadden Arps from 1992 to 1995 before moving to Reboul MacMurray.moreless
The partners at Ertman Dulis & Helisek PLLC have decades of experience in leading-edge litigation and enforcement issues that investment managers and their investors face.
With offices in major cities across the globe, Ropes & Gray serves many organizations, investors, and individuals at all stages of the business life cycle.
Reboul MacMurray Hewitt Maynard & Kristol
Partner
Nov 1995 - May 2003
New York, NY, USA
Reboul MacMurray Hewitt Maynard & Kristol, now a part of Ropes & Gray, was a New York City-based firm focused on private equity.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates is an international law firm based in New York City.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
Law Clerk
Jan 1991 - Dec 1992
Raleigh, NC, USA
John served as a law clerk for the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1991 – 1992.
John Ertman has been cited and quoted in numerous legal and widely read publications. For a complete list, click on the Ertman Dulis & Helisek PLLC logo.
John Ertman commented on a ruling from a case involving the city of Richmond using its power of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages for a principal reduction program.
John Ertman is quoted in a case involving multiple entities seeking a court order blocking Richmond, California, and Mortgage Resolution Partners LLC from seizing mortgages.
John Ertman argued and won a seminal M&A ruling from the Delaware Supreme Court that barred a bidder for a private equity portfolio company from bringing fraud claims after a transaction failed to close
PIMCO Income Fund
Plaintiff's Counsel
John Ertman served as plaintiff’s counsel to PIMCO Income Fund in an RMBS trust action in Minnesota federal court against Wells Fargo and OneMain Financial.
First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation
Defense Counsel
John Ertman served as defense counsel to First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation in indemnification actions involving sale of mortgage loans brought by the Rescap Liquidating Trust in Minnesota federal court and by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate in New York federal court.
