Allianz Global Investors has hired Robert Giuffra Jr., the prominent Manhattan-based attorney, and Sullivan & Cromwell to defend shareholder claims that the investment manager doubled down on a series of bad trades just before the coronavirus pandemic destabilized the U.S. stock market earlier this year.

The lawsuit, filed last month in Manhattan federal court, accused Allianz and its parent company of “misconduct and gross mismanagement” in abandoning its risk controls on funds meant to weather severe market downturns. The plaintiff, an Arkansas public pension fund, said investors had suffered at least $774 million in losses as a result of the “reckless strategy,” which led the firm to liquidate two of its so-called Structured Alpha funds during the market crash.