A founding partner of Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, Dorit Ungar Black holds a dual law degree and is a native German speaker. She has expertise in international arbitration, and has practiced in both civil and common law jurisdictions , including courts in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Vienna, Austria. Dorit focuses her practice on disputes regarding commercial contracts, complicated financial instruments, business acquisitions, business torts, insurance disputes, commercial leases, and international construction projects, with a focus on dispute resolution through international and domestic arbitration.
Dorit’s arbitration experience includes representation of Hochtief AG in an ICC/FIDIC arbitration against the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in a dispute involving critical path delays during the construction of apartment buildings in Rostov-on-Don; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Power Systems in an AAA arbitration involving a Texas power plant; a large Japanese pharmaceutical company in an ICC arbitration arising from its acquisition of a Mexican manufacturer of medicinal and over-the-counter products; a Portuguese-owned Angolan ECP company in ICC and LCIA arbitrations against various General Electric subsidiaries pertaining to the provision of power services in Angola; ; Çukurova Holding A.S., a Turkish industrial and commercial conglomerate, in post-judgment and appellate proceedings before the S.D.N.Y. and the Second Circuit, respectively, relating to the enforcement of a $932 million arbitral award against Çukurova; Air India in two actions in connection with efforts by foreign investors to enforce a $1.2 billion ICC award and a $160 million UNCITRAL/BIT award against the previously state-owned airline as the alleged alter ego of the Republic of India.
Dorit’s litigation practice covers a wide spectrum of complex commercial disputes, including cross-border litigation. Dorit represents affiliates of Alberta’s government-owned investment fund in innovative claims against insurers concerning “life settlement” insurance premium disputes. Dorit took the lead on plaintiffs’ affirmative damages case in a multibillion-dollar damages trial against Lehman Brothers over its massive securitizations of toxic mortgages. The trial, which addressed Lehman’s pivotal role in causing the 2008 financial collapse, resulted in a $2.4 billion damages award for investors—the largest single trial verdict resulting from the housing crisis. Dorit’s past matters include a $120 million suit by a Canadian toy manufacturer against her client, a product-safety testing laboratory; U.S. hedge fund Camulos Capital in a dispute with a German subsidiary of Lehman Brothers over a repo agreement worth more than $100 million; and the heirs to the Herzog Collection, the largest private art collection in Hungary prior to World War II, in a lawsuit against the Hungarian government and its state-owned museums and instrumentalities seeking the return of more than 40 artworks with an estimated value of more than $100 million.
Dorit has been named a Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business; a Women of Influence by the New York Business Journal; a Female Powerbroker by Law360; a Litigation Trailblazer by The National Law Journal; a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal; a Woman Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal; and Boutique Lawyer of the Year by Lawyer Monthly.
Key Practice Areas:
- Arbitration
- Banking + Financial Services
- Business & Commercial
- Construction & Real Estate
- Securities
Education/Alumni:
- University of Vienna Law School (Mag.iur., 1999)
- Columbia Law School (LL.M., 2003)
Languages Spoken: German, Hebrew, Hungarian
Updated Aug 2023
