Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is widely and duly revered as among the preeminent litigation boutiques both in New York City’s congested market and nationally. Peers and clients stand united as admirers of the firm’s approach and litigation acumen. One client cheers the firm’s “client service, talent, bench strength, advocacy, professionalism and strategy.” A New York contemporary meanwhile voices respect for Holwell Shuster’s “top-to-bottom culture,” noting “a level of litigation excellence from the senior people to the up-and-comers, just a strong command and dedication.” Another peer notes, “They are really getting a lot of high-level [leading insurance carrier] Chubb work now, and that’s a nice feather in their cap.”
Continuing to serve at the forefront of the firm’s team, founding partner Michael Shuster year after year cements his position further as a complex commercial authority, including landing himself a coveted position among Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America. Among the most active of Holwell’s litigators, Shuster continues to offer representation to regular client Visa in numerous complex and long-running antitrust matters, both in the class-action and opt-out capacities. In the opt-out cases, the country’s leading merchants are challenging credit and debit card rules that go to the heart of the industry and seeking billions of dollars in damages, pre-trebling. Meanwhile, a putative equitable relief class on behalf of all merchants across the nation is seeking broad-ranging changes to Visa’s business model. In September 2018, the defendants reached a historic $5.6 billion settlement with one of the putative classes of merchants. An appeal was briefed in 2020 and argued in 2022, and in March 2023, the Second Circuit of New York upheld the now $5.6 billion antitrust class-action settlement with more than 12 million retailers. In March 2024, the defendants reached another historic settlement with a nationwide certified class of merchants seeking injunctive relief. The settlement would resolve all claims for injunctive relief for all merchants and bring to a close class claims pending since 2005. Shuster also currently serves as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel to Chubb Limited in all of the several insurance cases filed by pharmaceutical titans, such as those of AmerisourceBergen, McKesson, and Rite Aid, as they seek insurance coverage from Chubb under unprecedented theories in connection with the widely reported opioid liability litigation currently unfolding in jurisdictions around the country. Shuster is supported on the matters by partners Blair Kaminsky and Daniel Sullivan. One client weighs in, “Michael Shuster is an excellent trial attorney who is supported by the legal expertise of Blair and Daniel.” Another specifies, “Daniel Sullivan is a well respected insurance defense attorney handling complex legal issues involved with the opioid declaratory judgment litigation for Chubb. Dan prepared successful legal briefs, prepared, deposed, and cross-examined corporate and expert witnesses, preserved and argued appellate issues, and made compelling arguments during hearings, motions, and at trial.”
Priyanka Timblo and Brendon DeMay won a $101 million jury verdict for London Luxury against Walmart in a lawsuit alleging that Walmart wrongfully cancelled its contract to purchase more than $500 million in personal protective equipment, or “PPE,” the demand for which skyrocketed at the peak of the COVID pandemic but eventually waned. “That’s a great look for them, and for the firm,” asserts a peer. “You don’t see too many other firms giving 40-something-year-old partners their $100 million jury trials!”
In another COVID-adjacent matter, Greg Dubinsky represents former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who was being investigated by an ethics commission regarding allegations of ethics breaches committed while publishing his book American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. In September 2023, a New York Supreme Court justice commission unconstitutional. Dubinsky also served as lead counsel for the National Basketball Association in an antitrust suit brought by a person denied the opportunity to qualify as a player agent. The plaintiff in this case claimed that the NBA and the league’s players union violated the antitrust laws by barring him from taking an online exam for individuals attempting to be player agents.
