Firm overview
Regularly hailed as one of the strongest litigation teams in the industry, the Debevoise litigation practice has been described by The American Lawyer as akin to “the Army Rangers—a small but elite group that works seamlessly and handles the most challenging cases,” consistently delivering outstanding results for its clients. Recent matters include:
- Winning a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court victory concerning constitutional limits of state taxation for the Kaestner Family Trust
- Securing a historic $6 billion ICSID arbitration win for Tethyan Copper Company Pty Limited
- Dismissal of a $14.5 billion qui tam lawsuit filed against Prudential, John Hancock, AXA, Guardian, MassMutual, TIAA and others in the New York Supreme Court
- Representing the Board of Directors of CBS Corporation in an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against the CEO and senior personnel
- Defeating MZ Wallace’s trade dress infringement claim against our client Oliver Thomas in a complete victory at trial
- Negotiating the favorable settlement of a lawsuit brought on behalf of Jane Doe, an 11-year old transgender girl, in her suit to use the girls’ restroom at her school
The firm’s litigation practice is led by co-chairs Mary Beth Hogan and Andrew Ceresney (the immediate past Director of Enforcement at the SEC) and features an all-star roster, including former Attorneys General Lord Peter Goldsmith QC and Michael Mukasey and former Chair of the SEC Mary Jo White, who returned to Debevoise in 2017 following her four-year tenure. Ms. White, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for nine years, is Senior Chair of the firm and leads the Strategic Crisis Response and Solutions Group.
Their team also includes 14 former Assistant U.S. Attorneys or Department of Justice attorneys, including a former federal district court judge, the former Chief of the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York, the former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Criminal Division, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security and three former Unit Chiefs of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
The breadth of experience offered by Debevoise in and out of the courtroom sets their litigators apart. They bring personal attention, seasoned judgment, deep industry knowledge, credibility and substantive legal experience to each matter, tailoring advice to clients’ needs and circumstances. They work seamlessly and collaboratively with clients and co-counsel and across practices to achieve the best possible results for our clients.
Based in New York, Washington DC, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Hong Kong, their broadly skilled team of nearly 300 litigators handle domestic and cross-border disputes of every kind and complex matters in courts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, France and elsewhere, as well as before arbitration tribunals, agencies and administrative bodies worldwide. They represent clients as plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of areas, including:
- Antitrust & Competition
- Arbitration & International Disputes
- Bankruptcy
- Business Integrity
- Crisis Management
- Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
- Commercial Litigation
- Insurance Industry Disputes
- Intellectual Property
- Internal Investigations
- Labor & Employment Litigation
- Product Liability
- Securities Enforcement
- Securities Litigation
- Trial Practice
- White Collar & Regulatory Defense
Another notable and distinguishing feature of the Debevoise litigation practice is the success of their women partners. For three consecutive years, Benchmark Litigation has named eight Debevoise women litigation partners among the “Top 250 Women in Litigation”—an exceptional ranking for a firm of its size.
Last updated September 2019
