Firm overview
Since its founding in 2012, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP has become one of the nation’s most influential and respected litigation boutiques.
HSG quickly established itself as a leader in litigation resulting from the Great Recession, recovering billions of dollars for investors and government-sponsored entities in mortgage-backed securities. The firm continues to lead – and win – in high-impact, highly contested matters involving complex issues and requiring skilled courtroom advocacy and expert legal writing and scholarship. Benchmark Litigation named HSG its 2016 New York Law Firm of the Year and a Top 10 Boutique since 2017, and, within three years of its founding, it was one of 10 firms named to The National Law Journal’s Litigation Boutiques Hot List. Many HSG lawyers have been recognized by Chambers, Benchmark, The National Law Journal, and in other rankings and publications.
Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, HSG serves as lead counsel for clients such as Visa, Chubb, HSBC, and government-owned pension funds in a range of disputes, and is particularly well known for:
Financial Markets & Securities Litigation: HSG lawyers have been involved in numerous landmark financial markets cases, representing, among others, banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, foreign governments, trustees, and other market participants. Most recently, the firm has taken the lead on innovative “cost-of-insurance” litigation in the Southern District of New York and other federal courts around the country.
Impact Antitrust Litigation: In addition to the firm’s ongoing representation of Visa in multidistrict litigation involving hundreds of billions of dollars in claimed damages, the firm’s lawyers have represented Comcast, Raytheon, General Re, Saudi Refining, Inc., and other clients in major antitrust litigation and governmental reviews. On the plaintiffs’ side, the firm recently represented Valassis, a MacAndrews & Forbes portfolio company, in a jury trial against News Corp.
Complex Commercial Disputes: HSG represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial disputes, whether purely domestic or multi-jurisdictional, and is at the forefront of litigation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, including disputes concerning borrower covenants. Its clients include multinational corporations, financial institutions, hedge and private equity funds, family-owned businesses, directors of public companies, and a founder of Facebook.
Transnational Litigation: The firm has represented numerous clients in matters with transnational dimensions, including creditors against foreign sovereigns in disputes over defaults of their debt. The firm’s lawyers have also represented various foreign sovereigns and state-owned entities in a variety of matters. Additionally, they have represented a range of commercial parties in commercial disputes with a transnational dimension, in matters ranging from international arbitrations to Section 1782 proceedings, and everything in between. The firm is currently challenging the termination of power contracts worth more than a billion dollars in multiple jurisdictions, alleging breach of contract by the Angolan government and tortious interference by General Electric.
Appellate Litigation: HSG’s ranks include multiple former U.S. Supreme Court clerks and federal circuit clerks in its active appellate practice. Among other notable matters, HSG currently serves as nationwide lead trial and appellate counsel for Chubb’s insurance companies in opioid coverage litigation. The firm draws on Judge Holwell’s experience sitting as a designated Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge, as well as the experience of partner James M. McGuire, who has served the state of New York as an appellate and trial court judge.
Investigations/Monitorships: Bringing to bear the firm’s considerable judicial experience, HSG lawyers handle criminal and regulatory enforcement investigations, as well as independent monitorships brought about by consent decrees, settlements, or otherwise.
Key Practice Areas:
- Antitrust
- Appellate
- Arbitration (International and Domestic)
- Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring
- Complex Commercial Litigation
- Intellectual Property
- Product Liability
- Securities
- White Collar and Government Investigations
Languages Spoken at Firm: English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish
Updated Sep 2021
