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:
· Won a landmark victory on behalf of Ripple Labs in a ruling against the SEC in the SDNY holding that Ripple’s digital token XRP is not a security or “investment” contract in many circumstances
· Successfully overturned a billion-dollar federal district court judgment against BMO Bank
· Secured a preliminary injunction on behalf of James River in Manhattan Supreme Court that awarded specific performance and required the buyer to close on the acquisition of a James River subsidiary under the terms of the purchase agreement
· Won a $100 million award for Gramercy Funds Management and Gramercy Peru Holding in an UNCITRAL arbitration against the Republic of Peru
· Won a full preliminary injunction in federal court in Maine on behalf of WEX to prevent HP’s use of “HP WEX” on its new software platform and eventually settled the case on highly favorable terms
· Secured the acquittal of former Fox executive Hernan Lopez in a seven-week federal criminal trial involving allegations of fraud and bribery
· Successfully defended Casa Azul Spirits in a significant trial victory (following a five-day bench trial in Houston, Texas) against allegations of trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution brought by Casa Tradición, the maker of Clase Azul tequila
· Secured a decision that reversed a previous ruling granting nationwide class certification against RentGrow, a subsidiary of Yardi Systems
· Secured a landmark victory on behalf of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law for an advisory opinion on the legal obligations of countries relating to climate change before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
· Helped obtain relief in federal courts for nearly 57 inmates serving onerous sentences resulting from outdated mandatory sentencing provisions that were disproportionately invoked against Black men
The firm’s Litigation practice is led by co-chairs Andrew Ceresney and Jyotin Hamid and features an all-star roster, including former Attorneys General Lord Peter Goldsmith KC and Michael Mukasey and former Chair of the SEC Mary Jo White. The team also includes over a dozen former assistant U.S. attorneys or Department of Justice attorneys, among them a former federal district court judge, the former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Criminal Division, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security, three former Unit Chiefs of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and the former Deputy Director of the Division of Examinations at the SEC.
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, D.C., San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Hong Kong, their broadly skilled team of over 350 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:
Another notable and distinguishing feature of the Debevoise Litigation practice is the success of their women partners. Benchmark Litigation has named nine Debevoise women litigation partners among the Top 250 Women in Litigation this year—an exceptional ranking for a firm of its size. Since the inception of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation list in 2013, the firm’s partners have been recognized every year for demonstrating its tradition of serving clients at the highest levels and of contributing to the development and advancement of distinguished women leaders.
Updated Oct 2024
WilmerHale is a leading, full-service international law firm with more than 1,100 lawyers located throughout 13 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Our lawyers work at the intersection of government, technology and business, and we remain committed to our guiding principles of:
Litigation & Trial:
Our lawyers have played an integral role in many of the most significant cases across the globe over the past several years, including internal and governmental investigations; patent, copyright and trademark cases; regulatory, government and public policy disputes; securities class action lawsuits; and federal and state appellate cases. Clients rely on our strong understanding of their industries and business goals, pragmatic and clear advice—even in the midst of complicated issues, complex legal and regulatory regimes, and high-stakes decisions—and ability to deliver practical solutions to realworld problems. Our cases and achievements cut across the litigation spectrum, and we have experience across industries, including aviation; bankruptcy and commercial; communications; defense and national security; government contracts; energy, environment and natural resources; financial institutions; labor and employment; technology; and trade.
WilmerHale’s elite lineup of intensely smart, battle-tested litigators can face down any adversary in the courtroom and win. We combine a mastery of proven trial techniques with the intellectual depth to tackle the most novel and complex legal challenges. A client may face an intractable issue that requires pushing the law into new territory. A verdict may turn on the ability to make the most arcane technology compelling to a judge or jury. An individual company officer may need a winning defense in a first-of-its-kind prosecution. In trial after landmark trial, our gift for strategy and our ability to draw cogent themes and narratives from even the most impenetrable facts and points of law have won us countless victories. And the way we win has brought us the respect of judges, juries, clients and competitors across the United States and internationally.
Related Solutions:
Locations:
Please visit our website at wilmerhale.com to learn more about the firm.
Updated Sep 2024
Founded less than two years ago, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP is already widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading patent litigation firms. Our partners have worked together for many years, most recently as the majority of Paul Weiss’s patent litigation group and have a combined 165 years of experience in trials and patent litigation. From small molecules to biologics, from manufacturing to purification to commercial scale-up, and in single-cell sequencing, GPS, medical devices, semiconductors, satellites, and network technologies, we have deep substantive expertise in both the law and in the science. Our lawyers are known for their rapport with juries and judges, for the care and devotion with which they approach their clients, for the scientific expertise they bring, and for their thought leadership in patent law and policy.
The firm’s devotion to clients, commitment to collegiality and diversity, and growing string of victories have propelled it from 21 lawyers at its inception to 32 lawyers today, and from four partners to 10. Founded with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., Groombridge Wu’s success has driven geographic expansion; the firm opened an office in Tokyo’s Marunouchi business hub in December 2023, bringing on long-time Japan-based patent litigator Maxwell (“Mac”) Fox. This firm’s success has not gone unnoticed: it has already been named Benchmark Litigation’s Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year and shortlisted for that honor by both Chambers USA and Managing IP. Groombridge Wu was also named the 2024 Inter Partes Firm of the Year by LMG Life Sciences and was selected as a Litigation Department of the Year finalist by the New York Law Journal, not to mention dozens of individual recognitions for its partners, such as all partners being named to the Lawdragon List of 500 Leading Litigators of America, and LMG Life Sciences naming Megan Raymond as 2024 Inter Partes Lawyer of the Year.
The firm handles the most significant innovations in the life sciences sector, including, among many others, representing Novo Nordisk in district court and PTAB proceedings involving Ozempic® and Wegovy®, the revolutionary diabetes and weight loss treatments; 10x Genomics in district court and PTAB proceedings concerning 10x’s groundbreaking technology for single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing; Amgen in numerous cases concerning biologic products; Genentech in several high-stakes matters involving its breakthrough cancer and hemophilia treatments; Acuitas in a district court proceeding involving Comirnaty®, Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, for which Acuitas invented the “lipid nanoparticle” that is used to protect and deliver the mRNA; and Fennec in a district court proceeding involving Pedmark® (sodium thiosulfate injection), the only FDA-approved treatment for the prevention of ototoxicity (i.e., deafness) in children with localized, non-metastatic tumors who receive cisplatin chemotherapy. The firm’s expertise spans far beyond the life sciences sector as well, representing, for example, Nearmap in Federal Circuit, district court, and PTAB proceedings involving aerial imagery technology.
The firm also has unsurpassed experience before, and insights into, the PTAB—critical expertise demanded by our marquee technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients. The team includes the country’s preeminent PTAB lawyers, Steve Baughman and Megan Raymond, who have been pioneering trial practice at the PTAB since its first minutes of operation in 2012 and have continuously appeared of record before the PTAB in hundreds of high-stakes proceedings on behalf of both petitioners and patent owners. Our preeminence in intricate, franchise-threatening disputes—typically spanning multiple forums—drives our continued growth. We also have extensive experience in ex parte re-examinations.
Beyond the courtroom, Groombridge Wu partners are leaders in the legal community. Jennifer H. Wu is the president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA) president, a position that Nick Groombridge previously held. Jennifer is also a member of the NYU School of Law Board of Trustees, and a member of the board of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). Nick and Eric Stone have co-taught Patent Litigation at New York University School of Law. Steve Baughman helped create and is past president of the PTAB Bar Association; Megan Raymond is the association’s current vice-president and is the primary author of PLI’s Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Megan also serves on the steering committee of WIN DC (Women in IP Network) and chairs the FCBA’s Patent Litigation Committee. Jennifer Rea Deneault is a junior board member of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association and chairs its membership committee. She is also vice chair of the Patent Litigation Committee for the FCBA. Jenny C. Wu is chair of the Diversity Committee and vice chair of the Mock Argument Committee of the FCBA, and just finished her tenure as the chair of the Litigation Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Daniel Klein serves as Vice Chair of the Rules Committee and as a member of the Patent Appeals Subcommittee of the FCBA.
Updated Sep 2024
Sophisticated clients worldwide entrust us with their formidable disputes for a single reason–our remarkable track record. Clients seek our advice on high-stakes litigation and cross-border disputes, as well as government and internal investigations in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Anti-Discrimination and DEI Advisory: Our practice is dedicated to providing comprehensive legal counsel and strategic guidance on matters relating to anti-discrimination laws and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Our areas of focus include workplace investigations, litigation, legal compliance, culture and equity reviews, strategic counseling and training and education.
Antitrust and Trade Regulation: Clients turn to us for our record of success in handling high-stakes antitrust disputes, investigations, and achieving regulatory clearance for the largest and most complicated transactions. We advise clients on internal investigations, enforcement matters, and regulatory issues in connection with the OFAC, the Department of State, and the SEC.
Appellate: Our clients appreciate that Simpson Thacher is a formidable force in the appellate arena. They turn to us for our reputation for procuring against‑the‑odds, law-defining appellate rulings across a wide range of areas, including class actions, commercial, securities litigation, and pro bono.
Bankruptcy: Our comprehensive practice covers all aspects of bankruptcy-related litigation–from disputes over plan confirmation to tender liability and equitable subordination claims to issues arising out of insurance disputes and mass tort-related bankruptcies.
ERISA Litigation: Clients benefit from our coordinated advice in closely aligned areas, including securities, bankruptcy, and government investigations, and our ability to present arguments and evidence in the manner best suited to advance business interests and resolve conflicts with minimal disruption to their operations.
False Advertising Litigation: Companies in a broad range of fields, including pharmaceuticals, financial services, consumer products and food and beverage, turn to us for our significant experience in false advertising litigation, including disputes between competitors and consumer class actions.
Funds, Regulatory and Investigations: Our team includes attorneys with decades of experience in the funds industry, former senior government officials from the SEC, and former U.S. federal prosecutors, who draw upon their deep experience and institutional knowledge to provide sophisticated advice to clients on a broad spectrum of critical regulatory and compliance issues.
Government and Internal Investigations: Large and small companies and their boards, audit and special committees, officers and directors, and other individuals regularly turn to us for advice on a wide range of criminal, regulatory, congressional and other sensitive government inquiries and internal investigations.
Insurance and Reinsurance: Clients benefit from our experience as the leading firm representing the interests of both ceding companies and reinsurers in litigations and arbitrations throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Bermuda. Major insurance groups, including Travelers, AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, Lloyd’s of London and CNA have trusted us on their most significant matters.
Intellectual Property: Understanding and protecting IP is crucial to the long-term success of many businesses. Clients seek our advice in high-stakes, “make it or break it” disputes and rely on our broad array of substantive experience in both litigation and transactional matters to help them protect their interests.
International Disputes and Arbitration: We handle high-stakes international disputes and commercial crises, where the outcome is uncertain and our clients need the highest quality of service. Our collaborative team operates worldwide from the Firm’s London office. The scope of our practice from the London office reaches across all of North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
International Regulatory and Compliance: With increased activism and cross-border cooperation between enforcement and regulatory agencies, we represent the interests of a wide array of clients operating in multiple jurisdictions and have advised on issues in China, India, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.
Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation: Clients seek our market-leading advice in all aspects of M&A litigation—where we excel at defending challenges to the largest and most complex mergers and acquisitions. They appreciate our extensive experience defeating efforts to enjoin transactions prior to closing; resolving claims through reasonable settlements pre-closing; and litigating claims for damages post-closing.
Privacy and Cybersecurity: Our multidisciplinary Privacy and Cybersecurity team advises global companies facing heightened regulatory, contractual and consumer obligations surrounding the management of data, including personal data and use of AI.
Product Liability and Mass Tort: Since the 1970s, clients have relied on our advice as a leader in the development of product liability and mass tort law in the United States. We have taken countless product liability and mass tort cases to jury trial in state and federal courts over the years, amassing invaluable courtroom experience.
Securities: For decades, clients have relied on our securities litigators in the most complex, high-profile, high-stakes securities matters of the day. The country’s most respected Fortune 500 corporations and financial institutions turn to us to help defend against headline-making allegations.
Whistleblower and False Claims Act: Companies and their boards have relied on us to respond to allegations by whistleblowers and to help them devise and implement corporate whistleblower policies. Clients seek our counsel on whistleblower matters in a broad range of sectors—including defense, healthcare, technology and financial services.
Office Locations: New York • Beijing • Boston • Brussels • Hong Kong • Houston • London • Los Angeles • Palo Alto • São Paulo • Tokyo • Washington, D.C.
Updated Oct 2024