Brendon DeMay is a first-chair trial and appellate lawyer and a leading litigator. His clients are finance, technology, retail, and media organizations whom he represents in contractual, securities, and antitrust matters in federal and state court litigation and arbitrations. In 2024, Brendon first-chaired a federal jury trial and won a jury verdict of $101 million against Walmart in Arkansas, the home court of America’s Fortune 1 company. The verdict—which arose out of a busted contract to buy PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic—is one of the largest jury verdicts ever obtained in Arkansas. For this victory, Brendon was named The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week. The National Law Journal also named Brendon and Priyanka as finalists for the National Winning Litigators Award.
Brendon also currently represents investors and bank trustees in RMBS litigations arising out of the financial crisis. Brendon served as plaintiffs’ liaison counsel in dozens of coordinated actions and briefed, argued, and won an appeal reviving claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars. As a member of the trial team in the Lehman Brothers RMBS bankruptcy dispute, he helped obtain a $2.4 billion verdict for investors.
In other commercial matters, Brendon has represented PetSmart in a covenants dispute with lenders regarding $8 billion in debt obligations. He also has significant experience in private litigation and government investigations into insider trading and securities fraud. He has litigated numerous securities fraud cases, including the Luckin Coffee scandal. He has also litigated cross-border disputes, including the application of Section 1782 in a dispute regarding the breach of a multibillion-dollar agreement to purchase copper and nickel mines in Brazil.
Brendon’s unique background makes him a natural in the courtroom. Before becoming a lawyer, he was a professional actor, appearing in numerous film, theater, and television productions, and was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Best Actor for his performance as Mozart in Amadeus.
Brendon was named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under List from 2017-2022 and was recognized as a Future Star in 2023 and 2024.
Before joining Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, Brendon was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and clerked for Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Key Practice Areas: Antitrust; Appellate; Business & Commercial; Civil Litigation; Securities; Trials; White Collar Crime
Year Joined Firm: 2013
Education: Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), magna cum laude, managing editor of The Georgetown Law Journal; Harvard University (A.B.)
Updated Sep 2024
