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· Helped obtain relief in federal courts for nearly 57 inmates serving onerous sentences resulting from outdated mandatory sentencing provisions that were disproportionately invoked against Black men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:
- Antitrust & Competition
- Arbitration & International Disputes
- Bankruptcy
- Business Integrity
- Crisis Management
- Data Strategy & Security
- 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. 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
