Milbank

With domestic offices in New York, Washington, DC and Los Angeles, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has seen its profile ascend in the eyes of peers and clients. “Milbank remains a force to be reckoned with,” confirms a peer. Another adds, “They occupy a space in the market that is kind of unique to them, a very interesting offering of practices.” Clients appreciate the firm’s “measured and reasonable approach to advocacy, with a decidedly cooperative style that is not pushy or arrogant.”

The firm has historically done well in the commercial, securities and bankruptcy arenas, but as of late has seen some increased prominence in more recently developed areas such as intellectual property and international arbitration as well. In a particularly novel matter spanning both of these aforementioned areas, New York IP specialist Chris Gaspar and DC-based international arbitration partner Michael Nolan chalked up a win in March 2017, when the Federal Circuit affirmed a $450 million arbitration award on behalf of client Bayer CropScience in an international-level dispute concerning infringement of a patent on a gene used by farmers to modify their crops to withstand weed-killing herbicides. The two cemented that win with a December 2017 order from Supreme Court denying certiorari. Nolan also represented the Government of Mongolia, prevailing in an arbitration brought by Chinese state-owned entities pursuant to the investment-protection treaty between the two countries over Mongolia’s revocation of a license for the Chinese entities to mine a vast iron ore deposit. The leases were cancelled in 2006 after the Chinese entities allegedly breached Mongolian laws and the terms of the license. The Chinese entities sought to recoup their investment, as well as potential profits and arbitration costs. The tribunal’s issued a unanimous award as of June 2017, dismissing all claims.

Hailing from the New York office, securities enforcement and white-collar practitioner, George Canellos, who returned to the firm in 2014 after a stint with the SEC, receives plentiful plaudits from peers. “George has really built a nice practice over there,” confirms one, who concedes, “More litigators should try to be like him, not just in his work but in his approach. You feel like you can trust him, he has immediate credibility.” Another peer reinforces this claim. “George is just fantastic - one of the best and most experienced enforcement lawyers you’ll find, and, it should be said, one of the nicest and most easygoing. That’s a rare find.” Canellos, along with Scott Edelmanand future star Antonia Apps, are representing VEREIT in an ongoing investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the SEC, as well as over two thousand related civil actions, involving alleged misstatements a restatement of prior financial statements by the company, and the subsequent criminal and SEC investigations concerning the conduct surrounding those restatements and the company’s accounting methodologies in its financial statements. Edelman, along with antitrust practitioner Fiona Schaeffer, also secured a significant victory against the DoJ on behalf of Broadcast Music, Inc., a music performing rights licensing company. The DoJ’s position risked turning upside down the licensing of co-written works, and significantly limiting collaboration among songwriters. This was a favorable decision that ultimately ensures that those within the more than $2 billion music performing rights industry, consisting of more than 750,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers affiliated with the client and their 10.5 million songs, will not be shifted.

Edelman and Dan Perry provided lead counsel to certain directors of Embraer, securing an April 2018 dismissal of a class-action complaint filed in a federal court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint asserted federal securities fraud claims against Embraer and the individual defendants, alleging principally that defendants committed fraud by disclosing only that investigations into allegations of FCPA violations were underway and failed to disclose the scope and potential financial ramifications. Sean Murphy specializes in securities and commodities litigation and white-collar defense and investigations. He, along with David Gelfand served as members of the lead counsel team representing AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company and AXA Equitable Funds Management Group LLC in a derivative action brought in the District of New Jersey under Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 on behalf of 12 mutual funds that are offered as investment options for annuity products sold by the client. The firm prevailed on behalf of the client in a precedent-setting “excessive mutual fund fee” lawsuit that became the first case of the pending ‘manager of managers’ cases to proceed to trial. Following the 25-day trial, the Court found for AXA and FMG, dismissing the action with prejudice.

Managing partner of the Washington, DC office, Andrew Leblanc was recently a part of the lead counsel team (which also included Dennis Dunne and Atara Miller) who achieved a significant victory on behalf of Ambac Assurance Corporation before the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in a case that threatened to derail Puerto Rico’s efforts to reach consensual resolutions with its creditors. This decision allows negotiations to move forward without the distraction of creditor litigation, and supports important principles concerning the application of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay. Leblanc enjoys a unanimous reputation as one of the leading genuine bankruptcy litigators in the US. “Andy is the real deal,” confirms a competitor. “He’s not just a restructuring lawyer, he’s not a litigator who just dabbles in bankruptcy, he is a true insolvency court fighter. Other clients go out of their way to avoid him - they didn’t want him cross-examining their CEO!” One peer quips, “Andy Leblanc is the one bankruptcy litigator that I’m really worried about going up against.”