Kevin J. Orsini is Co-Head of Cravath's Litigation Department. He regularly plays a central role in major corporate battles that redefine the law. With substantial first‑chair trial experience, he is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been named Benchmark Litigation’s “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “General Commercial Litigator of the Year.”
Mr. Orsini has been recognized as an “established, all‑purpose trial powerhouse” who “attends to a remarkably diverse practice that touches on commercial, antitrust and the one‑of‑a‑kind phenomenon of ‘event‑driven’ litigation, often of the most complex, contentious and highest‑stakes variety.” (Benchmark Litigation) His broad litigation experience includes antitrust, mass torts, mergers and acquisitions, securities and other commercial disputes.
Updated Sep 2025
Mr. Orsini represented Robinhood as lead counsel in dozens of lawsuits, centralized in Florida federal court, including numerous putative class actions—securing a string of victories over more than three years to dismiss or otherwise resolve all claims against the company. The actions involved antitrust, contract, securities and various other state and federal claims arising out of Robinhood’s decision to temporarily place certain limits on trading in certain securities in the face of unprecedented market volatility. Mr. Orsini secured the dismissal of all antitrust and state law claims filed against Robinhood, including arguing and winning Eleventh Circuit appeals affirming both decisions, and he obtained a major ruling defeating class certification of the securities claims.
- Mr. Orsini secured a major trial victory for American Express (“Amex”) in class action litigation brought in New York federal court by classes of debit card and non‑rewards credit card users in multiple states alleging that Amex’s non‑discrimination provisions inflated prices paid for goods and services sold by merchants across the country. Following a three‑week trial, the jury unanimously found that Amex’s non‑discrimination provisions do not unreasonably restrain trade—an important win that protects Amex’s business model.
- Mr. Orsini is representing Xcel Energy, a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with operations in eight states, as lead trial counsel in hundreds of lawsuits filed against Xcel arising from the December 2021 Marshall Wildfire. The action is scheduled for a jury trial in 2025. Mr. Orsini also represents Xcel and its subsidiary, Southwestern Public Service Company, in more than a dozen actions concerning the February 2024 Texas Panhandle wildfires, which included the Smokehouse Creek Fire.
- Competition/antitrust
- Dispute resolution
- Securities