June 20, 2019
On June 19, Willkie was named one of two finalists for “Litigation Department of the Year” by the New York Law Journal in recognition of its litigation results over the past year that demonstrate the department’s excellence. The firm’s stellar litigation results this year included precedent-setting victories across a wide spectrum of legal issues in courts around the country involving securities litigation, corporate and municipal bankruptcies, derivative litigation, and insurance disputes.
The firm was selected for its many victories this past year including, among others, for Lehman Brothers Holdings in a multibillion trial win relating to repurchase claims arising out of Lehman’s sponsorship of residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts; Bettina Whyte, the agent appointed for the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation (COFINA) in a first of its kind adversary proceeding in the Puerto Rico bankruptcy proceedings (the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy); Citigroup and certain of its current and former independent directors in a unique, multi-faceted shareholder derivative action; Relativity Media in an expedited trial victory against Netflix; insurance broker Marsh USA Inc. in a trial involving whether and when a “special relationship” exists between a policyholder and insurance broker; and transgender Medicaid recipients diagnosed with gender dysphoria challenging a New York State regulation that banned Medicaid coverage for transgender health care.