Four Decades for Justice
Kevin J. Orsini is Co-Head of the 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’s practice focuses on complex litigation, including antitrust, mass torts, mergers and acquisitions, securities and other commercial disputes. His clients have included Alcoa, American Express, Barnes & Noble, Black Entertainment Television, Crown Castle, FleetCor Technologies, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Illumina, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Occidental Petroleum, Palantir Technologies, PG&E, Robinhood, Sabre, Viacom, Viatris, The Williams Companies, Time Warner and Xerox.
Trial and Lead Counsel Experience
Securities and Other Commercial Litigation Experience
Representing Anadarko Petroleum in class action securities litigation filed in Texas federal court alleging Anadarko made false and misleading statements concerning the company’s business and operations in the Shenandoah deepwater oil field.
Won summary judgment for Viatris (formerly Mylan) in a shareholder class action that asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen, as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price‑fixing and market allocation. The decision represents one of the few resolutions of a federal securities fraud litigation at summary judgment entirely in favor of defendants.
Select Additional Antitrust Litigation Experience
Select Additional M&A Litigation Experience
Mass Torts Litigation Experience
Demonstrating his standout performance in complex litigation across a variety of practice areas, Mr. Orsini was selected as a 2023 “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal and he has been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including being named the publication’s 2021 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “General Commercial Litigator of the Year,” as well as its 2020 “Antitrust Attorney of the Year.” Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial litigation and a “Litigation Star” in the New York area.
Among his other distinctions, Chambers USA has recognized Mr. Orsini for his general commercial litigation work and The Legal 500 US has named him a “Leading Trial Lawyer,” and recommended Mr. Orsini for his work in antitrust, appellate, fintech, financial services, general commercial, M&A, media and entertainment and securities litigation. Lawdragon has also named him one of “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” “500 Leading Global Litigators” and “500 Leading Litigators in America.”
Mr. Orsini was born in Livingston, New Jersey. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from The George Washington University in 2000, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2003.
Mr. Orsini joined Cravath in 2003 and was elected a partner in 2010.
Mr. Orsini’s practice focuses on complex litigation, including antitrust, mass torts, mergers and acquisitions, securities and other commercial disputes. His clients have included Alcoa, American Express, Barnes & Noble, Black Entertainment Television, Crown Castle, FleetCor Technologies, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Illumina, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Occidental Petroleum, Palantir Technologies, PG&E, Robinhood, Sabre, Viacom, Viatris, The Williams Companies, Time Warner and Xerox.
Trial and Lead Counsel Experience
Securities and Other Commercial Litigation Experience
Representing Anadarko Petroleum in class action securities litigation filed in Texas federal court alleging Anadarko made false and misleading statements concerning the company’s business and operations in the Shenandoah deepwater oil field.
Won summary judgment for Viatris (formerly Mylan) in a shareholder class action that asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen, as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price‑fixing and market allocation. The decision represents one of the few resolutions of a federal securities fraud litigation at summary judgment entirely in favor of defendants.
Select Additional Antitrust Litigation Experience
Select Additional M&A Litigation Experience
Mass Torts Litigation Experience
Demonstrating his standout performance in complex litigation across a variety of practice areas, Mr. Orsini was selected as a 2023 “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal and he has been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including being named the publication’s 2021 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “General Commercial Litigator of the Year,” as well as its 2020 “Antitrust Attorney of the Year.” Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial litigation and a “Litigation Star” in the New York area.
Among his other distinctions, Chambers USA has recognized Mr. Orsini for his general commercial litigation work and The Legal 500 US has named him a “Leading Trial Lawyer,” and recommended Mr. Orsini for his work in antitrust, appellate, fintech, financial services, general commercial, M&A, media and entertainment and securities litigation. Lawdragon has also named him one of “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” “500 Leading Global Litigators” and “500 Leading Litigators in America.”
Mr. Orsini was born in Livingston, New Jersey. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from The George Washington University in 2000, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2003.
Mr. Orsini joined Cravath in 2003 and was elected a partner in 2010.
American College of Trial Lawyers
Benchmark Litigation
Best Lawyers in America
Chambers USA
Law360
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
National Law Journal
New York Law Journal
Super Lawyers - New York
Deals & Cases
November 15, 2023
On November 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class asserting market manipulation claims under the federal securities laws against Cravath clients Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC and Robinhood Securities, LLC (together, “Robinhood”).
Deals & Cases
October 12, 2023
On October 10, 2023, following a full trial on the merits and an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) secured a victory resulting in a judgment of more than $600 million.
Deals & Cases
April 07, 2023
On Thursday, March 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of Cravath client Viatris (formed in 2020 from a combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn division). The shareholder class action asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price fixing and market allocation.
Deals & Cases
August 29, 2022
On August 25, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted in full Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc.’s (“Williams”) motion for interest, attorneys’ fees and expenses, totaling more than $185 million at the time the motion was taken under submission. The decision followed post‑trial discovery, briefing and oral argument between January and May 2022.
Deals & Cases
July 26, 2022
On July 25, 2022, Judge Danny Y. Chou of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, issued a decision holding that the automatic discovery stay pursuant to Section 77z‑1(b)(1) of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA Stay”) applies not only in federal court, but also in state court. Judge Chou therefore granted Cravath clients Dfinity Foundation and Dfinity USA Research, LLC’s (together, the “Dfinity Defendants”) motion to stay discovery pending resolution of the Dfinity Defendants’ demurrer.
Accolades
December 07, 2023
On December 4, 2023, The American Lawyer profiled Cravath’s litigation department in connection with its recognition as a finalist for the publication’s biennial “Litigation Department of the Year” award. The feature, entitled “Busier Than Ever: How Cravath’s Litigation Team Has Grown Into an Industry Powerhouse,” noted that “Cravath’s litigators have consistently landed on some of the country’s most high‑profile cases with the most at stake” over the past two years and praised the department as “at the ready to handle any complex, pivotal case that comes its way.” Speaking to the publication, partner Kevin J. Orsini discussed the breadth of the Firm’s recent successes, including representing Tesla CEO Elon Musk at trial to defeat a $13 billion derivative suit concerning Tesla’s SolarCity acquisition; Illumina and Louis Dreyfus Company each in separate trial wins against the government in respective FTC and DOJ antitrust merger challenges; Starz in a precedent-setting Ninth Circuit win against MGM; and Blue Cross Blue Shield in securing a summary judgment victory within one of the largest class actions in the country. Kevin also discussed the Firm’s commitment to “collaboration and connectivity” in its partnership, as well as the department’s unique ability to “handle a wide range of subject matters” in an era of increasing specialization.
Accolades
October 12, 2023
The 2024 edition of Benchmark Litigation named Cravath partners Evan R. Chesler, Daniel Slifkin, David R. Marriott, Gary A. Bornstein and Kevin J. Orsini to its list of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America.” This is the tenth consecutive year in which Evan has been recognized, the fourth year in which Daniel and Kevin have been recognized, the third year in which Gary has been named to the list, and the first year in which David has been recognized.
Accolades
September 14, 2023
On September 6, 2023, Cravath partner Kevin J. Orsini was honored by The National Law Journal as a “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer.” The accompanying profile highlights Kevin’s role as lead trial counsel in resolving $50 billion in claims for PG&E in one of the largest and most complex sets of mass tort litigation in recent years, enabling the company to emerge from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. The profile also includes Kevin’s thoughts on the lasting impact of the settlements for future event‑driven litigation.
Accolades
March 17, 2023
On March 15, 2023, Benchmark Litigation honored Cravath at the publication’s eleventh annual U.S. Awards, which was held in New York City in celebration of “the country’s most distinguished litigators and their firms for their exemplary work over the past twelve months.” The Firm was awarded Benchmark Litigation’s “Antitrust Firm of the Year” award, which recognized Cravath’s representation of clients, including Epic Games, Louis Dreyfus Company and Qualcomm. Cravath partner Timothy G. Cameron accepted the award on behalf of the Firm.
Activities & Publications
November 18, 2022
On November 17, 2022, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “SEC v. LBRY, Inc.: Federal Court Rules Cryptotoken Distribution Was an Unregistered Securities Offering,” which examined a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in SEC v. LBRY, Inc., a case at the intersection of cryptoasset regulation and securities law.
Kevin J. Orsini is Co-Head of the 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’s practice focuses on complex litigation, including antitrust, mass torts, mergers and acquisitions, securities and other commercial disputes. His clients have included Alcoa, American Express, Barnes & Noble, Black Entertainment Television, Crown Castle, FleetCor Technologies, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Illumina, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Occidental Petroleum, Palantir Technologies, PG&E, Robinhood, Sabre, Viacom, Viatris, The Williams Companies, Time Warner and Xerox.
Trial and Lead Counsel Experience
Securities and Other Commercial Litigation Experience
Representing Anadarko Petroleum in class action securities litigation filed in Texas federal court alleging Anadarko made false and misleading statements concerning the company’s business and operations in the Shenandoah deepwater oil field.
Won summary judgment for Viatris (formerly Mylan) in a shareholder class action that asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen, as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price‑fixing and market allocation. The decision represents one of the few resolutions of a federal securities fraud litigation at summary judgment entirely in favor of defendants.
Select Additional Antitrust Litigation Experience
Select Additional M&A Litigation Experience
Mass Torts Litigation Experience
Demonstrating his standout performance in complex litigation across a variety of practice areas, Mr. Orsini was selected as a 2023 “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal and he has been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including being named the publication’s 2021 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “General Commercial Litigator of the Year,” as well as its 2020 “Antitrust Attorney of the Year.” Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial litigation and a “Litigation Star” in the New York area.
Among his other distinctions, Chambers USA has recognized Mr. Orsini for his general commercial litigation work and The Legal 500 US has named him a “Leading Trial Lawyer,” and recommended Mr. Orsini for his work in antitrust, appellate, fintech, financial services, general commercial, M&A, media and entertainment and securities litigation. Lawdragon has also named him one of “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” “500 Leading Global Litigators” and “500 Leading Litigators in America.”
Mr. Orsini was born in Livingston, New Jersey. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from The George Washington University in 2000, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2003.
Mr. Orsini joined Cravath in 2003 and was elected a partner in 2010.
Mr. Orsini’s practice focuses on complex litigation, including antitrust, mass torts, mergers and acquisitions, securities and other commercial disputes. His clients have included Alcoa, American Express, Barnes & Noble, Black Entertainment Television, Crown Castle, FleetCor Technologies, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Illumina, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Occidental Petroleum, Palantir Technologies, PG&E, Robinhood, Sabre, Viacom, Viatris, The Williams Companies, Time Warner and Xerox.
Trial and Lead Counsel Experience
Securities and Other Commercial Litigation Experience
Representing Anadarko Petroleum in class action securities litigation filed in Texas federal court alleging Anadarko made false and misleading statements concerning the company’s business and operations in the Shenandoah deepwater oil field.
Won summary judgment for Viatris (formerly Mylan) in a shareholder class action that asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen, as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price‑fixing and market allocation. The decision represents one of the few resolutions of a federal securities fraud litigation at summary judgment entirely in favor of defendants.
Select Additional Antitrust Litigation Experience
Select Additional M&A Litigation Experience
Mass Torts Litigation Experience
Demonstrating his standout performance in complex litigation across a variety of practice areas, Mr. Orsini was selected as a 2023 “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal and he has been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including being named the publication’s 2021 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “General Commercial Litigator of the Year,” as well as its 2020 “Antitrust Attorney of the Year.” Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial litigation and a “Litigation Star” in the New York area.
Among his other distinctions, Chambers USA has recognized Mr. Orsini for his general commercial litigation work and The Legal 500 US has named him a “Leading Trial Lawyer,” and recommended Mr. Orsini for his work in antitrust, appellate, fintech, financial services, general commercial, M&A, media and entertainment and securities litigation. Lawdragon has also named him one of “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” “500 Leading Global Litigators” and “500 Leading Litigators in America.”
Mr. Orsini was born in Livingston, New Jersey. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from The George Washington University in 2000, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2003.
Mr. Orsini joined Cravath in 2003 and was elected a partner in 2010.
American College of Trial Lawyers
Benchmark Litigation
Best Lawyers in America
Chambers USA
Law360
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
National Law Journal
New York Law Journal
Super Lawyers - New York
Deals & Cases
November 15, 2023
On November 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied plaintiffs’ motion to certify a class asserting market manipulation claims under the federal securities laws against Cravath clients Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC and Robinhood Securities, LLC (together, “Robinhood”).
Deals & Cases
October 12, 2023
On October 10, 2023, following a full trial on the merits and an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) secured a victory resulting in a judgment of more than $600 million.
Deals & Cases
April 07, 2023
On Thursday, March 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of Cravath client Viatris (formed in 2020 from a combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn division). The shareholder class action asserted numerous violations of the federal securities laws, all premised on other allegations related to Mylan’s marketing, pricing and classification of EpiPen as well as alleged conduct concerning generic drug price fixing and market allocation.
Deals & Cases
August 29, 2022
On August 25, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted in full Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc.’s (“Williams”) motion for interest, attorneys’ fees and expenses, totaling more than $185 million at the time the motion was taken under submission. The decision followed post‑trial discovery, briefing and oral argument between January and May 2022.
Deals & Cases
July 26, 2022
On July 25, 2022, Judge Danny Y. Chou of the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, issued a decision holding that the automatic discovery stay pursuant to Section 77z‑1(b)(1) of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (the “PSLRA Stay”) applies not only in federal court, but also in state court. Judge Chou therefore granted Cravath clients Dfinity Foundation and Dfinity USA Research, LLC’s (together, the “Dfinity Defendants”) motion to stay discovery pending resolution of the Dfinity Defendants’ demurrer.
Accolades
December 07, 2023
On December 4, 2023, The American Lawyer profiled Cravath’s litigation department in connection with its recognition as a finalist for the publication’s biennial “Litigation Department of the Year” award. The feature, entitled “Busier Than Ever: How Cravath’s Litigation Team Has Grown Into an Industry Powerhouse,” noted that “Cravath’s litigators have consistently landed on some of the country’s most high‑profile cases with the most at stake” over the past two years and praised the department as “at the ready to handle any complex, pivotal case that comes its way.” Speaking to the publication, partner Kevin J. Orsini discussed the breadth of the Firm’s recent successes, including representing Tesla CEO Elon Musk at trial to defeat a $13 billion derivative suit concerning Tesla’s SolarCity acquisition; Illumina and Louis Dreyfus Company each in separate trial wins against the government in respective FTC and DOJ antitrust merger challenges; Starz in a precedent-setting Ninth Circuit win against MGM; and Blue Cross Blue Shield in securing a summary judgment victory within one of the largest class actions in the country. Kevin also discussed the Firm’s commitment to “collaboration and connectivity” in its partnership, as well as the department’s unique ability to “handle a wide range of subject matters” in an era of increasing specialization.
Accolades
October 12, 2023
The 2024 edition of Benchmark Litigation named Cravath partners Evan R. Chesler, Daniel Slifkin, David R. Marriott, Gary A. Bornstein and Kevin J. Orsini to its list of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America.” This is the tenth consecutive year in which Evan has been recognized, the fourth year in which Daniel and Kevin have been recognized, the third year in which Gary has been named to the list, and the first year in which David has been recognized.
Accolades
September 14, 2023
On September 6, 2023, Cravath partner Kevin J. Orsini was honored by The National Law Journal as a “Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer.” The accompanying profile highlights Kevin’s role as lead trial counsel in resolving $50 billion in claims for PG&E in one of the largest and most complex sets of mass tort litigation in recent years, enabling the company to emerge from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. The profile also includes Kevin’s thoughts on the lasting impact of the settlements for future event‑driven litigation.
Accolades
March 17, 2023
On March 15, 2023, Benchmark Litigation honored Cravath at the publication’s eleventh annual U.S. Awards, which was held in New York City in celebration of “the country’s most distinguished litigators and their firms for their exemplary work over the past twelve months.” The Firm was awarded Benchmark Litigation’s “Antitrust Firm of the Year” award, which recognized Cravath’s representation of clients, including Epic Games, Louis Dreyfus Company and Qualcomm. Cravath partner Timothy G. Cameron accepted the award on behalf of the Firm.
Activities & Publications
November 18, 2022
On November 17, 2022, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “SEC v. LBRY, Inc.: Federal Court Rules Cryptotoken Distribution Was an Unregistered Securities Offering,” which examined a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in SEC v. LBRY, Inc., a case at the intersection of cryptoasset regulation and securities law.
Celebrating 200 years of partnership. In 2019, we celebrated our bicentennial. Our history mirrors that of our nation. Integral to our story is our culture.
Attorney Advertising. ©2024 Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.