Melissa A.
Syring

Ms. Syring’s clients have included Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Occidental Petroleum, PG&E, Viatris, The Walt Disney Company, Xcel Energy and Yale New Haven Health.

Ms. Syring’s notable representations include:

• Representing Anadarko Petroleum in putative class action securities litigation in Texas federal court and double derivative litigation in Delaware federal court alleging Anadarko made false and misleading statements concerning the company’s business and operations in the Shenandoah deepwater oil field.
• Secured a favorable settlement for Yale New Haven Health (“YNHH”) in litigation in Connecticut claiming that Prospect Medical Holdings breached an Asset Purchase Agreement concerning the acquisition of three Connecticut hospitals and that YNHH was not required to close the transaction. Ms. Syring also represented YNHH in related bankruptcy issues in connection with the chapter 11 proceedings of Prospect.
• Represented Morgan Stanley in antitrust class action litigation filed in New York federal court against several of the world’s largest banks, relating to the trading of U.K. government bonds (“Gilts”). The court granted defendants’ joint motion to dismiss the action in its entirety.
• Represented Credit Suisse Asset Management and GLAS Trust Company as lead counsel in litigation brought against Carter Bank & Trust, which alleged that Carter Bank received legally improper transfers from Bluestone Resources. This lawsuit, which settled, was part of the broader work to recover funds invested in supply chain financing arrangements between Bluestone and Greensill Capital.
• Represented PG&E in its successful defense against a customer class action seeking $2.5 billion in damages for PG&E power shutoffs to prevent wildfires. The action was dismissed with prejudice.
• Secured a favorable settlement for Bombardier in a bondholder action, which alleged that recent divestitures constituted a breach of certain covenants in Bombardier’s indentures, and sought to invalidate default waivers obtained through a consent solicitation.
• Represented Xcel Energy, a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with operations in eight states, in litigation filed against Xcel arising from the December 2021 Marshall Wildfire. 
• Represented Costamare Shipping and related entities in connection with litigation filed in California federal court, including a consolidated putative class action, alleging various theories of liability concerning the October 2021 San Pedro Bay pipeline leak off the coast of California—ultimately securing a series of settlements to resolve the actions.
• Represented 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 court granted summary judgment entirely in favor of defendants, and the decision was affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit.
• Represented GTT Communications and certain of its officers and directors in a securities class action concerning GTT’s $2.3 billion acquisition of Interoute Communications Holdings S.A. The parties ultimately reached a settlement.

Ms. Syring also maintains an active pro bono practice, which has involved matters concerning disability rights, incarceration and the right to asylum. She represents a proposed class of all inmates at a maximum security prison in Alabama who are exposed to shocking levels of violence and sexual abuse, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. She has also represented victims of domestic violence seeking reductions in sentences of incarceration as part of Cravath’s Incarcerated Survivors Initiative, including successfully negotiating a reduced sentence for a client that resulted in the client’s immediate release. She previously served on the Advisory Board of New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG).

Ms. Syring was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She received a B.A. summa cum laude from Biola University in 2005 and a J.D. summa cum laude from Rutgers Law School in 2016, where she was a staff editor of the Law Review. Following her graduation, she served as a law clerk to Hon. Roger L. Gregory of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Hon. Gregory H. Woods of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Hon Lee A. Solomon of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Ms. Syring joined Cravath in 2019 and was elected a partner in 2025.