Four Decades for Justice
Michael A. Paskin focuses his practice on class actions and other complex litigation, primarily in the areas of antitrust, securities, contracts and general commercial disputes, and financial reorganization and restructuring. He has represented many leading financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Westpac, in matters involving complex financial markets and products such as residential mortgage-backed securities, stock loans, credit default swaps, interest rate swaps and other derivatives, as well as loan syndication and interest rate benchmarks. Mr. Paskin also has represented corporate clients in various industries, including Akorn, Big Lots, Beazer Homes, Bombardier, Cummins, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Sprint and YPF S.A. In addition, he represents corporations and boards of directors in connection with internal investigations and inquiries by U.S. and foreign regulators, including the SEC, DOJ, CFTC and European Commission.
Praised as a “true star,” Mr. Paskin has been recommended by The Legal 500 US for his work in the financial services, general commercial, corporate restructuring, antitrust and securities litigation practice areas. Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial and antitrust litigation and a “Local Litigation Star” in New York. Lawdragon has consistently selected Mr. Paskin as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and has named him to its “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. He has additionally been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for his litigation work.
Mr. Paskin was featured as “Litigator of the Week” in The AmLaw Litigation Daily for representing the Republic of Argentina in litigation arising from its $80 billion sovereign debt default in 2001. After being retained as new counsel in February 2016, Mr. Paskin led a team that obtained the vacatur, first in the Southern District of New York and then on an expedited Second Circuit appeal, of extraordinary injunctions that had previously blocked Argentina’s access to the international capital markets. Mr. Paskin’s work for Argentina was also recognized in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers report and received a “National Impact Case Award” from Benchmark Litigation.
Mr. Paskin’s other notable representations include:
Antitrust
Securities
Contracts and General Commercial Litigation
Financial Reorganization & Restructuring
Mr. Paskin also maintains an active pro bono practice, which in recent years has involved matters related to voting rights and ballot access, the right to shelter for homeless families in New York City, and claims of racial discrimination.
Mr. Paskin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law in 1995, where he was a member of the Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Paskin served as a law clerk to Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association and New York City Bar Association.
Mr. Paskin joined Cravath in 1996 and was elected a partner in 2002. He served as the Litigation Hiring Partner from 2016 to 2020 and was a member of the Diversity Committee.
Praised as a “true star,” Mr. Paskin has been recommended by The Legal 500 US for his work in the financial services, general commercial, corporate restructuring, antitrust and securities litigation practice areas. Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial and antitrust litigation and a “Local Litigation Star” in New York. Lawdragon has consistently selected Mr. Paskin as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and has named him to its “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. He has additionally been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for his litigation work.
Mr. Paskin was featured as “Litigator of the Week” in The AmLaw Litigation Daily for representing the Republic of Argentina in litigation arising from its $80 billion sovereign debt default in 2001. After being retained as new counsel in February 2016, Mr. Paskin led a team that obtained the vacatur, first in the Southern District of New York and then on an expedited Second Circuit appeal, of extraordinary injunctions that had previously blocked Argentina’s access to the international capital markets. Mr. Paskin’s work for Argentina was also recognized in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers report and received a “National Impact Case Award” from Benchmark Litigation.
Mr. Paskin’s other notable representations include:
Antitrust
Securities
Contracts and General Commercial Litigation
Financial Reorganization & Restructuring
Mr. Paskin also maintains an active pro bono practice, which in recent years has involved matters related to voting rights and ballot access, the right to shelter for homeless families in New York City, and claims of racial discrimination.
Mr. Paskin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law in 1995, where he was a member of the Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Paskin served as a law clerk to Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association and New York City Bar Association.
Mr. Paskin joined Cravath in 1996 and was elected a partner in 2002. He served as the Litigation Hiring Partner from 2016 to 2020 and was a member of the Diversity Committee.
American Bankruptcy Institute
American Bar Association
International Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
Am Law Litigation Daily
Benchmark Litigation
Best Lawyers in America
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
Super Lawyers - New York
Deals & Cases
March 31, 2023
On Friday, March 24, a three‑judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Cravath client Morgan Stanley, banks Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and UBS, and EquiLend, a provider of electronic stock lending services.
Deals & Cases
August 11, 2022
On August 5, 2022, the New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division, dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by Moby S.p.A., one of the world’s largest passenger shipping companies, against Cravath client Morgan Stanley and two of its employees. The lawsuit was related to Moby’s restructuring proceeding in Milan, Italy.
Deals & Cases
October 06, 2021
On October 1, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed consolidated antitrust suits brought by the parent company of an electronic stock‑loan trading platform, SL‑x IP S.á.r.l., and its subsidiaries, against Cravath client Morgan Stanley, banks Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and UBS, and EquiLend, a provider of electronic stock lending services.
Deals & Cases
September 04, 2012
On September 4, 2012, Cravath clients WaMu Asset Acceptance Corp. and WaMu Capital Corp. (“WaMu”) agreed to settle a class action lawsuit arising from the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for $26 million, far below the $558 million in damages the class had sought as covering approximately $2.4 billion in securities. The settlement in this action, which preempted a jury trial scheduled to commence in September 2012, followed Cravath’s prior success in obtaining dismissal of claims concerning the vast majority of the RMBS at issue in the action. On October 21, 2011, the court dismissed all claims for 110 “tranches” of securities that the named plaintiffs did not purchase, on the basis that the named plaintiffs did not have standing to sue on those tranches, and certified a class consisting only of the remaining 13 tranches. This decision in effect removed from litigation securities with an original face value of approximately $8 billion—with a commensurate reduction in WaMu’s potential exposure. Despite the fact that a class had been certified covering the remaining tranches and that the case survived a motion for summary judgment and was only weeks away from trial, the settlement value compares favorably to other RMBS class actions that settled in the early stages of litigation.
Deals & Cases
December 21, 2010
On December 17, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas granted summary judgment in favor of Cravath clients Sprint Nextel Corporation and its outside directors in State of New Jersey v. Sprint Corporation et al., a securities class action that has been pending since 2003. The State of New Jersey asserted claims for securities fraud against Sprint and certain of its former officers and directors under Sections 10(b) and 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These claims were based on alleged false and misleading statements in Sprint’s 2001 and 2002 proxy statements and other filings; these filings stated that Sprint had entered into new employment agreements with its CEO and President at the time, William Esrey and Ronald LeMay, respectively, that were intended to ensure the long-term employment of the executives. Esrey and LeMay were terminated by Sprint in early 2003, and New Jersey alleged that their terminations were inevitable at the time of the earlier proxy statements because the executives had entered into tax shelters that were not sustainable and would result in devastating tax liabilities, making it impossible for them to continue to lead Sprint.
Michael A. Paskin focuses his practice on class actions and other complex litigation, primarily in the areas of antitrust, securities, contracts and general commercial disputes, and financial reorganization and restructuring. He has represented many leading financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Westpac, in matters involving complex financial markets and products such as residential mortgage-backed securities, stock loans, credit default swaps, interest rate swaps and other derivatives, as well as loan syndication and interest rate benchmarks. Mr. Paskin also has represented corporate clients in various industries, including Akorn, Big Lots, Beazer Homes, Bombardier, Cummins, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Sprint and YPF S.A. In addition, he represents corporations and boards of directors in connection with internal investigations and inquiries by U.S. and foreign regulators, including the SEC, DOJ, CFTC and European Commission.
Praised as a “true star,” Mr. Paskin has been recommended by The Legal 500 US for his work in the financial services, general commercial, corporate restructuring, antitrust and securities litigation practice areas. Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial and antitrust litigation and a “Local Litigation Star” in New York. Lawdragon has consistently selected Mr. Paskin as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and has named him to its “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. He has additionally been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for his litigation work.
Mr. Paskin was featured as “Litigator of the Week” in The AmLaw Litigation Daily for representing the Republic of Argentina in litigation arising from its $80 billion sovereign debt default in 2001. After being retained as new counsel in February 2016, Mr. Paskin led a team that obtained the vacatur, first in the Southern District of New York and then on an expedited Second Circuit appeal, of extraordinary injunctions that had previously blocked Argentina’s access to the international capital markets. Mr. Paskin’s work for Argentina was also recognized in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers report and received a “National Impact Case Award” from Benchmark Litigation.
Mr. Paskin’s other notable representations include:
Antitrust
Securities
Contracts and General Commercial Litigation
Financial Reorganization & Restructuring
Mr. Paskin also maintains an active pro bono practice, which in recent years has involved matters related to voting rights and ballot access, the right to shelter for homeless families in New York City, and claims of racial discrimination.
Mr. Paskin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law in 1995, where he was a member of the Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Paskin served as a law clerk to Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association and New York City Bar Association.
Mr. Paskin joined Cravath in 1996 and was elected a partner in 2002. He served as the Litigation Hiring Partner from 2016 to 2020 and was a member of the Diversity Committee.
Praised as a “true star,” Mr. Paskin has been recommended by The Legal 500 US for his work in the financial services, general commercial, corporate restructuring, antitrust and securities litigation practice areas. Benchmark Litigation has also recognized him as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” a “National Star” in general commercial and antitrust litigation and a “Local Litigation Star” in New York. Lawdragon has consistently selected Mr. Paskin as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” and has named him to its “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. He has additionally been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for his litigation work.
Mr. Paskin was featured as “Litigator of the Week” in The AmLaw Litigation Daily for representing the Republic of Argentina in litigation arising from its $80 billion sovereign debt default in 2001. After being retained as new counsel in February 2016, Mr. Paskin led a team that obtained the vacatur, first in the Southern District of New York and then on an expedited Second Circuit appeal, of extraordinary injunctions that had previously blocked Argentina’s access to the international capital markets. Mr. Paskin’s work for Argentina was also recognized in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers report and received a “National Impact Case Award” from Benchmark Litigation.
Mr. Paskin’s other notable representations include:
Antitrust
Securities
Contracts and General Commercial Litigation
Financial Reorganization & Restructuring
Mr. Paskin also maintains an active pro bono practice, which in recent years has involved matters related to voting rights and ballot access, the right to shelter for homeless families in New York City, and claims of racial discrimination.
Mr. Paskin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law in 1995, where he was a member of the Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Paskin served as a law clerk to Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association and New York City Bar Association.
Mr. Paskin joined Cravath in 1996 and was elected a partner in 2002. He served as the Litigation Hiring Partner from 2016 to 2020 and was a member of the Diversity Committee.
American Bankruptcy Institute
American Bar Association
International Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
Am Law Litigation Daily
Benchmark Litigation
Best Lawyers in America
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
Super Lawyers - New York
Deals & Cases
March 31, 2023
On Friday, March 24, a three‑judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Cravath client Morgan Stanley, banks Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and UBS, and EquiLend, a provider of electronic stock lending services.
Deals & Cases
August 11, 2022
On August 5, 2022, the New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division, dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought by Moby S.p.A., one of the world’s largest passenger shipping companies, against Cravath client Morgan Stanley and two of its employees. The lawsuit was related to Moby’s restructuring proceeding in Milan, Italy.
Deals & Cases
October 06, 2021
On October 1, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed consolidated antitrust suits brought by the parent company of an electronic stock‑loan trading platform, SL‑x IP S.á.r.l., and its subsidiaries, against Cravath client Morgan Stanley, banks Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and UBS, and EquiLend, a provider of electronic stock lending services.
Deals & Cases
September 04, 2012
On September 4, 2012, Cravath clients WaMu Asset Acceptance Corp. and WaMu Capital Corp. (“WaMu”) agreed to settle a class action lawsuit arising from the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for $26 million, far below the $558 million in damages the class had sought as covering approximately $2.4 billion in securities. The settlement in this action, which preempted a jury trial scheduled to commence in September 2012, followed Cravath’s prior success in obtaining dismissal of claims concerning the vast majority of the RMBS at issue in the action. On October 21, 2011, the court dismissed all claims for 110 “tranches” of securities that the named plaintiffs did not purchase, on the basis that the named plaintiffs did not have standing to sue on those tranches, and certified a class consisting only of the remaining 13 tranches. This decision in effect removed from litigation securities with an original face value of approximately $8 billion—with a commensurate reduction in WaMu’s potential exposure. Despite the fact that a class had been certified covering the remaining tranches and that the case survived a motion for summary judgment and was only weeks away from trial, the settlement value compares favorably to other RMBS class actions that settled in the early stages of litigation.
Deals & Cases
December 21, 2010
On December 17, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas granted summary judgment in favor of Cravath clients Sprint Nextel Corporation and its outside directors in State of New Jersey v. Sprint Corporation et al., a securities class action that has been pending since 2003. The State of New Jersey asserted claims for securities fraud against Sprint and certain of its former officers and directors under Sections 10(b) and 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These claims were based on alleged false and misleading statements in Sprint’s 2001 and 2002 proxy statements and other filings; these filings stated that Sprint had entered into new employment agreements with its CEO and President at the time, William Esrey and Ronald LeMay, respectively, that were intended to ensure the long-term employment of the executives. Esrey and LeMay were terminated by Sprint in early 2003, and New Jersey alleged that their terminations were inevitable at the time of the earlier proxy statements because the executives had entered into tax shelters that were not sustainable and would result in devastating tax liabilities, making it impossible for them to continue to lead Sprint.
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