Four Decades for Justice
Rory A. Leraris focuses her practice on antitrust, M&A, securities and derivative litigation, and other complex commercial disputes. Her clients have included Alcoa, American Express (“AmEx”), Barnes & Noble, Blackstone, Credit Suisse, First Citizens Bancshares, IBM, INEOS, JPMorgan Chase, Kraton, Martin Marietta, Palantir Technologies, Sabre, Saint‑Gobain, Time Warner, Viacom, Viatris, Xerox and Zale, among others.
Ms. Leraris’s current and recent matters include:
Antitrust Litigation
M&A Litigation
Securities and Derivative Litigation
Other Commercial Litigation
Ms. Leraris was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for Competition in 2019. In addition, she received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2019 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Antitrust/Competition,” as well as a “Case of the Year” award in recognition of her work on behalf of American Express in Ohio v. American Express. Ms. Leraris has repeatedly been named by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and included on its “40 & Under List.” She has also been named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. Ms. Leraris has additionally been recognized by The Legal 500 US for her work in antitrust, general commercial and M&A litigation, and by Super Lawyers for her litigation work.
Ms. Leraris was born in Boulder, Colorado. She received a B.A. magna cum laude in Psychology and Sociology from Amherst College in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008.
Ms. Leraris joined Cravath in 2008 and was elected a partner in 2016.
Ms. Leraris’s current and recent matters include:
Antitrust Litigation
M&A Litigation
Securities and Derivative Litigation
Other Commercial Litigation
Ms. Leraris was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for Competition in 2019. In addition, she received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2019 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Antitrust/Competition,” as well as a “Case of the Year” award in recognition of her work on behalf of American Express in Ohio v. American Express. Ms. Leraris has repeatedly been named by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and included on its “40 & Under List.” She has also been named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. Ms. Leraris has additionally been recognized by The Legal 500 US for her work in antitrust, general commercial and M&A litigation, and by Super Lawyers for her litigation work.
Ms. Leraris was born in Boulder, Colorado. She received a B.A. magna cum laude in Psychology and Sociology from Amherst College in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008.
Ms. Leraris joined Cravath in 2008 and was elected a partner in 2016.
Benchmark Litigation
Euromoney Legal Media Group
Law360
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
Super Lawyers - Rising Stars - New York
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
October 03, 2022
On October 3, 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware issued an order affirming the Delaware Court of Chancery’s dismissal of claims brought against Cravath clients Buckeye Partners, L.P., Buckeye GP LLC, and Buckeye GP LLC’s board of directors (collectively, “Buckeye”) by a former unitholder, Walter E. Ryan, Jr.
Deals & Cases
February 10, 2022
On February 9, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed claims brought against Cravath clients Buckeye Partners, L.P., Buckeye GP LLC, and Buckeye GP LLC’s board of directors (collectively, “Buckeye”) by a former unitholder, Walter E. Ryan, Jr. In the putative class action, Ryan brought what was effectively his fourth amended complaint challenging the acquisition of Buckeye by a subsidiary of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (“IFM”). In the transaction, Buckeye’s unitholders received $41.50 in cash for each of their units, which were at the time publicly traded, representing a 27.5% premium to Buckeye’s closing unit price the day before the transaction was announced. The transaction closed after receiving fully informed approval from 96% of Buckeye’s voting unitholders.
Deals & Cases
November 24, 2021
On November 22, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York’s dismissal of antitrust litigation brought against Cravath client American Express Company (“AmEx”) by a purported class of merchants that do not accept AmEx cards but accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards.
Accolades
July 21, 2021
Cravath partners Omid H. Nasab, Margaret T. Segall, Rory A. Leraris, Vanessa A. Lavely, Lauren R. Kennedy, Michael P. Addis, Justin C. Clarke and Sharonmoyee Goswami were named by Benchmark Litigation to its 2021 “40 & Under Hot List.” The list honors the achievements of the nation’s most accomplished litigation partners of 40 years old and under who have worked on high‑stakes and precedent‑setting cases. The list was compiled through a process involving peer and client review, along with examination of individual cases.
Rory A. Leraris focuses her practice on antitrust, M&A, securities and derivative litigation, and other complex commercial disputes. Her clients have included Alcoa, American Express (“AmEx”), Barnes & Noble, Blackstone, Credit Suisse, First Citizens Bancshares, IBM, INEOS, JPMorgan Chase, Kraton, Martin Marietta, Palantir Technologies, Sabre, Saint‑Gobain, Time Warner, Viacom, Viatris, Xerox and Zale, among others.
Ms. Leraris’s current and recent matters include:
Antitrust Litigation
M&A Litigation
Securities and Derivative Litigation
Other Commercial Litigation
Ms. Leraris was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for Competition in 2019. In addition, she received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2019 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Antitrust/Competition,” as well as a “Case of the Year” award in recognition of her work on behalf of American Express in Ohio v. American Express. Ms. Leraris has repeatedly been named by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and included on its “40 & Under List.” She has also been named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. Ms. Leraris has additionally been recognized by The Legal 500 US for her work in antitrust, general commercial and M&A litigation, and by Super Lawyers for her litigation work.
Ms. Leraris was born in Boulder, Colorado. She received a B.A. magna cum laude in Psychology and Sociology from Amherst College in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008.
Ms. Leraris joined Cravath in 2008 and was elected a partner in 2016.
Ms. Leraris’s current and recent matters include:
Antitrust Litigation
M&A Litigation
Securities and Derivative Litigation
Other Commercial Litigation
Ms. Leraris was named a Law360 “Rising Star” for Competition in 2019. In addition, she received Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2019 Americas Rising Star Award for “Best in Antitrust/Competition,” as well as a “Case of the Year” award in recognition of her work on behalf of American Express in Ohio v. American Express. Ms. Leraris has repeatedly been named by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and included on its “40 & Under List.” She has also been named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” list. Ms. Leraris has additionally been recognized by The Legal 500 US for her work in antitrust, general commercial and M&A litigation, and by Super Lawyers for her litigation work.
Ms. Leraris was born in Boulder, Colorado. She received a B.A. magna cum laude in Psychology and Sociology from Amherst College in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2008.
Ms. Leraris joined Cravath in 2008 and was elected a partner in 2016.
Benchmark Litigation
Euromoney Legal Media Group
Law360
Lawdragon
The Legal 500 US
Super Lawyers - Rising Stars - New York
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
October 03, 2022
On October 3, 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware issued an order affirming the Delaware Court of Chancery’s dismissal of claims brought against Cravath clients Buckeye Partners, L.P., Buckeye GP LLC, and Buckeye GP LLC’s board of directors (collectively, “Buckeye”) by a former unitholder, Walter E. Ryan, Jr.
Deals & Cases
February 10, 2022
On February 9, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed claims brought against Cravath clients Buckeye Partners, L.P., Buckeye GP LLC, and Buckeye GP LLC’s board of directors (collectively, “Buckeye”) by a former unitholder, Walter E. Ryan, Jr. In the putative class action, Ryan brought what was effectively his fourth amended complaint challenging the acquisition of Buckeye by a subsidiary of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (“IFM”). In the transaction, Buckeye’s unitholders received $41.50 in cash for each of their units, which were at the time publicly traded, representing a 27.5% premium to Buckeye’s closing unit price the day before the transaction was announced. The transaction closed after receiving fully informed approval from 96% of Buckeye’s voting unitholders.
Deals & Cases
November 24, 2021
On November 22, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York’s dismissal of antitrust litigation brought against Cravath client American Express Company (“AmEx”) by a purported class of merchants that do not accept AmEx cards but accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards.
Accolades
July 21, 2021
Cravath partners Omid H. Nasab, Margaret T. Segall, Rory A. Leraris, Vanessa A. Lavely, Lauren R. Kennedy, Michael P. Addis, Justin C. Clarke and Sharonmoyee Goswami were named by Benchmark Litigation to its 2021 “40 & Under Hot List.” The list honors the achievements of the nation’s most accomplished litigation partners of 40 years old and under who have worked on high‑stakes and precedent‑setting cases. The list was compiled through a process involving peer and client review, along with examination of individual cases.
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