Ms Mary Eaton > Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
601 LEXINGTON AVENUE
31ST FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10022
NEW YORK
United States

Work Department

Litigation

Position

Partner and Co-Head of Securities and Shareholder Litigation

Career

Mary Eaton is co-head of the securities and shareholder litigation practice at Freshfields, and has extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, with a focus on securities class actions, shareholder derivative claims and other complex business disputes. Mary regularly represents issuers, boards of directors, board committees and senior management across a broad spectrum of industries (including financial services, private equity, asset management and technology) in a wide variety of disputes in federal and state courts across the country. In addition to her substantial trial experience, Mary regularly counsels clients on litigation avoidance and corporate governance matters.​

Among her many accolades, Mary is perennially ranked among leading litigators by Chambers USA, Legal 500 US and Best Lawyers in America. In 2019, the American Bar Association awarded Mary the Stonewall Award for her contributions to the advancement of LGBT individuals and issues.

Education

  • LLB, Queen’s University
  • JD, Columbia Law School
  • LLM, Columbia Law School

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense

(Leading lawyers)

Mary Eaton – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in New York continues to blaze a trail for Magic Circle firm in US securities litigation, thanks to its ‘whip-smart, creative lawyers who are very focused on getting the best result for the client’. Indeed, clients praise the firm’s ‘extraordinary creativity, experience and domain expertise in the fields of securities litigation and corporate governance litigation’. Meredith Kotler and Mary Eaton are co-heads of the securities and shareholder litigation practice, which was founded only three years ago, but is already at the forefront of the market. Kotler and Eaton successfully represented AstraZeneca, its CEO, and several other executives in a putative securities class action challenging disclosures regarding its COVID-19 vaccine, including alleged problems with its clinical trials and prospects for FDA emergency use authorization. Boris Feldman in Silicon Valley, who is noted for ‘a very celebrated career as a brilliant and creative lawyer’, gives the firm a strong presence on the West Coast and in the technology sector. Among his clients is Google’s parent company Alphabet. In the same office, emerging partner talent Doru Gavril is a key advisor to the technology and electric vehicles industries. Together, they secured a complete victory in a putative securities class action for image-sharing platform Pinterest.

United States > Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense

(Leading lawyers)

Mary Eaton – Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP continues to blaze a trail for Magic Circle firms in US litigation, and clients and peers alike recognise that the firm has ‘built a real presence in this space over the last few years, and is a rising star‘. The firm has an impressive roster of clients, among them AstraZeneca, Cargill, BP, Pinterest and Tesla. Meredith Kotler (who is ‘a wonderful advocate with great judgment, presence and poise‘) and Mary Eaton (who is ‘smart, engaged, excellent with clients and judges, just top-notch‘) lead the practice from New York. The firm also has a major presence in Silicon Valley thanks to standout partner Boris Feldman, who leads the US technology practice and has ‘unparalleled experience and great relationships across the industry‘, and emerging talent Doru Gavril, who is ‘razor-sharp, masters all details and is truly tenacious‘.