United States > Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Able to call upon the expertise of numerous former high-ranking government officials, as well as of lawyers located in key financial centers throughout the firm's international network of offices, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton excels in providing integrated agency enforcement/investigation and private litigation guidance on high-profile domestic and multi-jurisdictional matters. The firm has been particularly active representing banks accused of benchmark manipulation; New York-based Lev Dassin and Jonathan Kolodner have been central to the firm's defense of Citigroup in global Libor and foreign exchange (forex) investigations. The firm has also guided Goldman Sachs through a number of regulatory inquiries relating to its alleged role in benchmark manipulation and recently negotiated the resolution of forex investigations by the Federal Reserve and the New York Department of Financial Services. Formerly general counsel at the SEC, Giovanni Prezioso is highly knowledgeable on complex trading matters and excels at broker-dealer regulatory enforcement/investigations, including as it relates to algorithmic trading. Alumnus at the US Attorney's Office, New York-based David Brodsky has vast credibility before the regulatory agencies and brings this to bear on behalf of financial services entities subject to securities enforcement actions and white-collar matters, including as they relate to anti-money laundering (AML) and market manipulation. Other recommended practitioners include Robin Bergen, for regulatory inquiries relating to structured finance products; Nowell Bamberger, for cross-border matters often with an Asian nexus; Matthew Solomon, who has significant gravitas garnered not only through private practice but also through his time at the SEC and DOJ; and New York-based Joon Kim, who re-joined the firm in February 2018 following his most recent stint as the acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. All named attorneys are based in Washington DC, unless otherwise indicated.

Praised for its ability to 'muster impressively cohesive intellectual firepower', New York-headquartered Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP provides a seamless service to a wide range of financial services clients, from the initial agency investigation and enforcement action through to the private class actions that frequently follow in their wake. The team continues to handle a significant amount of antitrust-related disputes for financial services clients, including American Express, which renowned trial lawyer Evan Chesler successfully represented before the US Supreme Court (thereby bringing an end to an eight year lawsuit brought by the DOJ and 17 state attorneys general). In another notable market manipulation-related dispute, John Buretta successfully secured the dismissal of a consolidated class action brought against Nomura International as one of the alleged participants in collusion and price fixing among numerous financial institutions of supranational, sub-sovereign and agency bonds. Appreciated by clients for his 'strong intellect and excellent bedside manner', Richard Clary is regularly at the forefront of the most significant financial services litigation handled by the firm, including his defense, along with Lauren Moskowitz and Michael Reynolds, of Credit Suisse in residential-mortgage backed securities (RMBS) litigation brought against it in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis. Daniel Slifkin and Michael Paskin are also regularly involved in financial services-related litigation and have both been pivotal to the firm's defense of Morgan Stanley in individual and class action lawsuits alleging collusion among banks to restrain competition in the market for certain derivatives.

Able to marshal significant regulatory enforcement capability and leverage the expertise of litigators at the very 'top of their game' in relation to big-ticket private litigation, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is 'very active' across many of the most noteworthy matters in the market. The 'excellent' James Rouhandeh has been central to the firm's successful strategy on behalf of Morgan Stanley in the defense of a raft of RMBS-related claims brought against the bank in the wake of the financial crisis, and has to date been responsible for the elimination of in excess of $10bn in claimed potential damages. Rouhandeh also has a dynamic appellate practice and recently secured a landmark ruling conferring immunity on a law firm client named as a defendant in a multibillion-dollar securities class action arising from the R. Allen Stanford financial scandal. In another important financial crisis-related matter, Charles Duggan recently successfully represented S&P Global on appeal in a shareholder derivative action claiming certain of the company’s directors and employees had breached their fiduciary duties by failing to prevent S&P’s credit ratings services business from issuing allegedly inflated ratings for RMBS and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) in the period prior to the financial crisis. Edmund Polubinski III has recently handled a number of significant fintech-related disputes, including the representation of Cross River Bank in bet-the-industry litigation over a key legal issue that will determine the viability of marketplace lending. James Windels handles a range of financial services regulatory enforcement actions and private litigation; he is representing Lehman Brothers’ UK affiliate in pending litigation in the New York state court arising from complex credit default swap (CDS) transactions with a monoline insurer counterparty. The first woman to serve as director of the division of enforcement at the SEC, Washington DC-based Linda Chatman Thomsen has significant credibility before the agencies and is a key resource for clients engaged in AML and economic sanctions matters. Named attorneys are based in New York, unless otherwise stated.

The 'impressive' team at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP remains at the forefront of the financial services litigation Bar and continues to be 'very active' across the most significant private litigation and enforcement actions affecting many of the country's most prominent financial services entities. Brad Karp is the trusted adviser of many high-profile banks in their most sensitive disputes; he represents Citigroup in numerous matters, including its defense of a raft of RMBS-related lawsuits and its ongoing defense as a party to alleged collusion in the interest rate swaps market. Karp also achieved a notable victory for Citigroup when he secured the voluntary dismissal of a shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging that the bank's officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties of oversight by failing to increase compliance with AML statutes and other federal laws. Formerly deputy general counsel at Citigroup, Susanna Buergel has very close ties to the bank and has been a key adviser to it in many of its financial crisis-related litigation and regulatory enforcement actions. The team also continues to guide Deutsche Bank through numerous benchmark manipulation investigations and class actions, including recently negotiating resolutions in five major class actions relating to, inter alia, US dollar Libor-referencing over-the-counter (OTC) instruments and Eurodollar futures. Praised for his 'ethical and intellectual integrity and credibility before the regulators and opposing counsel', Daniel Kramer is 'very effective' on behalf of clients engaged in securities litigation and related financial services disputes/enforcement actions. Other recommended practitioners include Richard Rosen and Bruce Birenboim. All named attorneys are based in New York.

Litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP remains the leading firm in the market at representing sophisticated institutional investors, including pension and hedge funds, in their disputes with money-center banks and other financial institutions. Praised for its 'deep understanding of complex trading issues', the firm has been at the forefront of the highest-profile mandates in the market, including market manipulation and the mis-selling of complex structured products. Chair of the banking and financial institutions practice Peter Calamari has been pivotal to much of the firm's success in the RMBS-related arena, which includes his ongoing work on behalf of the ResCap Liquidating Trust seeking indemnity and damages arising from the defendant lenders’ sale of defective mortgage loans. Having already recovered over $1.3bn in damages for ResCap, he also recently prevailed in the first-ever RMBS jury trial against one of the defendants. Daniel Brockett is also a pivotal member of the team and has established an excellent track record handling complex financial services-related antitrust cases, including securing for investors $408.5m in federal judge approved settlements with 10 banks accused of manipulating the global swaps and options benchmark ISDAfix. Praised for his 'extremely able analysis of the facts', Andrew Rossman continues to represent Lehman Brothers Holdings in litigating its objections to claims by Credit Suisse related to the close-out and valuation of tens of thousands of derivatives following Lehman’s bankruptcy. All named attorneys are based in New York.

Being well versed in the complexities of often arcane and intellectually challenging financial products, and benefiting from a 'high-caliber' litigation capability, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has excellent credentials in the market, and is regularly engaged by major banks and private equity funds, including KKR, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, on their most sophisticated matters. Jonathan Youngwood jointly chairs the litigation department and has a superb track record in financial services cases, including recent success for UBS in persuading the court to deny class certification in a case arguing that the bank did not provide sufficient due diligence as to the suitability of the investment in connection with a putative class of investors’ purchases of UBS Puerto Rico closed-end funds. The firm has also been involved in numerous market manipulation cases and, as well as its victory for Deutsche Bank in securing the dismissal from class actions alleging manipulation within the US Treasury securities market, is also representing electronic trading platform, Tradeweb, as one of the defendants accused of conspiring to protect the OTC market for interest rate swaps. Paul Gluckow, Joseph McLaughlin and Craig Waldman are also recommended.

Leveraging the expertise of a plethora of former federal prosecutors and senior regulatory staff, including Kendall Day, who joined in April 2018 from the DOJ, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP has the agency credibility and industry knowledge to provide an 'excellent service' to domestic and international financial services clients in many of their highest-profile contentious matters. Able to tap into the expertise of practitioners based in key financial centers, including Paris and London, the team excels in multi-jurisdictional agency actions. Led out of New York by Alex Southwell, with assistance from the London office, the firm continues to represent a global investment bank in parallel US and UK insider dealing regulatory investigations. The firm is also noted for its appellate offering and is regularly engaged by clients seeking to challenge agency enforcement actions. In this regard, Washington DC-based partner Eugene Scalia has garnered a reputation as a go-to-lawyer for attacking government overreach, cemented by numerous high-profile victories - including most recently on behalf of an industry coalition in its successful challenge of the constitutionality of the Department of Labor's controversial fiduciary rule which impacted on the regulations governing investors' retirement savings. Following on from his recent victory before the district court, Scalia also prevailed on appeal on behalf of MetLife in arguing that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) acted in an arbitrary and capricious fashion in its designation of the company as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI).  New York-based partners Joel Cohen , Lawrence Zweifach and Arthur Long are also recommended.

Primarily anchored from its New York office but also able to effectively draw upon the expertise of lawyers based in Washington DC and Chicago, as well as from its international network, Mayer Brown has the strength in depth to handle a wide range of private litigation and agency enforcement actions for banks, funds and broker-dealers. The firm has developed a strong reputation successfully defending trustees in RMBS litigation and, led by the 'smart, practical and business-savvy' Matthew Ingber, recently secured summary judgment for The Bank of New York Mellon in Oklahoma federal court. Christopher Houpt has also been at the forefront of the firm's efforts on the RMBS front, and as well as assisting Ingber in the aforementioned matter, also recently led on behalf of Citibank in its summary judgment victory which dismissed claims for losses made by investors in all but three of 27 RMBS trusts. In addition, Houpt provides 'excellent advice' to foreign banks in US litigation, which includes his recent victory for a German bank in a jury trial involving municipal bond reinvestment contracts. The 'very efficient and commercial' Mark Hanchet also excels in handling work for high-profile foreign banks, including the continued representation of HSBC as one of the defendant banks accused under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of helping Iran process billions of dollars in transfers and finance terrorists who attacked American military personnel serving in Iraq. Notably, he recently won the first decision in New York to apply the newly enacted Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, an amendment to the ATA that provides for secondary liability under certain circumstances. Steven Wolowitz has had a raft of victories for Société Générale as one of the defendants accused of market manipulation across several financial benchmarks, including US dollar Libor. Chicago-based Lucia Nale is recommended for consumer finance-related contentious matters. Named attorneys are based in New York, unless otherwise stated.

Led out of Washington DC by Joseph Barloon and Anand Raman, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP's 14-strong consumer financial services team represents banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders and insurance companies across a plethora of enforcement and litigation matters impacting on their business lines and practices. Barloon has recently handled a number of cases for online lender CashCall, including securing a notable victory on behalf of the client following a two-day trial in which the court ruled that it was not required to make any restitution payments to borrowers after allegations made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that it had intentionally misled consumers. Raman continues to act as co-counsel to Capital One in a high-profile redlining discrimination case. Outside of the consumer finance arena, the firm deploys a cross-disciplinary approach which incorporates financial services regulatory, white-collar, securities litigation and derivatives expertise across a wide range of agency investigations and private litigation.

Although slightly less active on behalf of the larger money-center banks than most of its higher-ranked peers, Arnold & Porter is an attractive option for smaller commercial banks, savings institutions, trade associations and non-bank lenders. Particularly strong out of Washington DC and New York, the firm is able to represent clients throughout the life-cycle of a matter, from pre-litigation advice and investigation through to any potential trial and appeal. Vincent Sama and Daphne Morduchowitz continue to represent current and former officers of JP Morgan and Standard & Poor’s on state and federal government agency investigations regarding various structured financial products and vehicles. Washington DC-based partners Howard Cayne, David Bergman and Richard Alexander all have significant trial experience and are key members of the team engaged by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in long-running litigation relating to the secondary mortgage market. San Francisco-based partner Gilbert Serota has expertise at handling class actions as well as FINRA and SEC investigations; he recently helped secure victory for Charles Schwab & Co, at first instance and on appeal, in a consolidated class action concerning best execution of equity trades for its retail customers.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is able to combine the expertise of lawyers with significant regulatory know-how across the financial services landscape with a formidable team of litigators, many of whom (including former SEC chair Mary Jo White and ex-director of enforcement at the agency Andrew Ceresney) have former high-ranking agency experience. It excels at guiding financial services clients through sensitive issues, both from a crisis management perspective as well as in the defense of agency enforcement actions and ensuing private litigation. Courtney Dankworth excels at consumer finance matters, and alongside the 'solutions-oriented' Matthew Biben represented Santander Consumer USA in an investigation by the Delaware and Massachusetts Attorneys General offices into its auto lending and dealer management practices. Demonstrating the firm's ability to handle multi-jurisdictional enforcement/investigation matters, Bruce Yannett recently represented Société Général in an investigation by the DOJ and French regulators into the potential corruption of foreign officials in Libya in connection with the bank's equity derivatives business. Maeve O’Connor and Mary Beth Hogan are also recommended. All named attorneys are based in New York.

With significant strength in depth across the firm's offices in New York, Washington DC, Boston and California, the 'strategic and knowledgeable' team at Goodwin is well positioned to handle a variety of financial services agency investigations and related private litigation, regardless of geographical location. The firm remains 'very active in the consumer finance space', an area in which 'outstanding' Washington DC-based partner Thomas Hefferon is a key practitioner and frequently leads on the most substantial mandates. Hefferon's recent highlights include his continued defense of Bank of America in a series of actions brought by various municipalities alleging that the bank engaged in discriminatory lending. New York-based Marshall Fishman  has a strong track record in credit crisis-related disputes, including litigation involving complex structured products; he is currently representing BNP Paribas as one of the defendants accused of manipulating the market for interest rate swaps. California litigation leader Grant Fondo is well versed in many of the new emerging technologies within the financial services sector, including as it relates to blockchain and cryptocurrencies; alongside Los Angeles-based Steven Ellis, Fondo is acting for Coinbase in responding to an attempt by the IRS to obtain, through a 'John Doe' summons, transaction records relating to all of Coinbase’s account holders for a three-year period. 'Top-notch'Boston-based partner Jim McGarry is noted for his 'superb written product', particularly in the context of consumer finance disputes.

Noted for its 'impressive general commercial litigation prowess',  Kirkland & Ellis LLP puts this to good effect across a range of private litigation and agency enforcement actions/investigations for a growing and varied roster of financial services clients, including banks, funds and accountants. Led out of New York by Jay Lefkowitz, Matthew Solum and Joshua Greenblatt, the firm is representing GPLS as one of the defendants in multiple state attorneys general and putative class actions accusing it of engaging in the illegal practice of partnering up with lenders authorized by Native American tribes to avoid usury laws and issue illegal loans to consumers under the concept of tribal immunity. Leveraging the firm's impressive roster of leading private equity firms, another core strength of the team is acting for some of these as global anti-corruption counsel (working alongside practitioners in London and Hong Kong), which includes risk management procedures regarding the sponsor and its portfolio companies as well as representation on any enforcement action/investigation should that arise. Splitting his time between the firm's Chicago and Washington DC offices, Mark Filip heads the firm's government enforcement defense and internal investigations group and is a pivotal member of the multi-disciplinary financial services litigation team that also includes Washington DC-based partners Erica Williams and Neil Eggleston, and New York-based securities enforcement and AML/sanctions expert Zachary Brez.

Leveraging the expertise of strong financial services regulatory, white-collar and securities litigation practices, Latham & Watkins LLP provides a 'top-notch' service to investment and commercial banks, funds and accountancy firms on many of their highest-stakes disputes. Benefiting from the expertise of numerous former high-ranking government lawyers, the team has a strong degree of credibility before the agencies, and excels at defending clients embroiled in multi-pronged agency investigations/enforcement actions and follow-on private litigation. Washington DC-based partner Andrew Clubok, who joined the firm in December 2017 from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, is representing UBS in several matters, including as a defendant in a short-selling dispute, and as a plaintiff in a case brought against Highland Capital, arising out of a failed restructured transaction for the securitization of collateralized loan obligations and credit default swaps. New York-based Richard Owens has a strong reputation in the market and continues to represent the British Bankers' Association in all US litigation regarding allegations of Libor manipulation. Also based in New York, Jeff Hammel is assisting Owens in the aforementioned matter and is a key member of the team, which also includes Washington DC-based Kathryn Ruemmler, who excels at agency enforcement matters, and New York-based partner Miles Ruthberg, who has a particular niche defending accountancy firms.

'Drawing on a variety of transactional and litigation experience', the 'responsive, hardworking and knowledgeable' team at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP has a particularly strong reputation in the consumer finance space for banks, broker-dealers, trust companies and funds. 'Capable of adding value on litigation and pre-litigation disputes across a variety of securitization transactions and subject matters', the firm has an excellent track record representing clients in RMBS cases. 'Creative, thoughtful and knowledgeable' Michael Kraut in New York is at the forefront of most of the firm's work in this area and is noted for his 'knowledge of changing trustee practices based on industry developments and case law evolution'. Led out of New York and Washington DC by Kenneth Schacter and Jon Roellke respectively, the firm is also representing Morgan Stanley as a defendant in a benchmark antitrust case involving the Australian BBSW rate (its equivalent of Libor). Miami-based Robert Brochin, Philadelphia-based firm chair Jami Wintz McKeon, and Boston-based Elaine McChesney are also recommended.

Buckley LLP provides an 'efficient and cost-effective' service to clients engaged in complex and high-profile consumer finance disputes. 'Great at dealing with the regulators', Michelle Rogers has 'significant knowledge in the mortgage space' and continues to be active across many of the highest-profile investigations and enforcement actions within the sector. Alongside Melissa Klimkiewicz, Rogers is representing a leading Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage servicer in an ongoing investigation and enforcement matter by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleging violations of FHA servicing rules and FHA compliance generally. Fair lending expert Valerie Hletko is another key member of the team, and is defending HSBC in two high-profile municipal Fair Housing Act lawsuits which allege that the bank pursued discriminatory mortgage lending practices in the period leading up to the financial crisis. Benjamin Olson and Jonice Gray Tucker are also recommended. All named attorneys are based in Washington DC.

Tapping into the resources of general commercial litigators with substantial financial services experience, as well as lawyers with significant experience across white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is well positioned to represent banks, insurance companies, asset managers and broker-dealers across the spectrum of regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and private litigation, from both a civil and criminal perspective. 'Outstanding' New York-based partner Stephen Juris provides 'extremely strong oral and written advocacy skills' across private litigation and agency enforcement matters.

At the 'top of its field among litigation boutiques', single-office firm Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP in New York has gained an excellent reputation, since its inception in 2012, for financial services litigation on behalf of a broad-ranging roster of banks, funds and sovereigns. Spearheaded by 'collaborative, knowledgeable and experienced' founding partner Michael Shuster, the firm is at the forefront of litigation stemming from the mortgage crisis, where it 'is at the top of its field in pursuing repurchase claims on behalf of securitization investors and trustees against banks that warranted the quality of the loans in the trusts'. Shuster has been active on behalf of numerous trustees, including US Bank and Wilmington Trust, in the prosecution of RMBS putback claims against Lehman Brothers across more than 150 RMBS trusts with regard to the bank's insolvency. He also continues to lead the firm's efforts for Visa in multi-pronged antitrust actions brought by some of the country's largest retailers.The 'helpful and thoughtful' Brendon DeMay has also been involved in many of the firm's putback cases, as has Neil Lieberman, who is praised for his 'willingness to think deeply on tricky legal issues'. A 'pleasure to work with', Vincent Levy has a burgeoning reputation and is a key practitioner among the team that also includes experienced trial lawyers and founding partners Richard Holwell and Daniel Goldberg.

Primarily based out of New York but also leveraging significant strength across the firm's extensive national network of offices, Jones Day provides a 'high-quality service' to clients including Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas across a wide range of private litigation and regulatory enforcement actions. The firm has been involved in numerous credit crisis-related matters relating to the RMBS sector, and is acknowledged for its 'in-depth expertise in the trustee/securitization arena'. Howard Sidman has been at the forefront of many of these cases, including, recently, on behalf of Quicken Loans, which he defended in an RMBS putback case before the New York Court of Appeals. Co-head Jay Tambe has also been central to many of the firm's successes in the structured products arena, and along with Sidman has been defending Wells Fargo in numerous actions brought by institutional investors concerning over 280 separate RMBS trusts. Other highlights included the firm's work for BNP Paribas in several financial benchmark market manipulation matters. Praised for his 'adept navigation of highly complex issues', Boston-based Matthew Martel is also recommended.

Led from the firm's Chicago headquarters by David Bohan and Christian Kemnitz, Katten has a strong pedigree representing clients in litigation and regulatory investigations across the spectrum of financial products, from exchange-traded securities, options, futures and funds, to the most sophisticated OTC derivatives executed across both public and dark, fully electronic venues. Kemnitz is representing Chicago-based trading firm, Infinium Capital Holdings, in a case brought by former employees claiming they were duped into investing into an employee capital pool based on misleading claims about the firm's financial health. Los Angeles-based partner Stuart Richter excels in defending financial services clients (and others) in class action claims; he is defending more than 50 banks and credit unions in a series of class action claims concerning the alleged improper charging of overdraft fees. Other clients include Morgan Stanley, Barclays and HighTower Advisors.

Leveraging the firm's strong regulatory capability, particularly as it relates to issues impacting the credit card sector, Morrison & Foerster LLP is well positioned to represent clients across a range of consumer finance-related private litigation and agency enforcement actions/investigations, irrespective of geographical location. The team has picked up a significant amount of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) related disputes, and led out San Francisco by Angela Kleine and Jim McCabe  is representing DHI Group and Dice in a putative class action alleging that companies offering an online employment recruiting platform should be classified as a 'consumer reporting agency' under the FCRA. 'Terrific' New York-based co-head David Fioccola is 'superb at handling complex litigation', which often includes representing financial services clients. San Francisco-based co-head James McGuire is also recommended.

Benefiting from the insight of Washington DC-based regulatory insiders, as well as financial services-focused litigators based out of the firm's New York and California offices, O'Melveny & Myers LLP is well positioned to represent a wide range of financial services clients in private litigation and regulatory enforcement actions/investigations. The firm is particularly active defending clients accused of consumer finance-related violations, an area where California-based co-head Elizabeth McKeen is regularly involved. McKeen is defending Fannie Mae in a putative class action alleging that it violated federal FCRA laws as well as the California Consumer Credit Act by improperly reporting short sales of property as foreclosures to potential lenders due to a glitch in its desktop underwriter system. New York-based Pamela Miller and California-based Danielle Oakley are also recommended.

With strong capabilities on both coasts, as well as key centers including Houston and Chicago, the 'superb' team at Paul Hastings LLP is able to effectively represent a broad range of financial services entities on private litigation and agency investigations across the country. In addition to his stellar securities litigation reputation, New York-based partner Barry Sher also regularly defends banks in other disputes, which includes his work alongside Anthony Antonelli for Barclays as a defendant in the high-profile supranational, sovereign and agency bond antitrust litigation. Los Angeles-based partner William Sullivan is also recommended. Other clients include Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada and Morgan Stanley. Douglas Flaum joined Goodwin in March 2019.

Drawing upon expertise from within the firm's market-leading securities litigation team, as well as its broader commercial disputes and financial services regulatory offering, Shearman & Sterling LLP's multi-disciplinary New York-based group is involved in a significant amount of high-profile defendant work for an impressive roster of domestic and international investment banks, including BNP Paribas, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Able to co-mingle its strong antitrust offering with securities litigation expertise, the firm has been involved in a plethora of financial services-related market manipulation matters. Adam Hakki and Richard Schwed continue to represent Bank of America in a slew of these cases, including as a defendant in separate class actions relating to the bank's alleged role in fixing prices relating to US dollar-denominated sovereign, supranational and agency bonds and the ISDAfix benchmark rate. Hakki has also taken the lead on the firm's ongoing work for Countrywide Financial in numerous MBS cases. As well as his work for underwriters as defendants in securities litigation, Daniel Lewis has also been a key member the team defending Countrywide against RMBS claims. Agnès Dunogué and Matthew Craner are also recommended.

Effectively leveraging its trial-ready credentials, Washington DC-based litigation powerhouse Williams & Connolly LLP frequently achieves favorable results for financial services entities (including banks, funds and money service providers) in high-profile enforcement actions and private litigation. Dane Butswinkas recently helped Barclays secure a significantly lower financial penalty when it decided to fight an MBS-related FIRREA case brought by the DOJ. In another recent case which highlights the firm's 'dogged determination and willingness to fight', John Villa secured a favorable outcome for TCF National Bank in a CFPB enforcement lawsuit relating to its overdraft fee policies. Ryan Scarborough was also central to the firm's work for TCF National Bank, and along with Villa, has also built up a significant reputation for representing directors and officers in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the context of failed financial institutions. Formerly at the CFPB, counsel Rachel Rodman has an excellent reputation for handling consumer finance-related cases. As well as the firm's ability to handle cases at first instance, it is also able to represent clients at an appellate level by virtue of a flourishing Supreme Court practice that includes several highly regarded practitioners.

WilmerHale is particularly well regarded in the market as a result of its 'very strong reputation for agency enforcement matters'. This manifests itself most visibly in relation to securities law and the 'practical application with which the firm brings to bear on matters before the SEC'. Formerly director of enforcement at the SEC, Washington DC-based William McLucas  has significant gravitas and credibility in private litigation and agency enforcement matters. New York-based Lori Martin  provides 'outstanding advice' to hedge funds, investment advisers and broker-dealers in litigation and regulatory proceedings.