Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

Litigation

Executive Committee Member; Chair, Litigation Practice

Lori Marks-Esterman is among the nation’s leading shareholder litigators and corporate governance experts. She is the head of Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Litigation Practice, represents investors and other stakeholders in capital markets matters and other complex commercial disputes. She is a seasoned trial attorney proficient in handling capital markets litigation and corporate governance disputes.

Hedge funds, private equity companies, shareholder activists and other public and private entities entrust their most challenging litigation matters to Lori. She litigates and has secured critical wins in multibillion-dollar litigation matters in influential jurisdictions in securities-related litigation, M&A disputes and cases involving corporate governance, shareholder activism, breach of fiduciary duty, D&O liability and breach of complex, commercial agreements.

Lori also advises investors, stockholders and directors on the full range of governance issues, including fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, board and committee structure, shareholder and director rights and duties, proxy contests and compliance with governance best practices.

Lori’s sharp litigation skills, coupled with her corporate governance expertise, allow her to assess risk, define strategy and devise business solutions that deliver results. Investors in private and public companies routinely rely on Lori in high-profile contentious activist matters. She has served as lead trial counsel in several highly sophisticated matters tried in the Delaware Court of Chancery and New York courts.

Lori also has significant experience in cross-border matters, utilizing Section 1782 cases to obtain critical evidence in the U.S. for use in foreign litigation. Working closely with foreign co-counsel, Lori develops case and discovery strategies for foreign disputes. Among these, she represented IsZo Capital LP in the Southern District of New York in a $170 million private placement dispute that culminated in what various media called “an epic” victory. She also recently secured a multibillion-dollar precedent-setting win on a Section 1782 application that sought discovery from multiple corporate respondents in a $2.7 billion merger. Lori has been instrumental in obtaining precedent-setting wins, and her consistent success in these matters has helped increase the potency of Section 1782 as a tool in litigation involving international business transactions.

A fierce, persistent and zealous advocate, Lori evaluates the pros and cons of the client’s position and then leverages the pressure points through the various stages of litigation to routinely deliver successful results. With a clear understanding of the problems and her clients’ goals in mind, she plots a strategic course focused on the finish line. Chambers commented that “Lori is an excellent litigator. She assesses a situation and develops a realistic and appropriate legal strategy.”

Lori is a frequent speaker at conferences and panels focused on shareholder activism and corporate governance matters and has guest lectured at classes at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is a speaker at the 37th Annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute. Lori is also a fellow of the prestigious Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyers’ honorary society recognizing excellence among American litigation and trial counsel. She is a member of Olshan’s Executive Committee, Women’s Committee and Diversity & Inclusion Committee.

Litigation Counsel of America New York City Bar Association 100 Women in Finance Co-Founder, Women in Alternatives, a senior-level women’s group focused on advancing the interests of professional women in the alternative investment space

J.D., with honors, George Washington Law School, 1998

B.A., magna cum laude, Binghamton University, 1995

Named a “Leading Lawyer” in Litigation: General Commercial by Chambers USA, 2021 – 2025 Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America, the prestigious, invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society. Membership is limited to 3,500 fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers Ranked in The Legal 500 U.S. New York City Elite for Litigation: Commercial Disputes, 2025 Named a "Notable Litigator & Trial Attorney" by Crain's New York Business, 2025 Named to the “New York Business’ Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law” by Crain’s New York Business, 2024 Named among the “Notable Diverse Leaders in Law” by Crain’s New York Business, 2022 Named among the “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business, 2018 and 2020 Honored as a “Leading Lady” at the Third Annual Mann Charitable Foundation Event, 2019 Consistently named to the New York Metro Super Lawyers list since 2013 Recognized among the “Top Women Attorneys” in the New York Metro Area by Super Lawyers since 2013 Awarded “Deal of the Year” and “Activist Campaign of the Year” by The Deal for representation of George Feldenkreis in his nomination of directors and successful unsolicited acquisition of Perry Ellis