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Milbank

Milbank

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United States • Dispute resolution

3

General commercial disputes - premium ($500m+)

Milbank is renowned for its trial wins in complex commercial, regulatory, and insurance disputes involving leading financial institutions and global clients. The practice group is led by George Canellos, a seasoned authority in government investigations and federal and state litigation, together with Alexander Lees, who brings significant strength in bankruptcy, insolvency, and restructuring-related disputes, including creditor and fiduciary matters. Firm chairman Scott Edelman typically acts in complex business disputes, with particular emphasis on bet-the-company litigation. Other notable practitioners include Stacey Rappaport, recognised for her work in financial services and insurance litigation, including high-stakes class actions, as well as Atara Miller and David Gelfand, both of whom concentrate on commercial and bankruptcy-related litigation, mediation, and settlements. Daniel Perry is highly regarded for his expertise in M&A, insurance and reinsurance, and financial restructuring matters. All of the above practitioners are based in New York.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'What makes the Milbank practice unique is that it handles a broad array of corporate, litigation and bankruptcy matters all under one roof. There is rarely a need to look for other counsel when a new aspect arises, since Milbank already has competent and experienced counsel in the practice area.'

  • ‘Partners are very intelligent about the technical subject matter of the cases. A lot of depth at the junior levels also. Also, savvy about the legal strategies being deployed.’

  • ‘Hard working, knowledgeable about the subject matter, both from a legal standpoint and technical perspective. Nice, genuinely honest people.’ 

  • 'Bob Kennedy is the kind of lawyer who you want. He is very responsive and thoughtful. He understands client service and he communicates clearly.'

Key clients

  • Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
  • Brighthouse Financial
  • Broadcast Music, Inc.
  • Carlyle Aviation Partners
  • Charlesbank Capital Partners
  • Lincoln National Corporation
  • Rabobank
  • SoundExchange, Inc.
  • Susquehanna International Group
  • Taconic Capital
  • Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
  • Brighthouse Financial

Work highlights

Represented The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company in two class actions and six investor actions that were or are pending in the federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA), stemming from changes to cost of insurance (COI) rate scales on certain universal life policies issued between 1983 and 2008.
Represents Charlesbank in multijurisdictional litigation related to one of its portfolio companies, Varsity Brands, one of the subsidiaries of which sponsors youth cheerleading competitions and sells cheerleading apparel. The matter is one of a recent and growing trend of federal cases seeking to corporate parties liable for criminal actions of customers or other third parties under statutes like CAVRA or the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Acting as counsel for Broadcast Music, Inc. ("BMI"), a music performing rights licensing organization. It issues non-exclusive licenses to users of copyrighted music, collects license fees from the users, and distributes royalties to its affiliated songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
Practice head

Alexander Lees; George Canellos

Other key lawyers

Scott Edelman; Stacey Rappaport; Atara Miller; David Gelfand; Daniel Perry; Bob Kennedy