The M&A litigation team at Winston Taylor works closely with its teams across capital markets, antitrust, white collar, bankruptcy, and executive compensation to handle a range of M&A and corporate governance cases in Delaware. The practice has a strong trial bench and is experienced in SPAC-related litigation. Leading the team out of New York is securities litigator James Smith. He is joined by Chicago-based co-head William O’Neil, who advises large corporations and private equity funds on business disputes, while Los Angeles co-head John Schreiber represents public companies in bet-the-company securities and corporate governance disputes. New York-based Matthew DiRisio is positioned to handle a full spectrum of securities and corporate governance cases, and Jeffrey Steinfeld focuses on securities disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Winston & Strawn's M&A litigation practice is strong, with litigators who are incredibly competent, personable, and a pleasure to work with.'
- 'John Schreiber is extremely smart, competent, and practical. He has a great rapport with clients and the Court, and he is fantastic to work with.'
- 'Jeff Steinfeld is very sharp and strategic. He’s great at coming up with creative solutions to complex problems, and he is also a pleasure to work with.'
- 'Excellent legal services.Highly recommended.'
- 'William O'Neal's strategic planning and discipline is absolutely superb.'
- 'The Winston team is very talented, knowledgeable, and experienced. But what sets them apart is their judgment. The team has substantial expertise in the area and significant knowledge of the relevant law.'
Key clients
- B. Riley Financial, Inc. (Audit Committee)
- BAM Trading Services, Inc. aka Binance US
- Becton, Dickinson and Company
- Binance (BAM Trading Services, Inc.)
- Caitlyn Jenner (f/k/a Bruce Jenner)
- Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.
- The Chamber of Digital Commerce
- Consensys Software Inc.
- Discover Financial Services’ former CEO Roger Hochschild
- enCore Energy Group
- Grindr, Inc.
- Jernigan Capital, Inc., n/k/a NexPoint Storage Partners Inc.
Work highlights
Reperesented and secured complete dismissal with prejudice for Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and eight other defendants, including Cantor’s CEO and Chairman Howard Lutnick (now U.S. Secretary of Commerce), in a multi-billion-dollar securities class action arising from the $1.6B de-SPAC merger between CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II and View, Inc.
Advised and secured a unanimous en banc Delaware Supreme Court victory for former Matterport CEO Bill Brown, affirming an $80M judgment and clarifying Delaware law on post-judgment interest in bifurcated proceedings.
Represented and secured a complete defense verdict after an eleven-day bench trial in an ERISA class action challenging the 2016 sale of Segerdahl Corporation.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
James Smith; William O'Neil; John Schreiber
Other key lawyers
Matthew DiRisio; Jeffrey Steinfeld