Andrew J. Ehrlich

A partner in the Litigation Department, Andrew J. Ehrlich has experience representing clients on a broad variety of complex commercial litigation matters, specializing in securities litigation and regulatory defense. Deputy Chair of the Litigation Department’s Securities Litigation Group, Andrew has expertise in representing clients in complex, and often high-profile, matters involving federal and state regulatory inquiries, as well as civil litigation in multiple jurisdictions. Andrew has significant high-stakes trial experience in state and federal courts, as well as before arbitration tribunals.

Experience

Andrew has represented clients in a wide range of their most demanding contested matters; recently, Andrew:

• Served as trial counsel to Paramount Pictures in October 2014, in a securities fraud trial concerning a film financing, in which the court dismissed the claims at the conclusion of plaintiffs' case.
• Was part of the trial team for Pfizer in a securities litigation asserting misstatements and omissions concerning the drugs Celebrex and Bextra. In June 2014, we obtained summary judgment and dismissal of all claims following exclusion of plaintiffs' damages expert just weeks before trial.
• Obtained summary judgment, in 2013, for Citigroup Inc. in a case alleging breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of limited partnership interests in a feeder fund, and in September 2014 successfully argued the appeal of the dismissal
• Obtained summary judgment in a defamation and tortious interference claim against Deloitte & Touche LLP, which was in 2013 affirmed by the Nevada Supreme Court in an opinion that established the standards for speech privileges in Nevada.
• Has represented a major credit rating agency in numerous matters arising out of the 2008 credit crisis, including state and federal regulatory investigations related to ratings of mortgage-backed securities, and in a major multi-district civil litigation.
• Argued and won summary judgment, in 2012, in New York Supreme Court, of a claim for tortious interference with contract on behalf of Eton Park Capital Management.
• Obtained dismissal, on a motion to dismiss, in 2011, of a securities fraud class action in the Southern District of New York on behalf of Liz Claiborne Inc.
• Argued and won, in 2011, a motion to dismiss an ADEA claim asserted against Apollo Investment Corp. in the Southern District of New York.
• Argued and won, in 2010, a motion to dismiss a claim for breach of a guarantee agreement against Apollo Investment Corp. in New York Supreme Court.
• Has represented numerous hedge fund and private equity fund clients in sensitive regulatory matters involving the Securities & Exchange Commission, the New York Attorney General, the New York Department of Financial Services, and the Department of Justice.
• Has represented numerous bondholder and creditors' committees in contested restructuring matters, including as lead trial counsel in two contested confirmation hearings.

Andrew has substantial trial experience in very significant contested commercial matters. In addition to the matters mentioned above, Andrew:

• Served as lead trial counsel in a confidential employment arbitration for an investment manager that resulted in a favorable settlement following the claimant's testimony.
• Successfully represented Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., in connection with contested sale hearings for maritime cargo vessels in various bankruptcy proceedings.
• Served as lead trial counsel to the bondholder committee that, following a 17-day trial, led to the groundbreaking "reinstatement" plan in the bankruptcy reorganization of Charter Communications.
• Successfully defended Citigroup, in New Jersey state court, against claims arising out of the collapse of Parmalat, defeating claims worth more than $10 billion and achieving a $365 million counterclaim jury verdict for Citigroup, following a six-month jury trial.
• Successfully defended Citigroup and Salomon Smith Barney against a $900 million fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claim, the second-largest arbitration case ever filed with the NASD. After a three-week hearing in Denver, the arbitrators ruled for Citigroup and Salomon Smith Barney, and dismissed all claims in their entirety.

Andrew maintains an active pro bono practice.  Most recently, he was part of the Paul, Weiss team that represented Edith Windsor in the landmark case United States v. Windsor, in which the United States Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act.  He has, for eight years, served as lead counsel in a post-conviction proceeding on behalf of an individual on Alabama's death row, recently securing a reversal in the Alabama Supreme Court of a lower court's dismissal of the post-conviction petition.   Andrew is a director of Volunteers of Legal Services.

Andrew served as the articles and commentaries chair of the Harvard Law Review and was an oralist on the winning team of the Ames Court Competition at Harvard Law School in 2000.

Practices

• Litigation
• Internal Investigations
• IP Litigation: Copyright & Trademark
• M&A Litigation
• Securities Litigation
• Media & Entertainment
  

Education

• J.D., Harvard Law School, 2000
  magna cum laude
• A.B., Harvard College, 1996
  magna cum laude

Clerkships

• Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
• Hon. Naomi Reice Buchwald, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Bar Admissions

• New York

See Library Tab for articles, publications and presentations by Andrew Ehrlich