Theodore V. Wells Jr.

Combining courtroom prowess, business acumen and regulatory expertise, Wells has helped clients achieve exceptional results in a variety of high-stakes matters. Significant representations include:

Financial Services

• Citigroup in multiple matters, including:
  • successfully defending it in a three-week jury trial in 2010, in which the plaintiff, the London-based private equity firm Terra Firma, alleged it was defrauded in connection with its purchase of the music company EMI, claiming more than $8 billion in damages;
  • successfully defended it in a five-month jury trial in 2008, in which the plaintiff alleged that Citigroup aided and abetted in the massive fraud at Parmalat, the Italian dairy and food corporation, claiming $2 billion in damages. The jury rejected the claim and awarded Citigroup $364 million on its counterclaim. In April 2019, Italy’s Supreme Court ruled that the award in favor of Citigroup—at that point nearly tripled in value to more than $1 billion—is final and enforceable in Italy;
  • the favorable settlement in January 2016 of a fraud case brought by Allied Irish Banks seeking several hundred million dollars in damages;
  • the highly favorable resolution in May 2017 of a multi-year Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering federal grand jury investigation; and
  • in Citigroup’s subprime, credit crisis and mortgage-related litigations and regulatory matters;
• Bank of America as lead trial counsel in the massive securities class action relating to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., which was settled on the eve of trial;
• Deutsche Bank in multi-regulator, multi-jurisdictional inquiries concerning the setting of numerous Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs) and in related civil litigations. The investigations and the resulting coordinated settlements with U.S. and U.K. authorities in April 2015 covered conduct in multiple bank offices over a decade;
• JPMorgan in favorable resolution of the DOJ’s and SEC’s FCPA inquiry into the firm’s Asia hiring practices;
• Standard Chartered Bank in resolving a six-year investigation into its historic sanctions violations and control deficiencies by six U.S. federal and state agencies and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA);
• Morgan Stanley in a DOJ/SEC investigation into Morgan Stanley’s structured finance transactions with Freddie Mac;
• Omega Advisors and Leon Cooperman in SEC proceedings alleging insider trading;
• Steven A. Cohen and SAC Capital (now Point72 Asset Management) in criminal and regulatory proceedings and litigations arising out of claims of insider trading;
• an international insurance company as co-lead trial counsel in a case in New York Supreme Court that settled in 2017 after the opening statement to the jury;
• financier Michael Milken in various criminal and civil securities litigations;
• financier Michael Steinhardt in the Salomon Brothers Treasury Investigation; and
• hedge fund manager James Regan in the first Wall Street RICO prosecution in U.S. v. Regan;

Life Sciences

• Merck in multiple matters, including:
  • as lead trial counsel in 2013 in the massive securities fraud class action relating to the drug Vytorin, which was settled on the eve of trial; and
  • as lead counsel in the SEC and DOJ investigations related to Vioxx, which were successfully settled in 2012;
• Johnson & Johnson as lead counsel in federal regulatory investigations into off-label marketing of the prescription drug Risperdal, which were successfully settled in 2013; and
• Abbott Laboratories as lead counsel in the federal regulatory investigations relating to Depakote, which were successfully settled in 2012;

Energy and Materials

• Exxon Mobil Corporation as lead counsel in multiple matters, including:
  • in a series of unprecedented climate change-related matters, including a $1.6 billion securities fraud lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General in a three-week trial that resulted in a complete defense verdict, an SEC investigation concluded with a recommendation for no enforcement action, multiple additional state attorneys general investigations, and several mass tort actions;
  • in an eight-month bench trial, in which the state of New Jersey sought a precedent-setting $9 billion in damages for environmental injuries, making it one of the largest environmental damage cases ever tried. The case settled for $225 million while awaiting verdict;
  • numerous FCPA investigations involving numerous countries; and
  • in U.S. v. Exxon (environmental prosecution).
• Alcoa in the defense and resolution of SEC and DOJ and FCPA investigations involving alleged improper payments through a middleman/distributor to officials in Bahrain;

Media, Sports and Entertainment

• 21st Century Fox in the Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly investigations;
• a special committee of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) in internal and governmental investigations concerning the NBPA’s leadership and business practices, including the conduct of the NBPA’s former executive director, Billy Hunter;
• the National Football League in several matters, including:
  • an investigation concerning workplace conduct at the Miami Dolphins following the departure of offensive lineman Jonathan Martin;
  • an investigation into alleged tampering of game-day footballs during the 2015 AFC Championship game; 
  • the defense and settlement of hundreds of lawsuits filed by thousands of former NFL players seeking to hold the league liable for allegedly concealing the risks associated with concussions sustained while the players played professional football; and
• the special committee of the board of trustees of Syracuse University in a review of the university’s prior response, in 2005, to a report that a former assistant coach of the men’s basketball team had sexually abused the complainant. The special committee’s report of the review was provided to the university’s board of trustees, the university administration and the public.

High-Profile Individuals

Ted’s significant representations of politicians and high-ranking individuals in business and finance include the successful defense of:

• former CFO of Rio Tinto Guy Elliot in securing the complete defense victory of a long-running lawsuit brought by the SEC arising out of Rio Tinto’s acquisition and subsequent impairment of coal mining assets in Mozambique;
• former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael Espy in U.S. v. Espy;
• former U.S. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan and other corporate executives in State v. Schiavone;
• former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli in the Department of Justice’s three-year campaign finance investigation;
• investment banker Frank Quattrone for obstruction of justice charges;
• former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer for possible violations of federal statutes;
• former New York Governor David Paterson for possible ethics violations;
• Margaret Flake and former U.S. Congressman Floyd Flake in U.S. v. Flake;
• Tennessee financier Franklin L. Haney, accused of campaign contribution law violations in connection with the Clinton/Gore 1996 presidential campaign in U.S. v. Haney;
• San Francisco investment banker Calvin Grigsby of fraud charges involving the Port of Miami and Dade County, Florida in U.S. v. Grigsby; and
• I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney, on perjury charges in U.S. v. Libby (Presidential Pardon).

With extensive experience in corporate governance issues, Wells previously served on the Board of Directors of CIT Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange company, where he was a member of CIT’s audit committee.

Active in social, political and community affairs, Wells served as national treasurer for Senator Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign and is the chairman emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Board of Directors. He previously served, on a pro bono basis, as general counsel to the New Jersey NAACP, New Jersey co-chairperson of the United Negro College Fund and general counsel to the New Jersey Democratic Party. Wells is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Wells is a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation, the governing body of Harvard University.