A partner in the Litigation Department and co-chair of the Product Liability & Mass Torts practice group at Paul, Weiss, Yahonnes Cleary represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial litigation and high-profile disputes. His experience includes mass tort and product liability litigation, cybersecurity and data privacy litigation, insurance litigation, financial and securities litigation, contractual disputes, and internal and regulatory investigations. Cleary represents clients at all phases of litigation and at trial.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2026 | Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Litigation |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | Complex Commercial Litigation & Investigations |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2025 | Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | Complex Commercial Litigation & Investigations |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2024 | Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | Complex Commercial Litigation & Investigations |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | Complex Commercial Litigation & Investigations |
Representative matters include:
Product Liability and Mass Torts
- Defending Monsanto at trial in Washington state court against claims brought by 15 plaintiffs alleging injuries from PCB exposure; resulted in complete defense verdicts on 11 of the 15 plaintiffs’ claims
- Defending Pfizer in national litigation related to the company’s antidepressant; resulted in complete defense verdicts in the first two bellwether trials in Missouri and Pennsylvania state courts
- Defending ExxonMobil in climate-change related tort lawsuits brought on behalf of dozens of U.S. states, counties and municipalities
Cybersecurity and Data Protection
- Defending the owners of the Ashley Madison website in a consumer fraud class action over a data breach
Insurance
- Defending CNA and affiliates in numerous lawsuits in state and federal courts seeking coverage for business losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic
Financial and Securities Litigation
- Defending investment bank underwriters, including Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, in securities fraud class action lawsuits in state and federal court related to initial public offerings
- Defending Bank of New York Mellon in various civil and regulatory matters related to the company’s foreign exchange services
- Defending UBS against fraud claims related to residential mortgage-backed securities
Investigations
- An investment management company in an internal investigation related to accounting issues
- A financial institution in an internal investigation related to accounting issues
- An investment adviser as a third-party witness in a federal regulatory investigation
Cleary has worked, on a pro bono basis, with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund on matters related to voting rights and racial justice, the American Bar Association on matters related to affirmative action in higher education, and the Bronx Defenders and the Sentencing Project on matters related to criminal justice.