Ralph M. Levene joined Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in 1988 and has been a partner in the Litigation Department since 1994. His practice includes the representation of major U.S. and foreign financial institutions and multinational companies in connection with the defense of complex and high-profile white-collar criminal, and regulatory enforcement matters and related civil litigation proceedings. He also advises clients on the development and implementation of compliance programs and the conduct of internal investigations. His extensive experience includes major investigations concerning accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, commodities fraud and manipulation, transfer pricing, criminal cross-border tax, criminal antitrust, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, health care fraud and the Economic Espionage Act.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2026 | Global Litigation, esp. Financial |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2025 | Global Litigation, esp. Financial |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2024 | Global Litigation, esp. Financial |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Litigation |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2023 | Global Litigation, esp. Financial |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | White Collar, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Litigation |
Levene received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy magna cum laude from Duke University in 1983. He received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an associate editor and articles editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Following law school, Levene served as a law clerk to the Honorable James Dickson Phillips, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Levene is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, a member of the American Bar Association and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Levene has been listed as one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States and as one of the 500 leading global litigators by Lawdragon. He served as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s International Criminal Law Committee (2012-2014).