James P. Rouhandeh
Head of Litigation Department and Management Committee member. Named an American Lawyer “Litigator of the Year.”
Jim is the head of Davis Polk’s Litigation Department and a member of our three-person Management Committee. He is a trusted adviser to leading corporations in multiple industries – including three of the 10 largest companies in the Fortune 500 – as well as to corporate boards and CEOs. His recent work has included antitrust and privacy investigations in the tech sector, as well as pharmaceutical-industry issues with broad public-health significance. Clients appreciate his experience in many of the largest investigations and litigations in U.S. history – including the tobacco industry, Enron-era prosecutions, pharmaceutical marketing, and the 2007 financial crisis – and the declinations he has achieved in many major matters.
Jim was named a “Litigator of the Year” by the American Lawyer and is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and in Legal 500’s Hall of Fame. A highly regarded appellate lawyer, Jim has achieved numerous appellate victories in federal and state court.
Experience
Civil Litigation
- Lead trial counsel to Fortune 500 energy company in contract litigation that favorably settled on the first day of trial
- Lead trial counsel to Exxon in a $1.8 billion tax dispute
- Lead trial counsel to Morgan Stanley in longstanding RMBS litigation
- Leading energy company in securities litigation following deferred prosecution
- Multinational software provider in securities litigation following short seller report
- Tech company in antitrust investigations/litigation
- Energy company in contractual dispute relating environmental liability
- Largest worldwide cryptocurrency exchange in securities litigation
- Walmart in litigation against Tesla asserting breach of contract
- Dismissal of RICO class claims against Novo Nordisk
- Novo Nordisk in securities litigation relating to long-term financial targets
- Dismissal of RICO class claims against Walmart
- Dismissal of securities class action against BT Group relating to accounting issues at Italian sub
- Dismissals of Facebook IPO underwriters in securities class action asserting Section 16(b) and 20A claims
- Dismissals of claims against major New York law firm relating to Stanford Ponzi scheme
- Lead counsel to Morgan Stanley in 50+ lawsuits arising from the financial crisis, eliminating $10+ billion in potential damages
- Numerous successes for Pfizer in class actions around the country, including multiple denials of class certification and dismissals of consumer fraud claims
White Collar Defense & Investigations
Federal and state criminal/regulatory investigations including:
- Tech company in FTC antitrust investigation
- Morgan Stanley and another bank in DOJ and state AG investigations relating to subprime RMBS
- Broker-dealer in internal investigation relating to potential insider trading
- Major pharmaceutical company in multiple federal grand jury investigations
- National law firm in federal investigation relating to tax opinions
- WorldCom executive in federal investigation of alleged accounting fraud
- Individual in federal criminal antitrust trial
- Over 30 partners of a major accounting firm in SEC investigation
- Tobacco company in DOJ’s investigation of the industry
Appellate Litigation
- Recent victories in the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Circuits, and the New York Court of Appeals on behalf of Morgan Stanley, General Dynamics, a major New York law firm and an international real estate company.
Insights
News
Recognition
American Lawyer – “Litigator of the Year,” 2018
Chambers USA – Litigation: Securities, New York, Band 1
Legal 500 U.S. – Financial Services Litigation, Hall of Fame
Legal 500 U.S. – Securities Litigation: Defense, Hall of Fame
Legal 500 U.S. – General Commercial Disputes
Benchmark Litigation – United States and New York, Star
American Lawyer – “Litigator of the Week,” 2016
National Law Journal – “Litigation Trailblazer,” 2016
Law360 – “Securities Litigation MVP of the Year,” 2011, 2014 and 2016
Education
- Editor, Harvard Law Review
Qualifications and admissions
- State of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Colorado
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, E.D. New York
- U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois
- U.S. District Court, N.D. New York
- U.S. District Court, S.D. New York
- U.S. District Court, W.D. Michigan
- U.S. Supreme Court