James P. Rouhandeh
Head of Litigation Department and Management Committee member. Named an American Lawyer “Litigator of the Year.”
Jim is the head of our Litigation Department and a member of our three-person Management Committee. He is a trusted adviser to leading corporations, boards and CEOs in multiple industries. Recently, Jim was lead trial counsel for three Fortune 50 companies, resulting in two outright victories and one successful resolution on the first day of trial. His work also includes significant pharmaceutical pricing matters, FTC litigation and First Amendment litigation. Jim’s work was recognized in the American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column three times in 2024. Clients appreciate his experience in many of the largest investigations and litigations in U.S. history and the declinations he has achieved in criminal investigations.
Jim was named a “Litigator of the Year” by the American Lawyer, a “Leading Commercial Litigator” by The Daily Journal, is ranked 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
- Recent successes as lead trial counsel:
- Trial victory for Exxon in tax dispute arising out of multi-billion dollar transaction
- Represented Morgan Stanley in longstanding RMBS action in which plaintiff consented to judgment on the eve of trial
- Contract dispute that favorably settled on the first day of trial
- Class certification victory for Novo Nordisk in insulin pricing MDL
- Leading tech company in suit seeking to enjoin FTC enforcement proceeding and in state AG/product liability MDL
- CEO/chairman and director of leading pharmaceutical company in First Amendment litigation
- Various companies in securities actions, including a leading energy company, multinational software provider, global pharmaceutical company, and the largest worldwide cryptocurrency exchange
- Walmart in litigation against Tesla asserting breach of contract
- Dismissal of RICO class claims against Novo Nordisk
- 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
Daily Journal – “Leading Commercial Litigator,” 2025
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, Ninth 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