NEW YORK, May 9, 2013: Morgan Lewis announced today that John Dellaportas—a litigator with over 18 years of experience handling complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, with an emphasis on securities litigation—has joined the firm as a partner in its Litigation Practice, resident in New York.
"John's arrival reflects our continued efforts to seek out talented litigators who enable us to draw upon a deep and diverse well of knowledge and experience to best serve our clients," said Firm Chair Francis M. Milone. "In a time of extensive corporate scrutiny, John's proven skills defending companies in cases brought by shareholders and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will help to further differentiate our Litigation Practice."
"Adding John to our roster fortifies our commercial and securities litigation capabilities, which are core areas of strength for our practice," noted Jami McKeon, Leader of the firm's Litigation Practice. "His extensive knowledge of securities law was recently evidenced by a high profile and widely watched victory he secured late last year in a hotly contested SEC action before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Manhattan. The skill and courtroom savvy he demonstrated in this and other victories will be highly sought after by our clients."
In addition to his commercial and securities representations in both state and federal court, Mr. Dellaportas has experience in mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, antitrust and real estate cases. He also has experience in alternative dispute resolution forums, including the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration. Mr. Dellaportas, who joined Morgan Lewis from another global Am Law 100 firm, also serves as an arbitrator and court-appointed fiduciary. He previously was appointed to oversee the liquidation of a failed broker-dealer firm and has served as the court-appointed receiver and referee in multiple real estate actions.
"Morgan Lewis's New York office has had a long term strategy in place of enhancing our commercial and securities litigation practices," said Charles Engros, Managing Partner of the firm's New York office. "John's track record of success will help us to advance our goals for those practices in New York and firmwide," he added.
Mr. Dellaportas joins a team of nearly 700 litigators working from 20 offices around the world. The firm's deep bench of trial attorneys, armed with extensive skills in alternative dispute resolution and combined with its technology-savvy discovery teams, work to guard clients' short-term and long-term interests inside and outside of the courtroom. In one representative three-year period the firm litigated some 10,000 cases and took cases to trial in every major U.S. jurisdiction, as well as in the United Kingdom and Europe. Morgan Lewis litigators serve a wide array of industries, including financial services, technology, life sciences, pharmaceutical, energy, retail and healthcare.