Page 41 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

and most complicated virtual trials of the COVID-19 era in From left, partners Diane Sullivan, David Lender, John
any venue. And we advanced our clients’ interests in cases Neuwirth, Jonathan Polkes and Elizabeth Weiswasser.
that, over the next year, could impact longstanding Dela-
ware corporate law precedent, provide important armor for Responses prepared by Jonathan Polkes and
companies defending securities class actions premised on David Lender, global co-chairs of the firm’s litigation
confidential witnesses, and develop fiduciary duty law in department.
the SPAC context.

A prospective client in crisis calls and asks why your team
should be retained. What is your answer? We have the deep-
est bench in the business, one that includes proven trial What is the firm doing to ensure that future generations of
lawyers, board counselors, and crisis responders, and covers litigators are ready to take the helm? We continue to focus
all disciplines that might be required. We possess the trial intently on promoting and advancing the next generation of
and courtroom expertise necessary to tackle any dispute, diverse and talented litigators so that our junior partners are
and we back it up with corporate governance, restructuring, ready to manage and try cases, oversee practice areas and
and financing experience that typically comes into play in management of a large organization, and support the firm’s
these situations—in addition to many other specialist areas. business development initiatives. We focus extensively on cli-
And, importantly, we’ve navigated clients through litigation ent management and development, leadership, and profile-rais-
arising from the worst of them, now including COVID-19. ing through senior/junior partner mentoring. We also focus on
We’ve worked through them successfully before and use originating opportunities for junior partners to second-chair
this experience to our advantage, helping clients prioritize, or even first-chair, trials, and ensuring that talented associates
respond, and react while still focusing on running their play lead roles, as well. Our recent work clearly captures our
businesses. progress, with teams led by women and diverse attorneys win-
ning big in cases with national and international implications,
What traits do you respect most in opposing firms and law- and new lateral partners seamlessly engaging with home-
yers? Talent, courtesy, professionalism, and respect. grown talent across practices on exciting new engagements.

Photo: Weil Gotshal | October 2021 39