Lawyers

Nicholas F. Menillo is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation Group and serves as a co-head of the Firm’s Insurance Coverage Group. His litigation practice includes representing clients in a variety of areas, including securities, antitrust, intellectual property, contract, bankruptcy and government investigations. Representative matters are described below.

Mr. Menillo served as a law clerk to Judge Nelson S. Román of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS

Insurance

• Board of Directors of The Boeing Company in resolving claims relating to oversight of design and development of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, including relating to the agreement by Boeing’s insurers to fund the $237.5 million derivative settlement.
• Garrett Motion, Inc., on insurance issues throughout its Chapter 11 reorganization, which it successfully completed on April 30, 2021.
• Goldman Sachs, on insurance issues relating to its September 30, 2019 conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and related civil litigation.
• Allianz, on insurance issues in connection with a series of individual and putative class actions filed in the Southern District of New York by investors in Structured Alpha hedge funds managed by Allianz.
• Board of Directors of DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. (a SPAC), on insurance issues in connection with derivative and securities litigations brought against Lordstown Motors Corp.
• Warehouse Technologies LLC (Symbotic), an A.I.-enabled supply chain technology platform, on insurance issues in connection with its acquisition by a SPAC (owned by SoftBank) to become a publicly listed company.
• SVB Financial Group, on insurance issues in connection with its $280 million acquisition of Leerink Holdings LLC.
• A bitcoin-mining company, on insurance issues in connection with a regulatory investigation relating to associated person disclosures.
• A major financial institution, on insurance issues in connection with investigations by the DOJ and SEC relating to environmental, social, and governance-related investing and anti-money laundering compliance.

Complex Litigation

• Volkswagen, in anti-tampering lawsuits brought by numerous state attorneys general and counties under state and local environmental laws.
• Canadian Pacific Railways, in litigation in multiple forums relating to a July 2013 train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Canada.
• Goldman Sachs, in connection with multiple securities fraud lawsuits relating to residential mortgage-backed securities.
• Goldman Sachs, in obtaining dismissal, at summary judgment, of a securities fraud lawsuit relating to two collateralized debt obligation offerings.
• Novo Nordisk, in obtaining a victory in an arbitration involving royalties on diabetes drug patents and a false advertising action involving advertisements for diabetes drugs.
• The official committee of unsecured creditors of Energy Future Holdings in trial in Delaware bankruptcy court.

Criminal Defense and Investigations

• Bank Hapoalim, in securing a non-prosecution agreement to resolve an investigation by the Department of Justice and others concerning alleged corruption in connection with international soccer confederations and competitions.
• Bank Hapoalim, in a cross-border tax investigation by the Department of Justice, Federal Reserve, and New York Department of Financial Services.
• A major financial institution in connection with several antitrust investigations by the Department of Justice, resulting in declinations.
• A major financial institution in connection with a regulatory investigation relating to mortgage processing.

Pro Bono Work

Nicholas also has a robust pro bono practice. He represents the Archaeological Institute of America in litigation and on insurance related issues. His pro bono work also includes helping members of the LGBTQ community in foreign countries obtain asylum in the United States.