Seward & Kissel litigators represent many of the world’s leading financial institutions, financial services companies and shipping companies in commercial disputes in domestic and international court proceedings and arbitration. Firm lawyers regularly counsel clients on their global litigation strategy and approach to business disputes.

Seward & Kissel’s Litigation group has litigated disputes for clients — including domestic and international banks — arising out of structured finance agreements, swaps and other derivative agreements, loan agreements, guarantees, and security arrangements. The Firm has also represented financial institution clients in their role as indenture trustees in litigations and bankruptcies arising from defaults under securitizations and other securities issuances.

Lawyers in the Litigation group counsel clients in all manner of dispute resolution in jurisdictions across the country and in cross-border matters, including:

  • breach of contract claims
  • corporate governance matters
  • business torts, including claims of interference with economic relationships and misrepresentations in connection with the sale of businesses
  • fraud and misrepresentation claims, including those involving cross-border issues and claims related to “Ponzi” schemes
  • acquisition and distribution agreements
  • trade and derivative claims
  • bid rigging and price fixing actions
  • state and federal False Claims Act claims
  • veil piercing claims
  • securities actions
  • corporate trustee actions
  • international and domestic arbitrations
  • cryptocurrency issues
Representative Matters
  • Represented Commodities & Minerals Enterprise, Ltd. in two arbitrations against a Venezuelan government-related iron ore company. After 25 days of hearings, the arbitrators issued final awards in our client’s favor for over $200 million – the largest award ever issued by a panel of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators.
  • Represented Blue Wall Shipping Ltd. in successfully defending two ship arrest actions in federal courts in Texas and Oregon asserting veil-piercing claims against our client for the liabilities of plaintiff’s contractually retained ship manager.
  • Represented a trustee in multiple residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) repurchase actions and Trust Instruction Proceedings (TIPs), including against mortgage issuers such as WMC Mortgage LLC, Rescap, and Lehman Brothers, resulting in recoveries of approximately $7 billion.
  • Represented the largest secured lender of offshore supply vessel operator Harvey Gulf International Marine in connection with an objection to key corporate governance and related provisions in Harvey Gulf’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
  • Represented DryShips Inc. and certain of its officers and directors in successfully obtaining the dismissal of a suit brought by plaintiff investment funds in the High Court of the Marshall Islands alleging that defendants were the recipients of fraudulent conveyances of assets from non-party Ocean Rig UDW.
  • Represented an international charity in a federal action brought by organizers of a cultural festival in Bhutan. The district court granted our motion to dismiss with prejudice, finding that our client was not a party to any contract with the plaintiffs and that it was neither an agent nor an alter ego of the actual entity with which plaintiffs had contractual relations.