Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg is a litigation boutique specializing in complex commercial cases, with a particular focus on sophisticated financial, securities, antitrust, intellectual property, and bankruptcy disputes. HSG strives to provide the highest level of service through unparalleled judgment, skilled advocacy, and fee arrangements that ensure alignment with our clients’ interests.

HSG was founded in 2012 by The Hon. Richard J. Holwell, who served as a highly respected federal judge in the Southern District of New York, and his former partners and colleagues from White & Case: Michael S. Shuster (who was global head of commercial litigation at White & Case), Daniel P. Goldberg, and Dorit Ungar Black.

HSG is over 70 lawyers strong, with the experience, expertise, and depth to handle the most complex commercial disputes in courts, arbitral tribunals, and administrative agencies across the country. We have also been engaged to handle sensitive internal investigations requiring the judgment and discretion of seasoned lawyers coupled with the insights of a former federal judge. Our ranks include lawyers who have held prestigious clerkships at all levels of the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and served as editors of the nation’s top law journals.

We are an ideal partner for any client with high-stakes matters pending in any of the nation’s courts or in any arbitral or regulatory forum, as well as for law firms unable to take on particular matters due to professional conflicts.

Our Culture

We believe the most successful lawyers are those who work in an environment that focuses on quality, professionalism, and individual respect, while at the same time fosters and encourages creative thinking to solve our clients’ problems. Similarly, we have the highest respect for the legal profession as a community and the responsibilities that come with membership in it, including a substantial dedication to pro bono practice.

The quality of our work is validated not only by the confidence of our clients in their most significant matters, but also our widespread recognition as a premiere litigation boutique. Holwell Shuster & Goldberg has been selected three times as Benchmark Litigation’s New York Law Firm of the Year and 2025 General Commercial Firm of the Year, and a member of the National Law Journal’s exclusive Litigation Boutiques Hot List. These are among a growing list of firm honors that include selection as the nation’s Top Firm for Pro Bono (with fewer than 100 attorneys) by Law360.

Our individual lawyers have been recognized consistently for their excellence by Chambers USA, The American Lawyer, Bloomberg Law, Legal 500, and in other rankings and publications.

Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, HSG serves as lead counsel for clients such as Visa, Chubb, HSBC, and government-owned pension funds in a range of disputes, and is particularly well known for:

Financial Markets & Securities Litigation: HSG lawyers have been involved in numerous landmark financial markets cases, representing, among others, banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, foreign governments, trustees, and other market participants. Most recently, the firm has taken the lead on innovative “cost-of-insurance” litigation in the Southern District of New York and other federal courts around the country.

Antitrust Litigation: In addition to the firm’s ongoing representation of Visa in multi-district litigation involving hundreds of billions of dollars in claimed damages, the firm’s lawyers have represented Comcast, Raytheon, the NBA, General Re, Saudi Refining, Inc., and other clients in major antitrust litigation and governmental reviews. On the plaintiffs’ side, the firm recently represented Valassis, a MacAndrews & Forbes portfolio company, in a jury trial against News Corp.

Complex Commercial Disputes: HSG represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial disputes, both purely domestic and multi-jurisdictional, and is currently national trial counsel on some of the country’s largest and most high-profile cases, including for Chubb in nationwide opioid coverage litigation. The firm established itself as a pioneer in RMBS ‘putback’ litigation, resolving billions of dollars in losses from the Great Recession. The firm recently secured a $101 million jury verdict against Walmart in a lawsuit alleging the company wrongfully cancelled its contract to purchase personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and a jury verdict finding Boeing liable for $81.3 million for misappropriating substantial trade secrets related to the development of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. Its clients include, among others, multinational corporations, financial institutions, hedge funds and private equity funds, family-owned businesses, and directors of public companies.

Transnational Litigation: The firm has represented numerous clients in matters with transnational dimensions, including creditors against foreign sovereigns in disputes over defaults of their debt, to international arbitrations to Section 1782 proceedings. The firm’s lawyers have also represented various foreign sovereigns and state-owned entities in a variety of matters. As just one example, the firm is challenging the termination of power contracts worth more than a billion dollars in multiple jurisdictions, alleging breach of contract by the Angolan government and tortious interference by General Electric.

Appellate Litigation: With a growing roster of former judges and Supreme Court clerks, the firm brings to the appellate process a unique understanding of how judges approach decision making. Whether in litigating an appeal or framing trial disputes in anticipation of appeal, HSG has the benefit of Judge Holwell’s experience as a district judge and designated circuit judge, Justice James McGuire’s service as a New York trial court and appellate court judge, and the insights offered by former U.S. Supreme Court clerks Vincent Levy, Daniel Sullivan, Gregory Dubinsky, and Jack Millman, along with other HSG attorneys who served as law clerks in federal courts of appeals.

Investigations/Monitorships: Bringing to bear the firm’s considerable judicial experience, HSG lawyers handle criminal and regulatory enforcement investigations, as well as independent monitorships brought about by consent decrees, settlements, or otherwise. Judge Holwell, with the assistance of HSG, acted as an independent monitor engaged by a large financial institution pursuant to an agreement between the institution and the Securities and Exchange Commission.