Elliana Openshaw’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. She represents clients in civil litigation in state and federal courts at the trial and appellate levels, and international arbitration. She has assisted with internal investigations on behalf of corporations, boards and special committees concerning, among other things, sanctions, FCPA violations and accounting malfeasance. Her clients include private and public corporations, private equity and other investment firms, partnerships and individuals spanning numerous industries, including finance, private equity, real estate, travel, insurance, manufacturing and mining.
Elliana also maintains an active pro bono practice. She was part of the Kasowitz team that submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States at the merits stage of a case involving the equal protection rights of the residents of Puerto Rico on behalf of a coalition of public interest organizations. She has also represented the victim of a mortgage fraud in an action brought against the mortgage and holding companies, successfully defeating their summary judgment motion and ultimately securing a settlement that restored ownership of her home. Her pro bono clients also include asylum and U-Visa applicants.
Elliana has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers.
WORK HIGHLIGHTS
- Former executives in a breach of contract action in federal court in New York against Nikko Asset Management and its CEO alleging a scheme to deprive the former employees of their rights under share appreciation rights plans. The CEO resigned shortly after Kasowitz filed papers describing the CEO’s conduct.
- Successful representation of an international manufacturing company executive in a FCPA investigation by the United States Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Ford Motor Company in defending against a series of putative class action suits concerning certain automotive transmissions.
- The Lubrizol Corporation, a leading a global specialty chemicals company, in defending against multiple state and federal toxic tort actions in Illinois stemming from a massive 2021 fire in Rockton, Illinois.
- A travel company in a two-week jury trial against its joint venture partner resulting in a verdict that the joint venture partner violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
- FinancialApps, a developer of financial services software, in its suit against Envestnet, a $3 billion wealth management software provider, and its subsidiary Yodlee, a consumer financial data aggregator, alleging theft of FinApps’ valuable proprietary information and trade secrets to unlawfully develop software products that compete with FinApps.
- The Renco Group, a mining and metal recovery holding company, and certain shareholders, in defending thousands of individual suits brought by Peruvian plaintiffs asserting mass tort and vicarious liability claims, including developing and asserting defenses based on the doctrine of international comity and Peru’s assertions of sovereignty.
- Eros International, a leading Bollywood film producer, in the defense of a putative securities class action. We successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to secure the dismissal, with prejudice, of all alleged securities fraud claims.
- A leading international insurance company in an international arbitration governed by The Danish Institute of Arbitration rules of arbitration procedure concerning a nine-figure coverage dispute under a professional indemnity insurance policy.