A partner in the Litigation Department, Liza M. Velazquez has extensive experience representing corporate clients in a broad range of litigation and regulatory matters, with particular emphasis defending prominent financial institutions and major corporations in complex commercial, securities and employment discrimination matters. Ms. Velazquez has represented clients before state and federal courts across the country as well as in arbitrations and before the SEC and other federal and state regulatory authorities.

Ms. Velazquez's diverse client list includes Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, ING, Prudential, MacAndrews & Forbes and Hexion. Among her recent significant matters, Ms. Velazquez:

• represents JP Morgan Chase and JP Morgan Investment Management in litigations arising out of the investment of client accounts in RMBS during the subprime crisis
• represents ING in a litigation arising out of ING’s $1.5 billion sale of certain Mexican subsidiaries
• represents Prudential in a litigation challenging the prior settlement of hundreds of employment discrimination claims
• represents Citigroup's brokerage unit, Smith Barney, in a Title VII nationwide employment discrimination class action
• represents BankOne/JPMorgan Chase in all mutual fund market timing regulatory investigations and civil litigation in connection with the One Group mutual funds
• represents Hexion in a securities class action arising out of the unconsummated Hexion-Huntsman merger
• represents a prominent private equity partner before the Delaware Chancery Court in an action arising out of the dissolution of the partnership
• defended an Internet services company in an internal investigation and two securities class actions
• defended Reliance Group Holdings and its officers in connection with the civil litigation arising out of its chapter 11 filing and the liquidation of its insurance subsidiary
• successfully tried a landmark human rights case brought under the Alien Tort Statute.

Ms. Velazquez serves by appointment on the New York State Bar's Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the First Judicial District. She has contributed to two reports by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York on human rights standards applicable to the treatment of detainees post-9/11.

Ms. Velazquez was an executive editor for the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Journal and a staff editor for the Human Rights Law Journal.