A partner in the Litigation Department and co-chair of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group, Andrew Ehrlich has experience representing clients in a broad variety of complex commercial litigation matters, specializing in securities litigation and regulatory defense. Andrew regularly represents public companies and their boards in shareholder and governance litigation of all kinds. He also has deep expertise representing alternative asset managers, who turn to him for their most challenging litigation and enforcement matters affecting investment advisers, transactions and portfolio companies. Andrew has an outstanding record of victories in significant high-stakes trials in state and federal courts, as well as before arbitration tribunals.
Andrew is ranked by Chambers USA for NY Securities Litigation with clients commenting that Andrew is “one of my most trusted outside lawyers,” and a “really smart and creative problem solver,” who is “a respected, knowledgeable and effective litigator” that “has a tremendous courtroom presence and a nice, polished, compelling way about him.” Andrew is also recommended by The Legal 500 in Securities Litigation – Defense and is ranked in Benchmark Litigation.
Andrew has represented clients in a wide range of their most demanding contested matters. A range of his representative matters in recent years include:
- Arguing and winning dismissal of a significant shareholder derivative case against The Kraft Heinz Company in the Delaware Court of Chancery, affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.
- Winning an appellate victory for Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in the Kentucky Supreme Court, securing dismissal of a derivative claim claiming billions in damages related to the Kentucky state pension system; Andrew now leads the defense of a related matter.
- Securing the dismissal, with prejudice, of a putative securities class action brought against Oaktree Capital Management relating to Oaktree’s investment in Tribune Media Company, including arguing the appeal in the Seventh Circuit.
- Representing public issuers, including ADT, Apollo Global Management, Coupang, the Kraft Heinz Company, Oak Street Health, Pfizer, Spectrum Brands Holdings, and others in securities class actions.
- Representing the independent directors of The Vanguard Group in connection with litigation and other matters.
- Winning the dismissal of a putative ERISA class action against certain current and former trustees of The Kraft Heinz Company’s savings plan and Kraft Heinz officers.
- Achieving a victory for certain funds affiliated with The Blackstone Group in the Delaware Court of Chancery when the court dismissed with prejudice a consolidated derivative lawsuit brought by purported stockholders of Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.
- Obtaining summary judgment for Citigroup in a case alleging breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of limited partnership interests in a feeder fund, and successfully argued the appeal of the dismissal.
- Representing numerous hedge fund and private equity fund clients in sensitive regulatory matters involving the Securities & Exchange Commission, the New York Attorney General, the New York Department of Financial Services, and the Department of Justice.
- Representing numerous bondholder and creditors’ committees in contested restructuring matters, including as lead trial counsel in several contested confirmation hearings.
Andrew has substantial trial experience in very significant contested commercial matters. In addition to the matters mentioned above, in recent years Andrew:
- Won a landmark trial victory for Oak Hill Capital Partners in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The win marked the first time the Chancery Court has concluded at trial that defendants satisfied the exacting “entire fairness” standard with respect to a majority shareholder’s redemption of preferred stock.
- Was lead trial counsel for Citigroup and its broker-dealer unit, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., in a series of FINRA arbitrations brought by various issuers of auction rate securities (ARS) and variable rate demand bonds (VRDO), including defeating claims at hearing by a hospital system which alleged that Citi did not adequately disclose the risks of VRDO bonds.
- Served as trial counsel to Paramount Pictures in a securities fraud trial concerning a film financing, in which the court dismissed the claims at the conclusion of plaintiffs’ case.
- Was part of the trial teams that secured jury trial victories for Pfizer in products liability cases in Philadelphia and St. Louis, where plaintiffs alleged that the company’s warnings of the effect of Zoloft on fetal health were inadequate.
- Served as lead trial counsel in a confidential employment arbitration for an investment manager that resulted in a favorable settlement following Andrew’s cross-examination of the claimant.
- Served as lead trial counsel to the bondholder committee that, following a 17-day trial, led to the groundbreaking “reinstatement” plan in the bankruptcy reorganization of Charter Communications.
Andrew maintains an active pro bono practice. He was part of the Paul, Weiss team that represented Edith Windsor in the landmark case United States v. Windsor, in which the United States Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013. Currently, together with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, Andrew represents the historic Metropolitan AME Church in a case against the Proud Boys for trespass and damage relating to the Church’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Andrew has, for 19 years, served as lead counsel in a post-conviction proceeding on behalf of an individual on Alabama’s death row. Andrew is a director of Volunteers of Legal Services and the Citizens Budget Commission.
Andrew served as the articles and commentaries chair of the Harvard Law Review and was an oralist on the winning team of the Ames Court Competition at Harvard Law School in 2000.
