ProfessionalsGeoffrey R. Chepiga
Tel: +1-212-373-3421
Fax: +1-212-492-0421
emailgchepiga@paulweiss.com
A partner in the Litigation Department, Geoffrey Chepiga represents clients in a variety of litigation and regulatory matters, including securities fraud cases, mergers and acquisitions litigation and DOJ and SEC investigations.
EXPERIENCE
Geoff's significant representations include:
- SAC Capital (now Point72 Asset Management) and Steven A. Cohen in criminal and regulatory proceedings, as well as civil litigations, arising out of claims of insider trading;
- Several acquirers and targets in M&A litigation, including Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Restaurant Brands International, CSRA, Inc. and UCP, Inc., among others;
- News Corp. and News America Marketing ("NAM") in an antitrust class action brought by customers of NAM's in-store marketing products, who sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, before trebling. The case settled after the first day of a jury trial in the Southern District of New York;
- A former executive of a mining company in an action brought by the SEC in the Southern District of New York alleging misstatements, omissions and accounting violations relating to the value of a project in Africa.
- JPMorgan in the dismissal of a suit brought in the Southern District of New York by an investor who opted out of the $275 million class action settlement stemming from the run on Bear Stearns in 2008;
- Funds affiliated with a leading private equity firm in defending a shareholder appraisal action in Delaware Chancery Court arising from the acquisition of a portfolio company; and
- A major French company in FCPA investigations in several different countries in South America and Europe.
Geoff was recognized in the 2018 edition of The Legal 500 US as a Recommended Lawyer in the M&A Litigation: Defense and Securities Litigation: Defense categories.
Geoff also maintains a significant pro bono practice, a highlight of which is his representation of a class of individuals, including mentally disabled adults, residing in so-called adult homes in New York City. The class sued the state of New York, claiming that these homes violated the "integration mandate" of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After ten years of litigation, the parties reached a landmark settlement to end the state's decades-long discrimination.
Geoff is the co-author of "Ownership or Use? Civilian Property Interests in International Humanitarian Law," which appeared in the 49th volume of Harvard International Law Journal in 2008.