Wall Street Bailout

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison won Litigation Department of the Year four years ago on the strength of its work for Citigroup, Inc. Arguably, the firm had an even better run for Citi in 2008-09, and its work for Citi’s rivals gives plausibility to the boast of chair Brad Karp that “Paul, Weiss is the go-to firm for Wall Street litigation.” Still, one financial client by the name of American International Group, Inc., may wish it went elsewhere.

The firm’s biggest victory in 2008-09 came at trial against the Parmalat Finanziaria SpA trustee, with partners Theodore Wells and John Baughman defending Citi. After hoping to implicate Citi in Parmalat’s fraud to the tune of $30 billion, the trustee walked away from the state court trial in Hackensack, New Jersey, with empty pockets–and a counterclaim bill that now exceeds $450 million, pending appeals. Getting a jury to love a detested bank would be remarkable at any time–let alone in fall 2008, the darkest hour of the financial crisis.