Rising Star: Karen Chesley
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner
October 15, 2019 at 11:25 AM
2 minute read
Karen Chesley
Practice Profile: Karen Chesley is a commercial litigator who focuses on high-stakes litigation, including contract disputes, trade secrets litigation, and matters involving international law.
In May 2018, she won multiple summary judgment motions in the Southern District of New York on behalf of real estate firm The Related Companies, L.P. In the first pair of decisions, which involved Related's claims against a former business associate for misappropriating funds Related had provided to procure building facades, Ms. Chesley secured a $2 million judgment for Related's breach of fiduciary duty claim and preserved Related's civil RICO claims for trial. In a related decision, Ms. Chesley secured the dismissal of various trade secrets claims brought by the former associate, with U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff holding that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently identify specific trade secrets or any improper use of such information. On Aug. 14, 2018, Judge Rakoff refused to revive the plaintiff's claims.
Leadership, Pro Bono and Civic Work: Ms. Chesley and David Boies are working with the nonprofit Legal Momentum to end online sex trafficking, including by serving as lead trial counsel in Florida litigation to hold online publisher Backpage.com accountable for facilitating sex trafficking of children and young adults. Other pro bono work includes participating in New Jersey litigation that seeks to end sex discrimination in federal registration requirements for the draft. She is also a member of Syracuse University College of Law's Board of Advisors.
Prior Experience:
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner, January 2017-present; associate, 2012-2016
Education:
J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, cum laude, Law Review senior editor
B.S., Syracuse University, summa cum laude, magazine journalism; B.A., art history; Chancellor's Scholar
What advice would you give to young lawyers? Young lawyers should find a firm where they are respected for who they are as individuals and where they are constantly inspired and challenged. But at the end of the day, having strong mentors and friends will matter more to your job satisfaction than anything else.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Elizabeth Cooper of Simpson Thacher on Building Teams in a 'Relationship Business'
4 minute read
For Paul Weiss, Progress Means 'Embracing the Uncomfortable Reality'
5 minute read
Kenneth Feinberg Had Dreams of Being on the Big Screen. His 9/11 Victims Fund Gave Him an Unexpected Star Turn
City Bar Holds 32nd Annual Henry L. Stimson Medal Presentation
Trending Stories
- 1The New Rules of AI: Part 2—Designing and Implementing Governance Programs
- 2Plaintiffs Attorneys Awarded $113K on $1 Judgment in Noise Ordinance Dispute
- 3As Litigation Finance Industry Matures, Links With Insurance Tighten
- 4The Gold Standard: Remembering Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer
- 5NJ Supreme Court Clarifies Affidavit of Merit Requirement for Doctor With Dual Specialties
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
