David J. Woll is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in the Firm’s Litigation Department.  Mr. Woll is a commercial trial lawyer with extensive litigation experience in a variety of complex litigation areas, including securities, banking, bankruptcy, insurance and governmental and internal investigations. 

Mr. Woll recently represented a major insurer as lead trial counsel in a case involving insurance coverage for asbestos and silica claims.  The trial lasted three months before a settlement was reached.  Mr. Woll and the Simpson Thacher trial team headed the defense effort for more than a dozen insurer defendants. Other recent engagements include:

• representing four revolving lenders in multi-district litigation involving the Fontainebleu casino/resort project in Las Vegas;
• conducting an internal investigation for a major financial institution arising out of mortgage and appraisal practices;
• representing JPMorgan Chase in dozens of securities and other litigation arising out of the Enron bankruptcy, including obtaining dismissals of suits brought by holders of more than $2 billion in Enron bonds;
• representing an airport screening company in civil suits pending in the Southern District of New York and arising out of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks;
• acting as lead trial counsel for a major insurer in an environmental coverage trial that resulted in a judgment in favor of the insurer.

Some of Mr. Woll’s other representative engagements have included representing financial institutions and insurers in bankruptcy proceedings across the country, including in the Southern District of New York, the District of Delaware, the Northern District of Alabama, the District of Maryland, and the District of Minnesota; serving as one of the trial counsel for JPMorgan Chase in a trial against Motorola in the Southern District of New York, in which the bank obtained a judgment in excess of $300 million against Motorola for the benefit of JPMorgan Chase and numerous members of a loan syndicate; representing a commercial mortgage company in an arbitration arising out of an employment-related dispute; representing Seagram in a California state court trial involving the termination of a distribution agreement for Patron tequila, which resulted in a multi-million dollar judgment in favor of Seagram; and acting as lead trial counsel in an AAA arbitration arising out of a licensing dispute.

Mr. Woll joined the Firm in 1988 and became a partner in 1996. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1982 and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1987. Mr. Woll served as a Judicial Clerk from 1987 to 1988 for The Honorable Stanley S. Brotman in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and has taught legal writing as an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School for several years.

Honors/Associations

•	Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Publications

•	Insurance Law Alerts
•	The Supreme Court Holds That Class Certification of Rule 10b-5 Claims Does Not Require Proof of Materiality
•	New York Court of Appeals Rejects Martin Act Preemption of Common Law Claims of Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Gross Negligence
•	Second Circuit Affirms Madoff Trustee’s Use of “Net Investment Method” to Calculate Net Equity Under SIPA
•	The Supreme Court Limits Rule 10b-5 Liability to Person or Entity Making Alleged Misstatement
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Loss Causation Requirement at Class Certification Stage
•	The Supreme Court Considers Loss Causation at Time of Class Certification
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Rule on Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Materiality Requirement in the Context of Drug Companies’ Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Liability of Investment Advisers in Federal Securities Fraud Cases
•	The Pollution Exclusion:  Will it Wall Off Insurer Exposure to Drywall Claims?
•	Developments In New York Insurance Law: New York Joins States That Require Prejudice To Insurers For Disclaimer of Coverage Based on Late Notice; Allows Direct Actions Against Insurers

Admissions

•	New York 1988
•	U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
•	U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
•	U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit

Clerkships

•	Hon. Stanley S. Brotman, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1987-1988

Education

•	Brooklyn Law School, 1987 J.D.