Lynn K. Neuner is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department. Lynn was recently inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers, where she was selected to give the Inductees’ Remarks, and was named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” and “Top 10 Women in Litigation” in the United States by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. She has the distinction of being Chambers-ranked in four fields: commercial litigation (Band 1), securities litigation, insurance coverage, and advertising disputes. Lynn tries high-stakes cases in federal and state court, leads trial hearings in international and domestic arbitrations, and conducts evidentiary proceedings before the National Advertising Division. Her work involves the representation of large financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, mega insurers, domestic manufacturers and individual directors and officers.
Her representative experience includes:
- The Toronto-Dominion Bank in litigation related to Allen Stanford, orchestrator of one of the largest-ever Ponzi schemes;
- Pfizer in domestic and international arbitrations regarding disputes over co-development and distribution agreements;
- Travelers in mega insurance coverage cases against Northrop Grumman involving pollution at several sites in Long Island;
- Private family siblings and family businesses in nine disputes, including in three trials;
- Bayer in emergency court proceeding that ended competitor’s advertising campaign in two weeks;
- Maty’s Healthy Products in a hearing before the National Advertising Division involving a challenge to its advertising claims;
- Chilean conglomerate Corp Group in an international arbitration regarding shareholder rights in a Colombian bank in excess of $600 million;
- Wyeth and Pharmacia in 10b-5 securities cases asserting misrepresentation of side effects of blockbuster drugs for arthritis, pain and depression;
- Weight Watchers in securities class actions, derivative suit and strategic alliance with Oprah Winfrey;
- Avianca, the largest airline in Colombia, in a shareholder dispute relating to negotiation of an airline joint venture;
- Ingersoll-Rand in a complex commercial trial involving employee stock plan and in a post-closing purchase price adjustment dispute; and
- Travelers in coverage and bankruptcy trials involving massive asbestos liability.
Lynn has been recognized as a star by the New York Law Journal, which named her a “Distinguished Leader.” The honor recognizes New York lawyers in leadership roles who have achieved impressive results in the last year. She was once again named to Crain’s New York Business’s “Notable Women in Law” for 2020, a list that recognizes women lawyers “who juggle both distinguished careers and exceptional civic and philanthropic activities.” Lynn is consistently recognized as one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” in the U.S. by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, and she is also recognized as a National and New York “Litigation Star” in Securities Litigation. A Benchmark source described Lynn as “one of the most talented lawyers I have seen in my career. She is amazingly adept at predicting client’s needs and is very diligent, works well with other firms, is great on overall legal strategy as well as the day-to-day, offers amazing client service and puts together teams that work efficiently to deliver high-quality work product within a reasonable fee.” Another source said, “Lynn is a mastermind, she’s everyone’s first choice.” Lynn is recognized by Chambers USA in Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1), Litigation: Securities, Insurance: Dispute Resolution and Advertising: Litigation, where sources describe her as “a go-to litigator,” “a terrific strategist” with “excellent client skills,” as well as “extremely insightful, practical and really helps clients make well-informed strategic and tactical decisions,” “and capable at cutting through complexities to get to the key questions,” “extremely smart, not just academic but also business-savvy,” and “the type of lawyer you want working with you on any substantial litigation.” She is also described as “a force to be reckoned with” and “an excellent all-around litigator” someone who is “extremely skilled in courtroom and deposition settings,” and has “a good demeanor in court even in hotly contested matters” while a client adds that she “is one of the best lawyers I’ve seen in a courtroom.” Lynn is also recommended in several areas by The Legal 500, where she is described as an “experienced trial attorney,” and “smart, charming but tough.” Lynn was also recognized as one of the New York County Lawyers Association’s “Outstanding Women in the Legal Profession.” The American Lawyer named Lynn one of the nation’s top “45 Under 45” women attorneys in the country and separately as one of the nation’s top litigation “Rising Stars” in “The Young Litigators Fab Fifty.” She was selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow and is regularly listed in the New York Super Lawyers Metro Edition.
Lynn is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and served as the Firm’s Co-Administrative Partner. She has co-authored a column on the New York Court of Appeals for the New York Law Journal. Lynn is a Trustee of the Board of Practising Law Institute (PLI) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society. She is a past Vice President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and is a former Chair of its Executive Committee. She is a former Chair of the Board for the Yale Law School Alumni Fund. She is a member of the Commercial Division Advisory Council and serves on the Lawyers’ Committee of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. She is also a former Panel Chair of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department in New York.
In addition to her client work, Lynn is committed to serving veterans through pro bono representation. She partnered with the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic on the landmark Monk case establishing the right of veterans to bring class actions in the Veterans Court and continues to work on both class and individual cases advancing veterans’ interests.
Lynn joined the Firm in 1994 following clerkships for Judge John M. Walker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation and the Director of the Barristers’ Union, Yale’s mock trial organization. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Williams College.
Lynn comes to New York from a large family in Rhode Island. She lives in Connecticut with her family.