Lynn K. Neuner is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America, Lynn is consistently 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, where she is noted for maintaining “a versatile practice,” and is also ranked by Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” in general commercial and insurance, and as a “Leading Trial Lawyer.” 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 resolving historic litigation related to Allen Stanford, orchestrator of one of the largest-ever Ponzi schemes, on the eve of trial;
- London insurers, Lloyd’s and RSA, in successful resolution during the third week of jury trial in connection with a business interruption and physical damage claim;
- Pfizer in numerous indemnity disputes involving opioids, talc, asbestos, and consumer products;
- Chubb, Axa XL, and Swiss Re in aviation insurance litigation related to airplanes allegedly grounded in Russia after the Ukraine invasion;
- The Toronto-Dominion Bank in Ponzi scheme cases involving TelexFree in Massachusetts and National Realty Investment Advisors in New Jersey;
- Phoenix Insurance Company in asbestos-related coverage litigation;
- Bayer in emergency court proceeding that ended competitor’s advertising campaign in two weeks;
- Travelers in mega insurance coverage cases against Northrop Grumman involving pollution at several sites in Long Island;
- Pfizer in domestic arbitration trial involving co-development dispute;
- Jabil Inc. in contract manufacturing dispute with Beckman Coulter and Danaher Corporation;
- Private family siblings and family businesses in nine disputes, including in three trials;
- Maty’s Healthy Products in hearings before the National Advertising Division involving challenges to its advertising claims and its competitor’s claims;
- Chilean conglomerate Corp Group in an international arbitration regarding shareholder rights in a Colombian bank in excess of $600 million;
- Bayer, Merck, and Pfizer in advertising matters impacting Claritin, Advil, Coppertone and Centrum;
- 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;
- Travelers in coverage and bankruptcy trials involving massive asbestos liability; and
- Estate of M. Richard Robinson in various trust and probate matters.
Lynn has been recognized as a “Leading Commercial Litigator” by the Daily Journal, a “Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal, and as a star by the New York Law Journal, which named her a “Distinguished Leader.” The “Litigation Trailblazers” series recognizes litigators who have moved the needle in the legal profession and the “Distinguished Leader” 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 2023, a list that recognizes women lawyers “who juggle both distinguished careers and exceptional civic and philanthropic activities.” Described by Benchmark as a “peer and client favorite, unanimously championed by contemporaries,” 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 General Commercial Litigation and 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.” “Lynn is a mastermind, she’s everyone’s first choice,” and she is “straightforward and transparent, extremely intelligent and knowledgeable,” additional sources shared.
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 renowned litigator,” “a client's dream attorney: fantastically talented, commercially aware and very user-friendly”; “one of the best lawyers I've ever encountered”; “a terrific strategist” with “excellent client skills”; as well as “a terrific partner who rolls up her sleeves and understands not just the legal issues, but also the associated business issues”; is “extremely insightful, practical and really helps clients make well-informed strategic and tactical decisions”; is “capable at cutting through complexities to get to the key questions”; and is “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 a “strategic thinker with trial sense”; “extremely skilled in courtroom and deposition settings”; “a very strong oral advocate”; 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, including in Insurance: Advice to Insurers, General Commercial Disputes, and as a “Leading Trial Lawyer,” where she is described as a “prominent trial lawyer,” 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.” She was named among the “500 Leading Litigators in America” by Lawdragon in 2022 for her work litigating claims involving commercial, securities and insurance disputes. 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 former 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 Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees 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 New York City Bar Association 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.