Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s women litigators have again been named among the top lawyers in Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 250 Women in Litigation” for 2021. The annual list recognizes “the most distinguished women in the world of litigation.”
For the fifth consecutive year, eight of the firm’s partners have been recognized, demonstrating the firm’s tradition of serving its clients at the highest standard for many years and of contributing to the development and advancement of distinguished women leaders.
The honorees represent a wide array of litigation expertise:
Mary Jo White, Senior Chair of the firm and leader of the Strategic Crisis Response and Solutions Group, specializes in multifaceted government investigations and white collar, SEC enforcement and internal investigations. Ms. White has decades of experience, having served as Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and as a well-known private practitioner in high-profile matters.
Mary Beth Hogan, Co-Chair of the Litigation Department, focuses on regulatory investigations and enforcement actions involving the Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, New York’s Department of Financial Services and other federal and state regulators. She also represents the boards of independent and other schools in connection with sensitive investigations.
Catherine Amirfar, Co-Chair of the firm's International Dispute Resolution and Public International Law Groups and a member of the firm’s Management Committee, routinely represents multinational corporations, sovereign states and international organizations before international arbitration tribunals and U.S. and international courts. From 2014–2016, Ms. Amirfar served as the Counselor on International Law at the U.S. Department of State in the Obama Administration.
Helen Cantwell, partner, focuses on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement actions and internal investigations for a wide variety of corporations, financial institutions and non-profits. Prior to joining Debevoise, Ms. Cantwell served for eight years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Maura Kathleen Monaghan, Co-Chair of the Commercial Litigation and Healthcare & Life Sciences Groups, focuses on a wide range of complex commercial litigation including products liability and mass tort litigation and environmental, healthcare, regulatory and criminal investigations and arbitration.
Maeve O’Connor, Co-Chair of the firm’s Securities Litigation practice and Chair of the firm’s Insurance Litigation practice and a former member of the firm’s Management Committee, specializes in defending securities and fiduciary duty litigation and in representing financial services companies in a range of complex and high-stakes litigation and regulatory matters.
Natalie Reid, partner in the International Dispute Resolution, Public International Law, and ESG Groups, and Co-Chair of Debevoise’s Caribbean practice, specializes in international arbitration, public international law and complex commercial litigation matters. Ms. Reid regularly acts as counsel in commercial and treaty arbitrations and represents sovereign states, multinational corporations, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations.
Shannon Rose Selden, partner, leads the firm’s Asset Management Litigation practice and is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Private Equity Groups. Ms. Selden has a broad practice representing hedge fund and private equity clients, as plaintiffs and defendants, in complex, high-stakes litigation.
The honorees led some of the most significant litigation matters and were selected based on several phases of research including review of recent case work, peer reviews and client feedback.