Christopher D. Belelieu is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Mr. Belelieu’s practice focuses on complex and high-stakes commercial litigation disputes, with a particular focus on securities, M&A and restrictive covenant litigation. Mr. Belelieu also represents clients in internal investigations, employment, class actions, antitrust and other commercial disputes. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts, as well as in different arbitral forums. Mr. Belelieu is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Global Diversity Committee.
Mr. Belelieu is also a member of the Board of Directors for The Legal Aid Society of New York City.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Belelieu was a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. He began his legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. He also served as a clerk for Judge Rosemary Barkett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Mr. Belelieu received his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law where he was recognized as a James Kent Scholar, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a recipient of the David Berger Memorial Prize in International Law. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of The Columbia Journal of European Law and as Executive Editor of The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. He earned an A.B. summa cum laude from Georgetown University and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Representative Experience
Representative matters in which Mr. Belelieu has played a significant role at Gibson Dunn include:
- Representing Perella Weinberg Partners in litigation against former members of the firm related to violations of both their contractual (including their restrictive covenants) and fiduciary duties
- Represented Millennium Management, Suvretta Capital Management and TOMS Capital Investment Management in litigation related to PIPE investments in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
- Represented Marsh McLennan in litigation related to purported breaches of new hires’ restrictive covenants with their former employer
- Representing Guy Carpenter in litigation against a competitor and certain individuals related to their breaches of their contractual (including restrictive covenants) and fiduciary duties
Representative matters in which Mr. Belelieu played a significant role prior to joining Gibson Dunn include:
- Represented a fund in litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery related to the breach of its Series A consent rights
- Represented a company and its shareholders in Delaware Court of Chancery related to the breach of the acquiror’s obligations under a merger agreement to use diligent efforts to develop and commercialize a product that was acquired from the company
- Represented an outsourced chief investment officer in a dispute related to its investment strategy
- Represented companies in disputes related to the calculation of the working capital in M&A transactions
- Represented a financial institution in arbitration related to the sale of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)
- Represented a financial institution and related entities in litigation relating to residential mortgage-backed securities filed in federal and state courts
- Defended a cable programmer and distributor in a purported class action alleging antitrust violations by programming companies and cable and satellite providers based on the bundling of television channels
- Represented a major pharmaceutical company in a shareholder class action arising out of alleged misrepresentations and omissions relating to the sale of one of its drugs
- Defended a company in various employment-related matters, including purported class actions alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Private Attorney General Act, and other state labor laws, as well as proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board
- Represented a company in litigation related to the alleged misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets
- Defended a company in litigation related to its lease and guaranty obligations
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Antitrust and Competition
- Class Actions
- Crisis Management
- Labor and Employment
- Securities Litigation
- Sports Law
Credentials
Education:
- Columbia University - 2006 Juris Doctor
- Georgetown University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, Hon. Rosemary Barkett, 2007 - 2008