Alison L. Wollin is of counsel in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Her practice focuses on commercial and business litigation matters in areas such as business torts, breach of contract, real estate, bankruptcy and intellectual property. She has had substantial experience litigating a broad range of matters before state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Alison has also represented clients in connection with investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and the New York Stock Exchange.
She was part of the trial team that represented Francois Pinault and Artémis, the company he founded, in two federal jury trials against the California Insurance Commissioner arising out of the rehabilitation of Executive Life Insurance Company, which resulted in favorable verdicts. The Daily Journal recognized the complete defense verdict for Artémis S.A. as one of the "Top Ten Defense Verdicts of 2012."
Alison earned her Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was a senior editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998.
She is admitted to practice in the State of New York, before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is a member of Gibson Dunn's Diversity Committee.
Representative Matters
- François Pinault and Artémis: Successfully defended François Pinault and Artémis, the company he founded, in the long-running Executive Life litigation against the Insurance Commissioner of the State of California.
- In 2005, in a four-month jury trial obtained complete exoneration for Mr. Pinault and successfully convinced the jury to award zero damages against Artémis.
- In 2012, upon retrial of the sole count that the prior jury had deadlocked on, obtained a complete defense verdict from the jury on the Insurance Commissioner’s remaining $4 billion claim. Recognized as one of the Top Ten Defense Verdicts of the year by the California Daily Journal.
- Deutsche Bank: Represented an affiliate of Deutsche Bank that was the mortgage lender in the foreclosure of the Mondrian SoHo Hotel and related litigation brought by Morgans Hotel Group Management seeking to enjoin the termination of its hotel management agreement. Obtained summary judgment in the foreclosure proceeding for $250 million and successfully conducted the foreclosure auction. Defeated repeated attempts by Morgans to obtain a preliminary injunction that would have allowed it to remain as manager of the Mondrian SoHo Hotel for the next 26 years despite the hotel having been sold at the foreclosure auction.
- UBS: Represented UBS in an action for breach of contract against the Republic of Croatia to collect on approximately $45 million in unpaid bonds owed to UBS pursuant to notes issued by the former National Bank of Yugoslavia and other Yugoslavian banking institutions in 1988. The action was successfully resolved by settlement after the complaint was filed.
- Hedge funds: Represented four equity investors in connection with the multi-billion dollar restructuring of Overseas Shipholding Group and defended against a litigation attack by a consortium of bondholders. The restructuring of OSG was recognized as the Restructuring of the Year (Americas) for 2014 by the International Financial Law Review.
- Merrill Lynch: Represented Merrill Lynch in litigation arising out of the collapse of Adelphia.
- Home Depot: Represented Home Depot in a series of administrative, trial-level, and appellate matters in states across the country relating to sales tax refunds.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Products
- Transnational Litigation
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- University of Pennsylvania - 2002 Juris Doctor
- University of Pennsylvania - 1998 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar