Overview
(March 26, 2019, New York) — Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Chris Paparella has joined the firm as a partner in New York. Paparella focuses his practice on both international arbitration and commercial litigation.
Paparella represents financial institution clients in federal and state court litigation and arbitration involving mortgage-backed securities, securities fraud, lender liability, and foreign exchange transactions. In 2016, he argued and won a groundbreaking case in New York's highest court in which he obtained the dismissal of a $300 million fraud case on the grounds that the assignment of the claims to a litigation funder violated New York's champerty statute (Justinian Capital SPC v. WestLB AG).
Paparella has also represented clients in international and domestic arbitrations in New York, London, Mexico City, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam and elsewhere. He has developed particular familiarity and skill in the energy and process industries, and has represented participants in offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities, as well as a variety of downstream process plants and other facilities.
"Chris is a respected first-chair litigator who clients turn to time and again to handle their most challenging disputes both domestically and internationally," said Steptoe Chair Phil West. "His arrival will further strengthen our top-tier litigation team in New York, as well as our international arbitration capabilities in New York and London. With the recent arrival of Teddy Baldwin in DC, we are substantially increasing the visibility and stature of Steptoe's international arbitration capabilities."
Paparella commented: "Steptoe has a deep bench of talented litigators and a sophisticated international arbitration practice that I found very attractive. In choosing to join the firm, I was also impressed by the recent investments the firm has made to both its commercial litigation and financial services practices as both dovetail nicely with my practice."
Steptoe has extensive experience handling international commercial arbitrations in a broad range of industries, particularly the construction, energy, telecommunications, and high-tech industries. The firm's clients include governments, financial institutions, manufacturers and telecommunications firms. The firm has conducted arbitrations, in whole or in part, in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese, and is capable of handling arbitrations in a number of other languages. Its investor-state disputes practice in London has been recognized by The American Lawyer and Global Arbitration Review for its pathbreaking representation against the government of Zimbabwe in a long-running land dispute.
Paparella has been ranked by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, and has been recognized in The Legal 500 for international arbitration. He earned his J.D. from St. John's University and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Scranton.
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
