Overview
Molly Bruder Fox partners with clients to successfully manage high-stakes litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters in a number of industries including railroad, financial services, telecommunications, and oil and gas. She has particular experience navigating the intersection of business disputes with regulatory obligations.
Molly often represents companies before arbitration tribunals, including the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and several ad hoc arbitrations.
Molly also advises clients regarding strategies for taking advantage of available legal protections when conducting business with foreign sovereigns and their agencies. She has experience obtaining provisional remedies in aid of arbitration and in the course of post-judgment enforcement, as well as seeking judicial recognition and enforcement of judgments and arbitral awards in courts in the US and around the world.
She is active in pro bono matters, specifically gender discrimination and housing discrimination claims. Molly previously led Steptoe's Professional Training Committee and designed the firm's 12-part Core Litigation Skills training program.
- District of Columbia
- California
- US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- US Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- US District Court, District of Maryland
- Hon. Roger L. Wollman, US Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 2009-2010
- J.D., American University, Washington College of Law, 2009, summa cum laude; Order of the Coif, Associate Symposium Editor, American University Law Review
- B.A., Carleton College, 2003, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Political Science
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
-
Representing Credit Suisse in an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court for the District of Maryland. TMST, the debtor, is seeking to clawback hundreds of millions of dollars paid to Credit Suisse and five other Wall Street banks. TMST was one of the leading public companies to securitize mortgage backed securities (MBS) and financed its purchases via repurchase agreements. When the financial crisis of 2008 occurred, the value of the MBS depreciated resulting in margin calls and liquidation of collateral. The claims against Credit Suisse are $295 million and Credit Suisse's proof of claim is $891 million.
- Representing BNSF, one defendant, in In re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation, a putative nationwide class action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in which the plaintiff is seeking billions of dollars. The district court denied class certification in October 2017.
- Representing major Class I railroad in multiple private arbitration matters.
- Representing managed healthcare company in Delaware Chancery Court in an earn out and indemnification dispute arising from an equity purchase agreement.
-
Represented of US Airways, Inc. in its efforts to recover corporate cash funds that its brokers Lehman Brothers, Inc. (LBI) and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. invested in Auction Rate Securities (ARS), products that were unsuitable for US Airways' investment goals and risk profile. Steptoe’s team earned US Airways FINRA awards of $15 million and $30 million, one of the largest ARS awards for damages to date.
-
Represented a financial services company in a class action lawsuit related to unclaimed property which resulted in a creative settlement.
-
Represented several significant international law firms in alleged legal malpractice matters.
-
Represented of an investor with respect to an investment dispute arising from Montenegro's failure to extend the exploration period under an oil and gas exploration agreement. This allegedly breached a bilateral investment treaty’s provisions concerning expropriation, full protection and security, most favored nation status, and fair and equitable treatment.
-
Converted ExxonMobil's multibillion-dollar award from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) as against Venezuela into a judgment in an ex parte proceeding in the Southern District of New York.
Speaking Engagements
- Aligning Your Goals: Effectively Managing Stakeholder Interests, Women, Influence & Power in Law, October 18, 2022
News & Publications
First Tuesday Update
Mastering Dispute Resolution Clauses: Three Drafting Tips to Improve Arbitral Award Enforcement
April 2, 2024
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Steven R. Kaplan
First Tuesday Update
2020 PDVSA Bonds – Expect the Unexpected
March 5, 2024
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Emma Marshak
First Tuesday Update
"Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Supreme Court to Address Circuit Clash Over Arbitration Procedures
February 6, 2024
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Mark Murphy
First Tuesday Update
December 5, 2023
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Cannon Jurrens
First Tuesday Update
Private Rights of Action in Federal Statutes
October 3, 2023
By: Steven K. Davidson, Shannen W. Coffin, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Mark Murphy, Cannon Jurrens
First Tuesday Update
Is ICSID a Governmental Entity for Section 1782 Discovery?
September 5, 2023
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Emma Marshak
First Tuesday Update
August 1, 2023
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Emma Marshak
First Tuesday Update
Important Decisions Regarding Arbitration, Judgment Enforcement and Sovereign Immunity
July 5, 2023
By: Steven K. Davidson, Michael J. Baratz, Molly Bruder Fox, Michael G. Scavelli, Lauren Goldschmidt
Noteworthy
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes (2019)
- Legal 500 US, Dispute Resolution: International Litigation (2019)
- Super Lawyers, Washington, DC, "Rising Star," Business Litigation (2016-2019)