Madelyn A. Morris

Commercial Litigation

• Gartner, Inc. v. HCC Specialty Underwriters, Inc. — Counsel for Aon in professional liability action arising from business losses related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc. et al. — Counsel for UnitedHealth Group, Inc. in a class action lawsuit alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims and other alleged violations of ERISA over administration of its retirement plan.
• Lion Electric Company v. Nikola Corporation — Defended electric vehicle manufacturer against lawsuit brought by another publicly traded electric vehicle manufacturer for tortious interference.
• GXO Logistics, Inc. v. Cunningham — Argued and won preliminary injunction hearing against GXO Logistics suing former employee for breach of restrictive covenants in a decision that was covered by Bloomberg Law.
• In re Garrett Motion Inc. Securities Litigation — Argued and won motion to dismiss putative class action alleging securities fraud against the vice president and general counsel of Honeywell (former president and director of Garrett Motion), in connection with Honeywell’s spinoff of Garrett.
• In re Honeywell International Inc. Consolidated Stockholder Litigation — Obtained dismissal with prejudice for Honeywell International in consolidated shareholder derivative litigation in the District of Delaware related to Honeywell’s accounting for asbestos-related liabilities.
• Kanefsky v. Honeywell International — Represented Honeywell International and certain current and former officers and directors in successfully resolving a putative securities class action filed in New Jersey federal court concerning Honeywell’s accounting for asbestos-related liabilities.
• Azar v. Grubhub — Represented Grubhub and its CEO and CFO, in a purported securities class action in Illinois federal court concerning certain statements about the company’s growth, competitive landscape and strategy obtaining favorable settlement.
• In re Wynn Resorts Ltd. Derivative Action — Represented Wynn Resorts and certain of its directors and officers in state and federal derivative cases and federal securities class actions arising from allegations of sexual misconduct by the former CEO, chairman and founder obtaining favorable settlement of the derivative suit and full dismissal of the 2020 federal securities litigation.
• City of Livonia Retiree Health and Disability Benefits Plan v. Pitney Bowes Inc. — Represented Pitney Bowes and certain of its directors and officers in litigation brought under the federal securities laws in state court in Connecticut relating to a 2017 Pitney Bowes debt offering. Won a contested motion to stay discovery under the PSLRA during the pendency of a motion to dismiss, the first defense counsel to do so in a reported decision in more than two decades, and then won dismissal of all claims.
• National American Soccer League v. United States Soccer Federation — Represented certain directors of United States Soccer Federation in connection with action alleging breach of fiduciary duties in connection with denial of Division II sanction for North American Soccer League. Motion to dismiss granted as to all defendants.
• In re Appraisal of Solera Holdings — Represented Solera and secured a victory for the company following a five-day trial in an appraisal action arising from Vista’s $3.85 billion acquisition of Solera. The decision marks the first time a Delaware court has awarded the deal price less synergies in an appraisal involving a take-private by financial buyers.

Arbitration

• Represented plaintiff seller in earn-out dispute in confidential arbitration obtaining favorable settlement, including full unwind of the transaction and millions in compensation to the seller.
• Successfully defended against a $30 million claim for indemnification/advancement brought in confidential arbitration by former CEO.

Investigations

• Represented numerous companies in internal investigations into allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
• Represented company in criminal antitrust investigation.
• Represented RMBS bond trader from a major bank in DOJ investigation.
• Represented board of directors of global manufacturer of pest control products in an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by CEO.
• Represented national professional sports league, conducting investigation into fraud allegations relating to class action settlement program.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Summer Associate, 2013

Manhattan Legal Aid Society, Supervised Law Student Practitioner, 2013–2014

Women’s World Banking, Communications and Governance Associate, 2009–2011

North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory (M.D.N.C. and 4th Cir.) Trial and appellate counsel for plaintiffs who successfully challenged a 2013 North Carolina statute that restricted voting opportunities and burdened the right to vote for African Americans in violation of both the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Served as lead appellate counsel representing multiple incarcerated clients in their criminal appeals writing the brief and presenting oral argument to the First Department, Appellate Division.

Successfully secured asylum for a refugee in immigration proceedings.