Of counsel in the Litigation Department (which he chaired for six years), Martin Flumenbaum has achieved national recognition as both an outstanding litigator and corporate advisor. He regularly advises U.S. and international clients on a broad range of litigation issues, with an emphasis on securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, intellectual property, antitrust and white-collar matters. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Significant lead trial counsel representations include:
- Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen in securing the dismissal of an SEC lawsuit alleging that Larsen and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse had altogether conducted over $2.6 billion in unregistered securities transactions through the sale of Ripple’s native digital token XRP. Martin secured a landmark summary judgment ruling in which the Southern District of New York held that the sale of digital assets on public exchanges does not constitute the sale of unregistered securities. The court’s first-of-its-kind ruling has been called a “watershed moment” for the cryptocurrency industry and Martin was named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” for securing the win;
- XPO Logistics, Inc. and its Chairman and CEO in securing the dismissal, with prejudice, affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit, of a securities class action alleging that XPO had misled investors by concealing the importance of its largest customer, Amazon, in driving the company’s growth, and concealing the fact that Amazon began cutting ties with XPO around March 2018;
- Ligado Networks LLC, a satellite communications company, in a $40 billion lawsuit against the U.S. government alleging the unlawful taking of its licensed spectrum by the government without compensation—the largest taking of private property in takings jurisprudence. In a milestone victory, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied the government’s motion to dismiss the majority of Ligado’s claims, holding that Ligado had properly alleged that the government took its exclusively licensed spectrum without compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment and the Tucker Act;
- A group of investment funds that hold notes issued by JUUL Labs, an American electronic cigarette company, in an expedited trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery in an action seeking to enjoin Juul from converting the notes into equity at a low valuation in violation of the note purchase agreement. The parties reached a settlement pursuant to which the noteholders’ convertible notes were converted to equity and the noteholders were provided with an opportunity to make an additional investment in the company;
- Andrew Madoff and the Estate of Mark Madoff in the dismissal of numerous lawsuits and investigations arising out of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The only court to address the matter on the merits found that neither Andrew nor Mark knew of, or suspected the fraud;
- AIG in a number of high profile matters, including the negotiation of AIG's settlements involving brokerage practices and accounting issues with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York State Attorney General and the New York State Department of Insurance;
- Banque Populaire Group and Caisse d'Epargne Group in connection with the final settlement reached by their jointly owned monoline subsidiary, CIFG Holding, Ltd., with credit default swap counterparties and bondholders holding 98 percent of its collateralized debt obligation (CDO) exposure. The agreement successfully resolved approximately $12 billion in potential exposure;
- Électricité de France S.A., (EDF), the largest nuclear energy company in the world, at trial and in its settlement with Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group in a regulatory proceeding before the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) involving the proposed $8 billion merger of Exelon and Constellation;
- Fitch, Inc. in a number of high profile matters including an industry-wide settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and the dismissal of more than a dozen securities cases involving the rating of non-prime residential mortgage-backed securities;
- Hollinger International Inc. in achieving a major victory in a highly publicized trial in Delaware involving a takeover battle with controlling stockholder Conrad Black, and in its £729.5 million ($1.3 billion) sale of London's prestigious Daily Telegraph newspaper. Martin won a battle for corporate control involving Hollinger International, as well as a $30 million verdict against Conrad Black;
- Michael Milken in proceedings involving the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission;
- Skanska USA in a grand jury investigation relating to minority business subcontractors, that resulted in a non-prosecution agreement;
- Weight Watchers International in several significant trademark infringement actions, including a false advertising suit against Jenny Craig, Inc. and a trademark infringement lawsuit against Nestlé U.S.A., Inc., the manufacturer of Lean Cuisine products, and Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, the manufacturer of Skinny Cow products; and
- winning multimillion-dollar verdicts in multiple arbitrations, including a three-month international arbitration which was tried in both the United States and Singapore, in which his client recovered nearly $100 million.
Martin has also previously served as trial and litigation counsel on commercial disputes, investigations and advisory matters for clients such as WAFRA Investment Advisory Group, QXO, Fortress Investment Group, IBM, Aris Capital, TowerBrook Capital, Metromedia, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Fimalac, Emmis Communications, Malaysian Broadcast Network Satellite System and others.
In July 2023, Martin was named "Litigator of the Week" by The American Lawyer for his landmark summary judgment victory on behalf of Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, a case that set a significant precedent for the cryptocurrency industry. This recognition by The American Lawyer followed his earlier feature in the publication’s cover story, "The Lifesavers," which highlighted his representation of Hollinger International and American International Group (AIG) and noted Paul, Weiss as the best litigation firm in the United States during his tenure as department chair.
In October 2023, Martin was profiled by Law360 for his role in achieving the SEC’s rare voluntary dismissal with prejudice pple’s executives, further underscoring his impact in high-profile, complex litigation. He was also profiled by the National Law Journal for his work on Hollinger and other major cases, and featured in the publication’s special report, "Winning: 10 Profiles of Successful Strategies From Some of The Nation’s Top Litigators."
Martin’s excellence has been recognized by numerous leading legal directories and publications. For over a decade, he has been highly ranked in the New York General Commercial Litigation category by Chambers USA, where he is described as "a spectacular litigator" and "at the very top of his profession and incredibly easy to deal with." He has been named a National Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation for Antitrust and General Commercial Litigation, as well as a Local Litigation Star in New York. Legal 500 has recognized him as a "top-notch and deeply experienced" white-collar defense lawyer. He is also listed by Lawdragon, Super Lawyers, and has been selected by Best Lawyers in America in three separate categories, including "Bet The Company" litigation.
Martin formerly served as a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a public interest civil rights organization in New York. Since 1985, he has written a monthly column for The New York Law Journal, titled "Second Circuit Review," which discusses significant decisions and legal trends in the federal courts.
Martin also previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he tried numerous criminal cases, focusing on securities, commodities, and tax fraud. He was the lead prosecutor in the successful tax prosecution of Sun Myung Moon in 1982. Martin began his legal career as law clerk to Judge Whitman Knapp of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1974, joined Paul, Weiss in 1975, and became a partner in 1983.
