Dispute Resolution
Brian Burke is a Chambers-ranked litigator with more than twenty years of experience representing Fortune 500 companies, boards, financial institutions, and senior executives in their most consequential disputes, including securities fraud, antitrust, and M&A matters. He has litigated civil and criminal actions in federal and state courts, from filing through trial and appeal, and negotiated settlements worth billions of dollars in complex, cross-border litigation.
The work spans the full arc of a case: early assessment, pleadings, discovery, motion practice, trial, and appeal. He has defended putative securities class actions and shareholder derivative suits, breach of fiduciary duty claims against boards, trade secret and patent disputes, antitrust and price-fixing proceedings on both the criminal and civil sides, insurance and contract disputes, and multi-jurisdictional employment litigation. He has won dismissals with prejudice, defeated preliminary injunctions in the Delaware Court of Chancery, and obtained dismissals on personal and subject matter jurisdiction grounds. He appears in federal and state courts, in arbitration and mediation, and before the DOJ, SEC, UK Serious Fraud Office, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption.
“Simply outstanding.”
Companies do not benefit from litigation for its own sake. They benefit from experienced counsel who can evaluate the dispute objectively, explain the available options, and recommend a course of action that reflects both the legal merits and the company’s business objectives.
Dispute Avoidance
The best lawsuit is the one that never gets filed. Rigorous early case assessment and discreet pre-litigation strategy resolve disputes before they harden into court filings.
Antitrust & Competition
Cartel investigations, merger challenges, and monopolization claims before the DOJ, FTC, and foreign competition authorities, together with counseling on pricing, benchmarking, and no-poach risk.
Commercial Litigation
Contract, fraud, fiduciary duty, and insurance disputes in federal and state courts, arbitration, and mediation.
Securities Litigation
Defense of claims under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including shareholder class actions and parallel SEC and DOJ proceedings, drawn from the representation of dozens of overseas issuers in SEC and DOJ matters involving alleged securities fraud and market manipulation.
M&A and Corporate Governance Litigation
Deal-related and fiduciary-duty disputes arising from contested transactions.
White-Collar and Regulatory Defense
Criminal and regulatory proceedings before the DOJ, SEC, OFAC, BIS, FinCEN, and other U.S. and international authorities.
Representative Matters
Obtained dismissal with prejudice on behalf of a U.S.-listed technology company in a putative class action alleging securities fraud, discrimination, and retaliation under federal and state law.
Represented the largest global semiconductor manufacturer in DOJ inquiries into its discount practices and customer rankings system.
Successfully defended a U.S.-listed global manufacturer against trade secret and patent infringement claims filed in the United States and China, resulting in dismissal of all claims and assignment of the disputed IP rights to the client.
Led GSK’s response to a landmark criminal prosecution in China, a case of first impression that drew worldwide media attention, guiding the company through trial to a final resolution and obtaining declinations from the U.S. DOJ and the U.K. SFO in parallel proceedings.
Represented multiple financial institutions in multi-district litigation alleging suppression and manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate.
Obtained dismissal with prejudice on behalf of a UK consumer products company in a U.S. federal court action alleging breach of fiduciary duties by its board of directors.
Represented a global entertainment conglomerate in the DOJ’s monopsony challenge to the proposed $2.2 billion sale of its publishing business.
Represented Europe’s largest cargo airline in criminal and civil proceedings relating to alleged price fixing of fuel and security surcharges by international air cargo carriers.
Defending a U.S.-listed technology company in SEC and DOJ investigations into alleged securities fraud and data protection breaches.
Represented a U.S. airline in challenges by the DOJ and several states to a proposed $3.8 billion acquisition.
Served as lead counsel in multi-jurisdictional employment litigation involving claims of harassment, discrimination, wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, and trade secret exfiltration.
Secured a pre-litigation, non-monetary resolution of potential state and federal claims on behalf of a multimedia publishing company, avoiding all economic and reputational consequences to the client.
Secured dismissal with prejudice on behalf of a German corporation on personal-jurisdiction grounds.
Represented a global manufacturer in the mediation of a $10 million insurance claim against a global carrier, negotiating a favorable settlement and payment terms.
20+ Years Litigating High-Stakes Disputes
Hundreds of Civil and Criminal Actions, from Filing Through Appeal
Billions of Dollars in Negotiated Settlements
Chambers-Ranked Litigator
Admitted in New York and Hong Kong