Nicholas P. Crowell

NICK CROWELL concentrates on complex securities and commercial litigation matters. He has represented many of the nation’s preeminent financial institutions, insurance companies, and investment advisers in federal and state courts, before regulatory bodies, and in arbitrations. He has experience with matters encompassing securities and commodities trading, derivative products, insurance and reinsurance disputes, distressed assets, real estate, bankruptcy, accounting fraud, and antitrust violations. Nick also regularly represents clients in investigations, including by the SEC, FINRA, the Department of Justice, and state regulators.

“The complete package. He has a real understanding of the law, terrific practical judgment, and is also highly client responsive.”
Chambers USA 2025

Nick’s advocacy has earned him recognition in Chambers USA for New York Litigation: Securities (2025), Legal 500 United States in the area of Securities Litigation: Defense (2025), and in Benchmark Litigation as a “Litigation Star” for Securities Litigation and Commercial Litigation (2026).

“Nick is a skilled strategist, talented negotiator, and an excellent all around trial lawyer.”
Chambers USA 2025

Nick’s recent wins include disputes over prime brokerage agreements, merger transactions, governance, and partnership agreements, with actions in Delaware, Georgia, New York, Puerto Rico, and before FINRA and AAA arbitration panels. He has substantial experience with broker-dealers and investment funds, including handling internal and regulatory investigations, and he regularly counsels private equity and venture capital firms, hedge funds, and mutual funds on a variety of disputes and risk management issues.

Representative engagements include:

• Obtained dismissal of headline-grabbing lawsuit brought by Grammy-winning artist Drake against Universal Music Group (UMG) in the Southern District of New York, arising out of UMG’s distribution of the Kendrick Lamar recording “Not Like Us.”
• Purple Innovation, Inc. and an independent special committee of its board of directors in expedited litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery brought by the company’s largest stockholder in connection with takeover defenses and a proxy context.
• Fujifilm Holdings Corp. in successfully appealing preliminary injunction orders previously entered in connection with a merger transaction with Xerox Corp., obtaining dismissal of all claims brought by Xerox’s largest shareholders, and prosecuting a lawsuit against Xerox seeking more than US$1 billion for breaching its obligations in connection with that transaction.
• Santander Securities and its affiliates in obtaining the dismissal (and precedential First Circuit affirmance) of a putative class action brought in the District of Puerto Rico and arising from the Puerto Rican fiscal crisis.
• Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. (now known as J.P. Morgan Securities LLC) in a trial victory involving a US$200 million-plus claim brought by the Chapter 7 trustee of failed mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp.
• BlackRock, Inc., Magnetar Capital, Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Co., PCA Life Assurance Co. Ltd., and Unicredit Bank AG in adversary actions in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceeding concerning the termination of credit default swap transactions.
• The independent directors of Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. in a class action alleging breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with a going-private transaction.
• Standard Chartered Bank in In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation involving putative class action conspiracy claims under the Sherman Act and the Commodity Exchange Act.
• Norinchukin Bank in In re LIBOR-based Financial Instruments Litig., multidistrict litigation involving direct and putative class claims under the Sherman Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, and RICO. 
• AIG Inc. and its affiliates in a multimillion-dollar bad faith litigation brought against it by the nation’s second largest waste management company.
• Magna International Inc. and its officers in a putative class action alleging violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 
• Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Bank in a putative class action asserting claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 in connection with the public filings of AIG Inc. 
• Wells Fargo Bank in an adversary proceeding concerning total return swap agreements. 
• Merrill Lynch & Co. in multiple FINRA arbitrations in connection with options and derivative products. 
• Citigroup and its affiliates in a “mass action” alleging securities fraud and common law claims in connection with the plaintiffs’ investments in a technology company. 
• Numerous broker-dealers and individuals in connection with FINRA and Chicago Board Options Exchange arbitration proceedings, including more than 10 successful defenses at trial. 
• AIG Inc. and its affiliates in dozens of court cases and arbitration proceedings arising from disputes concerning loss-sensitive insurance contracts. 

Nick has an active pro bono practice. He has been recognized for his victory for Children’s Magical Garden (CMG), a decades-old community garden in lower Manhattan, in its ongoing legal battle to obtain title to its property. In 2014, CMG filed an adverse possession claim against developers that had filed plans to build a six-story, multimillion-dollar residential project on the site. In 2015, the New York Supreme Court (a trial court of general jurisdiction) denied motions to dismiss the lawsuit. In 2017, the Appellate Division issued a 23-page opinion affirming that decision.