Phoebe A. Wilkinson

Partner

Practice Description

Phoebe Wilkinson’s practice focuses on complex domestic and international disputes. She has a particular focus on products liability matters, especially on behalf of pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer appliance manufacturing companies. Ms. Wilkinson's practice also focuses on developing, implementing and counseling clients regarding their anti-corruption compliance programs. She also has significant experience before international arbitration tribunals operating under the auspices of all the major arbitration institutions.

Ms. Wilkinson is ranked in numerous industry publications. Most recently, she was selected as one of the top 250 women litigators in the United States in Benchmark Litigation's inaugural edition of the "Top 250 Women in Litigation."

Representative Matters

• Counsel to global consumer appliance manufacturers in putative class actions seeking recovery under consumer protection statutes and related theories.
• Counsel to medical device manufacturer in numerous product liability litigations filed throughout New York State.
• Counsel to multiple global Fortune 100 and 500, as well as privately held companies, regarding their compliance with global anti-corruption laws as well as their on-going development of internal programs tailored to meet their particular industry's benchmark standard.
• Counsel to international medical device company regarding dispute over exclusive distributor agreement, intellectual property issues and related matters.
• Counsel to global pharmaceutical company regarding disputes arising out of a development and license agreements.
• National counsel to Brazilian mining and metals company in litigation concerning materials imported into the United States.
• Obtained $24 million jury verdict in 2009 after three-week trial in New York Supreme Court on behalf of a Swiss bank alleging that it was sold fraudulent promissory notes issued by a Parmalat subsidiary and sold by a large Italian bank.
• Represents asset-based lender in contract dispute with Italian manufacturer (Diesel) in the United States, and in related disputes abroad. Obtained complete defense verdict at trial, which was unanimously affirmed on appeal.
• Represented Dubai-based entity in an international arbitration involving the development of a port.
• Represented a natural gas company in an international arbitration against an international supplier.
• Represents pharmaceutical manufacturer in more than 2,100 high profile product liability litigations filed in state and federal courts throughout the United States.
• Represents several international manufacturers of consumer products on U.S. regulatory, risk management and product liability matters.
• Represented a major international cosmetics company in its products liability litigation. 
• Counsel on several matters involving insurance brokerage disputes, including litigations concerning broker malpractice, breach of restrictive covenants, unfair competition, and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Litigations and arbitrations involving environmental indemnification disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions. 
• Advises on and litigates complex contract matters involving aircraft leasing agreements for a nationally known air cargo transportation services company, as well as a major international airline. 
• Handled several litigations and mediations involving patent and intellectual property contract matters for a major international company in the motion picture industry, and a leading company in the bar code scanning industry. 
• Litigated numerous securities arbitrations before the NASD. 
• Practice in the field of bankruptcy litigation has included a number of debtor-creditor issues including automatic stay relief, preference and fraudulent conveyance actions, and planned confirmation issues. 
• Litigated in the area of complex high profile probate litigations, including a battle in the largest estate ever probated in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York.

Honors

• Best Lawyers in America 2013: Recognized for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
• Benchmark: Litigation: Named as one of the "Top 250 Women in Litigation."
• Benchmark: Litigation: Recognized nationally as a leader in Product Liability Litigation and cited as a "New York: Local Litigation Star."
• Cited as plaintiff's counsel in a $14.6 million verdict, which was ranked 16th in The New York Law Journal's "Top 25 New York Verdicts in 2009."
• Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business: Cited for products liability.
• The Legal 500 US: Recognized for product liability and mass tort defense: consumer products (including tobacco).

Activities and Affiliations

• Board Service:  
  • Brown University Sports Foundation; 
  • New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc. (NYLPI); 
  • New York City Cyclones (a youth ice hockey organization); and 
  • The American Friends of St. Paul’s Girls’ School in London, England. 
• Member: New York State Bar Association; DRI; ABA; and Federal Bar Council American Inn of Court. 
• Chair of Chadbourne’s Pro Bono Committee. 
• For several years served as Chadbourne’s solicitor for the Legal Aid Society Associates’ Campaign, setting records for contributions in each of the years she ran Chadbourne’s internal campaign. Ms. Wilkinson served as the Chair of the 1999-2000 Campaign on a city-wide basis.

Publications

Speeches and Events