Cadwalader Trial Leaders Resign After Hogan Conflicts Review

Cadwalader litigation practice leaders Nicholas Gravante and Phil Iovieno resigned on Friday due to conflicts of interest with clients of the firm’s partner in a planned merger, Hogan Lovells.

Litigators Sean O’Shea, Michael Petrella and Matthew Karlan are also leaving, along with corporate partner Nick Ramphal, according to internal emails reviewed by Bloomberg Law. Friday was also their last day, and there’s no word on the six lawyers’ next moves. They didn’t answer comment requests.

Cadwalader said in a statement that the firm expected a few conflicts of interest “would be inevitable in the process of creating a global firm with more than 3,100 lawyers.” It added that “we are disappointed that our colleagues will not be a part of the combined firm, but the interests of the clients come first.” Hogan Lovells declined to comment.

The departures solidify Cadwalader’s shift in focus to complex finance work from litigation as a result of the coming merger. The firms in December announced their plan to create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a giant that will generate enough revenue to likely place it among the five largest US firms.

Gravante and some colleagues understood they wouldn’t be able to stay at the firm after a Hogan Lovells merger because of conflicts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss the departures. Gravante and Iovieno have represented meat buyers in price fixing litigation against meat industry companies that include Hogan clients, the person said.

Gravante, Iovieno

Gravante, formerly the co-managing partner of litigation firm Boies Schiller Flexner, and Iovieno, who also came from Boies, joined the firm in 2020 to “establish Cadwalader as a destination litigation practice,” according to the firm’s statement at the time of their arrivals.

Gravante is known for representing white collar clients on both sides of the political spectrum. He advocated for President Joe Biden’s son and brother in a lawsuit brought by a former business partner alleging the two perpetrated complex financial fraud. He also represented Allen Weisselberg, who oversaw the finances at Trump’s companies for decades and who was sentenced in 2023 to five months in jail for tax fraud.

Gravante also served as a point person last year in explaining how Cadwalader planned to fulfill an agreement in made with President Donald Trump to supply $100 million in free legal services in order to avoid a punitive executive order. The plan he shared, which included helping the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office fight criminal appeals, was seemingly later abandoned.

Iovieno, who is also co-head of the firm’s antitrust litigation group, counts several top companies among his clients. They include Costco Wholesale Corp., Kraft Heinz Co., and Target Corp., according to Cadwalader’s website.

O’Shea and Petrella, who also joined the firm from Boies Schiller, expanded Cadwalader’s trial representation of financial institutions, Cadwalader said at the time of their hires in 2019.

Karlan has been with Cadwalader since 2018 after joining the firm from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, according to his LinkedIn profile. Ramphal joined Cadwalader in 2019 after working at three other big firms.

Earlier Exits

Two of Cadwalader’s top litigators, Danielle Tully and Jonathan Watkins, have already left the firm, Bloomberg Law reported last month. Tully has joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe while Watkins went to Proskauer Rose.

Hogan CEO Miguel Zaldivar cited Cadwalader’s “top of the market finance capabilities” and growing in New York as his motivation for pursuing the Cadwalader merger. In an interview with the American Lawyer, Zaldivar said partners who Hogan identified as key to the merger, like those who control the bank relationships and sources of revenue, are staying.

Cadwalader said in its Friday statement that the firm when merged with Hogan Lovells “will leverage a strong transatlantic platform anchored in the most important financial centers around the world.”

The statement added that the firm “will include a global market leading disputes practice to act for banks, funds, and corporates in board level disputes, known for strength in white collar, commercial and securities disputes, and in sophisticated financial services litigation.”