Kent A. Yalowitz | People | Arnold & Porter

Kent Yalowitz is a trial and appellate lawyer. He is widely known for his successful representation of clients in high-profile, high-stakes cases. On the plaintiff side, he has won more than a billion dollars for clients in judgments and settlements. And on the defense side he has successfully defended clients with even larger amounts at stake.

Kent's recent cases include defending the Republic of Venezuela against billions of dollars of claims; vindicating World Heavyweight Champion boxer Alexander Povetkin after doping accusations; and winning a $655.5 million jury verdict in favor of ten American families to hold the Palestinian Authority and the PLO accountable for their role in the loss of life and limb in horrific terror attacks. The PLO verdict was the largest personal injury jury verdict ever in the Southern District of New York.

He has deep experience in business disputes, constitutional law, bankruptcy and restructuring, securities fraud, product liability, antitrust, tax controversies, labor and employment disputes, and corporate governance matters. In addition to trial and appellate work, he has assisted clients with internal and governmental investigations and matters involving Congress.

Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk for Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Focus Areas

Experience

Sokolow v. PLO – Led a team that won a $655.5 million treble damages jury verdict after a seven-week trial under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Wilder v. World of Boxing – Led trial team representing a world champion boxer in the SDNY and defended appeal successfully in the Second Circuit.
American Savings Bank v. United States – Led trial team that won an $83 million verdict after a 15-day trial in the US Court of Federal Claims.
The Adam Corporation v. FDIC – Led team that won a "baseball-style" arbitration over hundreds of millions of dollars in tax benefits.

In re Northwest Airlines – Secured a 'no strike' injunction in the SDNY and defended injunction in the Second Circuit, allowing airline to restructure, saving tens of thousands of jobs.
López Torres v. New York State Board of Elections – Counsel to Hon. Margarita López Torres in landmark constitutional challenge to New York's judicial selection process. Four-week preliminary injunction hearing included testimony from more than a dozen sitting and former judges.

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – Leading the defense of the Republic in cases in the S.D.N.Y., D. Del., D.D.C., and S.D. Fla. and associated appellate proceedings over billions of dollars in expropriation and sovereign debt claims.
Winstar-related cases – Led teams that won judgments exceeding $500 million. Those cases arose out of the government's abrogation of regulatory and tax promises made to induce participation in the 1988 savings and loan bailout.
Many corporations in employment and labor matters, often involving expedited or preliminary-injunction proceedings. These have included Northwest Airlines in obtaining and preserving (through the Second Circuit) an injunction against a strike by its flight attendants, CBS Radio in its lawsuit against radio personality Howard Stern (CBS Radio v. Stern), MTV Networks in a preliminary injunction hearing resulting in the issuance of an injunction in favor of MTV (MTV Networks v. Fox Family Networks), and Credit Suisse First Boston in successfully opposing injunctions in several cases involving the acquisition of groups of employees (BT Alex Brown v. CSFB; Prudential Securities, Inc. v. CSFB).
New York State Restaurant Association in its First Amendment challenge to a New York City regulation requiring restaurants to post calories on their menu-boards. Argued the case in the Second Circuit.
Issuers, advisors, and traders in securities and commodities fraud cases, SEC, NASD and NYSE investigations, and internal investigations concerning accounting policies, securities pricing, insider trading, and mergers and acquisitions.
Debtors and creditors in litigated bankruptcy and fraudulent conveyance matters, including Merrill Lynch in the Madoff cases, and Northwest Airlines in its successful effort to enjoin a strike by its flight attendants.

State of Israel in various cases including In re Holocaust Victim Asset Litigation, in which Israel has appeared in connection with the distribution of a $1.2 billion settlement.
Lawyers and accountants accused of professional malpractice, including cases in which he has secured complete dismissals for Ernst & Young, Arthur Andersen, and others.
State of Delaware in securing a several hundred million dollar recovery in the fifty-state dispute over escheat of unclaimed securities distributions, a case that originated in the Supreme Court (Delaware v. New York), involved Congressional hearings, and culminated in a 50-state settlement.

» Led the Trial Team for Sokolow v. PLO, a Verdict Highly Ranked by Various Publications

Perspectives

June 25, 2024

Resolution of Sport-Related Disputes: On the Road to Paris-2024

Speaker, New York State Bar Association

Recognition

New York Super Lawyers

General Litigation, Business Litigation (2013–2022)

Litigation Counsel of America

Credentials

Education

J.D., Columbia Law School, 1987
B.A., Yale College, 1984

Admissions

New York
Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Tax Court

Clerkships

U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, The Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri

Activities

Serves on the Board of Success Academy Charter Schools, operator of 47 of the nation's highest performing public schools serving 20,000 scholars in grades K-12