C. William Phillips

C. William Phillips is chair of the Securities, Derivatives & Transactional Litigation group.  Mr. Phillips' practice focuses on complex financial litigation, including M&A, securities, corporate control, commercial contract disputes, trade secrets, and bankruptcy litigation.  He frequently represents media companies, including Sony BMG, the NFL Network, and Overseas Media.  Mr. Phillips has tried cases before judges and juries across the country.  He has had substantial experience with complex corporate matters before the Delaware Chancery Court.

Representative Matters

• Lead trial counsel for New Media Holding and its sister-company, New Media Distribution, both majority owned by Vladimir Gusinski, in a multi-national corporate control dispute over the ownership of the TVi Channel, a Ukrainian television network.
• Lead trial lawyer in Tennis Channel v. Comcast, representing Tennis Channel in an eight-day trial on claims that Comcast discriminates against Tennis Channel and in favor of its own sports channels in its carriage decisions.
• Represented SandRidge Energy, Inc. in nine putative shareholder class action lawsuits seeking to enjoin SandRidge’s $1.6 billion acquisition of Arena Resources, Inc.
• Represented Sony BMG against the bands The Allman Brothers and Cheap Trick, which brought purported class actions on behalf of artists seeking to impose a comprehensive change to the method that the royalties are paid for all digital downloads.
• Represented NFL in its dispute with Comcast Cable Communications over the terms of carriage of The NFL Network.
• Represented Freddie Mac in defense against twenty securities and derivative class actions that were consolidated into a single multi-billion dollar lawsuit in New York federal court.
• Represented JPMorgan Chase in its defense against claims of securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with Bank One's role as co-placement agent and indenture trustee for $2 billion in asset-backed securities.
• Representation of the former CEO of the Mills Corporation in a securities class action arising from Mills’ restatement of income.
• Represented Overseas Media, a Russian language television network, in a contractual and intellectual property dispute with EchoStar.

Honors and Rankings

• New York Super Lawyer (2006-2011)
• Lawdragon, 100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation (2008)

Publications and Speeches

• "Supreme Court Decision in Janus Litigation," Covington E-Alert (6/14/2011), Co-Author
• "Supreme Court Decision in Matrixx Litigation," Covington E-Alert (3/23/2011), Co-Author
• "Second Circuit Limits Federal Securities Fraud Liability of Investment Banks, Accountants, and Lawyers," Covington E-Alert (4/29/2010), Co-Author