Dan Brody

Dan Brody has spent the last 15 years litigating complex cases for many of the largest companies in the United States. And he spent a decade before that closing deals for the same kinds of clients. He has deep expertise in matters for global energy companies, structured finance, and antitrust litigation.

Clients place a value premium on his broad perspective as a seasoned litigator who is also an experienced deal lawyer, especially in matters involving environmental claims, complex financial structures, and financial fraud allegations.

Dan earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2001. He is a current Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the ABA's Climate Change Committee, and has been listed in Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America for the last four years (2023–2026).

Representative Matters

ConocoPhillips

• National counsel for ConocoPhillips in dozens of climate change lawsuits across the country brought by state and local governments against the energy industry.
• Counsel for ConocoPhillips in multiple environmental lawsuits brought by various parishes in Louisiana who allege that contamination and erosion of the Louisiana coastline was caused by legacy ConocoPhillips (and other energy companies’) oil and gas operations.
• Counsel for ConocoPhillips in tort action brought by multiple Chinese fishermen plaintiffs for alleged harm from an oil release from the Penglai 19-3 offshore oil field operated by ConocoPhillips China in the Bohai Bay. Obtained dismissal of all claims.
• Advised ConocoPhillips regarding a production sharing contract and development agreement between ConocoPhillips’s predecessor and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Microsoft

• Advised Microsoft regarding transfer pricing issues underlying a major IRS audit and summons-enforcement action.
• Advised Microsoft regarding its Search Alliance with Yahoo!. The parties successfully restructured the Alliance at its five-year anniversary.
• Prevailed in an emergency arbitration seeking a preliminary injunction ordering Yahoo! to transition to Microsoft’s Bing Ads in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Defeated Yahoo!’s petition to vacate award in federal court.

Hewlett-Packard

• Trial counsel for Hewlett-Packard in an antitrust MDL (N.D. Cal.) regarding a price-fixing conspiracy engaged in by Hewlett-Packard’s suppliers of Optical Disk Drive products.
• Trial counsel for Hewlett-Packard in an antitrust MDL (N.D. Cal.) regarding a price-fixing conspiracy engaged in by Hewlett-Packard’s suppliers of TFT LCD products.

DuPont
National counsel for DuPont in PFAS litigation across multiple jurisdictions on claims that its 2015 spin-off of The Chemours Company was a fraudulent transfer. Handling those claims in the aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) multidistrict litigation in the District of South Carolina as well as in PFAS-related cases in California, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.

Duke Energy
Trial counsel for Duke Energy in a $1.2 billion fraudulent conveyance case brought against it by a litigation trust created out of the bankruptcy of Duke’s former wholly owned real estate development subsidiary, Crescent Resources. The case settled following a partial summary judgment in Duke’s favor dismissing most of the trust’s federal fraudulent conveyance claims.

MassMutual
Represented MassMutual in its actions under the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act, against underwriters Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, arising from their sales of residential mortgage-backed securities to MassMutual in 2005–2007.

Arconic
Advised Arconic Inc. regarding U.S. litigation arising out of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. A group of affected plaintiffs and their estates brought suit in Pennsylvania, alleging that cladding panels manufactured by Arconic’s French subsidiary contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. U.S. lawsuit dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds.

FGIC Ad Hoc Group of Investors
Advised ad hoc group of investors, comprising hedge funds and insurance companies, in nine Countrywide residential mortgage-backed securities trusts insured by Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC) in facilitating a $950 million settlement among Bank of America, FGIC, and BNY Mellon as Trustee for the nine trusts.

Johnson Controls
Counsel for Johnson Controls, Inc. in its dispute with Saft Groupe S.A. related to the parties’ joint venture Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC, which developed and manufactured lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. Successfully opposed Saft’s motion for a temporary restraining order brought in S.D.N.Y. and successfully arbitrated the scope of the parties’ rights to make public statements about the formation of their joint venture. Resolved case through favorable settlement for Johnson Controls under which it acquired Saft’s interest in the joint venture.

Corteva
National counsel for Corteva in PFAS litigation across multiple jurisdictions on claims that the 2015 spin-off of The Chemours Company was a fraudulent transfer. Handling those claims in the aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) multidistrict litigation in the District of South Carolina as well as in PFAS-related cases in California, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.

Frank McCourt
Represented Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in connection with his legal malpractice claims against Bingham McCutchen LLP arising out of Bingham’s negligent preparation of Mr. McCourt’s postnuptial agreement (which allowed his former wife to claim ownership of 50% of the Dodgers franchise, which sold for $2.15 billion). Obtained dismissal of Bingham’s declaratory judgment action against Mr. McCourt.

Matters Before the IRS

• Represented a major electric utility before the IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products) on tax issues related to the utility’s planned multibillion-dollar asset securitization. Representation resulted in a formal change to IRS policy that allowed the securitization to be completed.
• Represented a major petrochemical firm before the IRS (including both IRS Exam and IRS Appeals) on issues related to the tax treatment of Debt Exchangeable for Common Stock.
• Represented a major electric utility before IRS Appeals on issues related to the valuation and hedging of power sale agreements, including issues related to the marking-to-market of futures contracts.

Halliburton

• Represented Halliburton Co. in its spin-off and IPO of KBR, Inc.
• Advised Halliburton Co. on its issuance of $1.2 billion of contingent convertible debt.
• Advised Halliburton Co. on issues related to a Chapter 11 petition filed by several of its subsidiaries.

CenterPoint Energy

• Advised CenterPoint Energy on its $3.65 billion sale of Texas Genco Holdings to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., The Blackstone Group, Hellman & Friedman, and Texas Pacific Group.
• Advised CenterPoint Energy on its refunding and remarketing of several tranches of municipal bonds.

Debt and Derivatives Transactions

• Advised JP Morgan on its underwriting of contingent interest convertible debt.
• Advised a major petrochemical firm on structuring fixed-to-floating interest rate hedges.
• Advised various clients on “integrated call spread” convertible debt issuances.
• Advised a large media conglomerate on structuring various investments in derivative products, including several interest rate swap agreements with non-U.S. commercial banks.
• Advised an offshore hedge fund on structuring alternatives for inbound U.S. investment.
• Represented a petrochemical services company in its redemption and reissuance of preferred stock and issuance of first and second lien debt.
• Advised a major electric utility on its refinancing of a $118 million credit facility.
• Represented a large residential real estate developer in its issuance of trust preferred securities.

Other Matters

• Trial counsel for Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in contract dispute with Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (“ATK”) concerning components that ATK manufactures for the center fuselage of Airbus’s A350 jetliner.
• Trial counsel for defendants International Game Technology (IGT) and its board of directors in shareholder litigation related to IGT’s merger with GTECH S.p.A.
• Represented IDT Corporation in two related patent infringement actions involving systems for activating pre-paid gift cards and phone cards.
• Provided Vonage Holdings with advice and counseling on securities litigation issues.
• Represented the Crow Tribe of Indians (Apsáalooke Nation) in connection with its strategic alliance with the Australian-American Energy Company for the development of a $7 billion coal-to-liquids project on the Crow Reservation.
• Represented Platte River Ventures I, L.P. in connection with the $1.1 billion IPO of Intrepid Potash, Inc.
• Represented Caltius Partners in connection with its mezzanine lending and related equity investments in various companies.
• Represented a major electric utility in its bid to acquire a large natural gas pipeline network.
• Represented Real Goods Solar, Inc. in connection with its $55 million IPO.