Robins Kaplan LLP® announced today that decorated trial lawyer David Graff has joined the firm’s New York office. Graff, just 35 years old, has won widespread acclaim for his groundbreaking work on behalf of investors in foreign entities that have “gone dark.”

“David is one of the brightest young stars in the New York trial bar,” said Ronald J. Schutz, managing partner of Robins Kaplan’s New York office. “He will be a cornerstone of our commercial litigation practice in New York. His passion, inventiveness, and trial skills will serve the firm and its clients well for years to come.”

In a series of pioneering cases, Graff has used novel theories to secure judicial remedies for hedge funds and other shareholders in non-reporting companies located in China, Hong Kong, and other foreign territories. Graff’s innovative work has allowed his clients, who would otherwise have no recourse, to value and recover their investments. His expanding caseload in this area is one aspect of a diverse trial practice that has touched on shareholder rights litigation, business torts, and bankruptcy adversary proceedings. He also serves as national counsel to a servicer of student loan debt with $1 billion under management, and earlier this year earned a victory over Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. following a 46-day trial. In one current matter, he is representing the founder of American Apparel in a malpractice action against famed Hollywood lawyer Patty Glaser.

“I have the greatest respect for Robins Kaplan and its broad-based group of trial lawyers,” said Graff, who spent 100 days of the 2017 calendar year representing clients at trial. “It’s a perfect fit between my New York-based commercial litigation practice and Robins Kaplan’s well-established, national platform.”

Graff comes to Robins Kaplan from Anderson Kill, where he was co-chair of the firm’s corporate and commercial litigation practice, and also founded its Foreign Investment Recovery and Regulated Products groups.

“The combination of youth, trial experience, and creativity that David brings to his matters is unlike anything I’ve seen,” said Craig Weiner, chair of Robins Kaplan’s New York commercial and financial litigation group. “His talent only adds to our bench in New York and beyond.”

Graff has been recognized as a rising star by Benchmark Litigation, Law360, New York Law Journal, and Super Lawyers. In 2014, when Graff was 32 years old, Law360 named him one of 10 outstanding securities lawyers under the age of 40.

About Robins Kaplan LLP®

Robins Kaplan is among the nation’s premier trial law firms, with more than 220 lawyers located in Bismarck, N.D.; Boston; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Naples, Fla; New York; Silicon Valley; and Sioux Falls, S.D. The firm litigates, mediates, and arbitrates high-stakes, complex disputes, repeatedly earning national recognition. Firm clients include—as both plaintiffs and defendants—numerous Fortune 500 corporations, emerging markets companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.