Shaimaa M. Hussein
Partner, Litigation
Shaimaa M. Hussein is a partner in the Litigation and Arbitration Departments and serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s M&A Litigation Practice Group. Her practice focuses primarily on the representation of multinational corporations and financial institutions in complex commercial litigation and enforcement actions, including government investigations, litigation arising out of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate control transactions, and class action litigation. Shaimaa also regularly represents clients in international and domestic arbitration including proceedings before the ICC and AAA. Her clients span public and private companies in various sectors including finance, media, technology, and consumer retail. In a recent ICC arbitration where Shaimaa served as lead counsel on behalf of a multinational technology company, the client described her as a brilliant trial attorney who “delivered one of the best opening statements [they] have ever seen.”
Shaimaa also acted as an in-house advisor to Goldman Sachs during a secondment to the company’s Anti-Bribery Group.
Shaimaa has been recognized for her contributions to the legal practice, including being named a 2022 Notable Diverse Leader in Law by Crain’s New York, and her inclusion on the 40 and Under List in the 2023 edition of Benchmark Litigation. She has also received awards for her pro bono work. In 2023, she was honored by Legal Services NYC for her outstanding pro bono service and commitment to justice, and also received the Legal Aid Society’s pro bono award for her class action representation of 300,000 New York City residents deprived of heat and hot water. Previously, in 2018, Shaimaa was honored as a recipient of both the Federal Bar Council’s Thurgood Marshall Award and the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of her ”extraordinary commitment to pro bono service.” In 2017, Shaimaa was recognized by The American Lawyer as “Litigator of the Week” for her role in reuniting a 12-year-old Iranian child with her mother in the U.S. to proceed with vision-saving surgery, after the child had previously been denied entry as a result of President Trump’s Executive Order barring entry by Iranian nationals.
Experience
Shaimaa also participates in the following pro bono programs:
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Representation of asylum seekers from around the world in affirmative asylum applications and removal proceedings in Immigration Court, including successful asylum grants for clients from Ecuador, the Republic of Congo, and The Gambia
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Representation of indigent individuals facing federal criminal charges through the Criminal Justice Act Panel, including successful withdrawal of federal indictment for client accused of participating in elaborate mortgage fraud operation
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Representation of women in contested divorce proceedings through inMotion, a non-profit organization that provides pro bono legal services for indigent women and children
- Panelist, “Short and Distort: Understanding and Responding to Short-Seller Reports,” Webinar, June 20, 2024
Shaimaa has advised on the following significant matters:
- Advising Special Committee of Xerox Board in $542 Million Share Repurchase from Icahn
- Lead counsel in ICC Arbitration on behalf multinational technology company in dispute valued at $2B relating to worldwide licensing rights
- Representation of activist investor Sarissa Capital in a settlement with Alkermes, pursuant to which Sarissa Capital was granted the right to designate a director to the company's Board of Directors
- Litigation counsel to Third Point in connection with a number of corporate transactions, proxy contests, and legal actions including Third Point’s appointment of directors to the Board of Bath & Body Works, settlement with Sotheby’s for three board seats and waiver of its poison pill, and a successful proxy contest against Yahoo! that culminated in resignation of Scott Thompson, Yahoo!’s former Chief Executive Officer, and attainment of a 5.8% stake in the company
- Representation of Xerox Corporation in state and federal court actions arising from proposed transaction with Fuji valued at over $1 billion
- Advised The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. in both shareholder litigation and antitrust clearance in connection with its $1.8 billion acquisition of competitor Jos. A. Bank
- Representation of Rural/Metro Corporation, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, in confirmation of plan of reorganization less than five months after its Chapter 11 filing
- Advised Rockwood Holdings, Inc. on $1.98 Billion sale of its advanced international ceramics business, CeramTec
- Representation of former J.P. Morgan employee in connection with government investigations by DOJ, CFTC, EC, FSA and CCB into alleged manipulation of LIBOR by panel banks
- In re Artio Global Securities Litigation (represent Aberdeen Asset Management in settlement of class action litigation challenging $175 million acquisition of Artio Global) (New York, Del)
Credentials
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2010 SUNY at Stony Brook, B.A., 2007
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 2012 United States Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit