Vanessa C. Richardson

Vanessa Richardson is a partner in Willkie’s Litigation Department and maintains a comprehensive practice spanning the full range of complex financial litigation issues, including M&A-related claims, securities class actions, shareholder derivative claims, domestic arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). 

Vanessa has represented public and private corporations, boards of directors, individual directors and officers, and underwriting syndicates in federal and state courts across the country, including the Delaware Court of Chancery and the New York State Commercial Division.  She regularly advises senior executives and boards of directors on corporate governance matters, particularly those involving mergers and acquisitions, and has represented investors and corporations in connection with activist matters and proxy contests.  She also serves as counsel to independent audit and special committees in the context of confidential internal corporate investigations.  

Vanessa frequently collaborates with members of the Firm’s Private Equity and M&A practice groups in representing both PE firms and their portfolio companies, as well as with members of the Firm’s Asset Management and Registered Funds practice groups in representing investment companies and advisors.  Her writing has been featured in legal publications including the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog.

Vanessa was recently recognized with a Litigator of the Week “Shout Out” by The Am Law Litigation Daily for representing the underwriting syndicate of Farfetch Ltd.’s 2018 IPO, led by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan, in securing a unanimous Second Circuit affirmance of the dismissal of a shareholder class action filed in the wake of a decline of almost 45% in Farfetch’s stock price and a market cap drop of nearly $2 billion. 

A proud first-generation lawyer, Vanessa is an active member of Willkie’s First Generation Professionals Affinity Group. She also maintains a meaningful pro bono practice, with a particular focus on reproductive justice issues and other impact litigation.