Daniel F. Kolb

Senior Counsel

daniel.kolb@davispolk.com

Dan Kolb has for over 45 years been a practicing litigator and trial lawyer in both federal and state courts throughout the United States. He has also frequently acted as an advocate and neutral in significant mediations and arbitrations.

Mr. Kolb has successfully handled a long list of high profile matters with significant client exposure. His clients have typically been major accounting firms, financial and industrial corporations, law firms, and a range of public interest organizations. His experience includes extended trials in courts throughout the United States and significant government investigations. Many of the matters have included litigation in European or Canadian courts.

Claims and charges have included alleged securities and banking law violations, financial, accounting and tax fraud, professional malpractice as to both accountants and lawyers, breach of contract, mass torts and antitrust violations. Also included have been significant Constitutional issues, probate issues as to one the largest estates in the United States, significant issues as to jurisdiction and venue, related bankruptcy law issues, and attempts to pierce the corporate veil to recover on claims ranging into the billions of dollars.

Among others, the matters have required significant focus on the following industries and businesses: Accounting and Auditing, Banking, Underwriting, Investment, Brokerage, Tobacco, Telecommunications, Aluminum Cable, Dairy Products, Rendering, Retail Sales Practices, Auto Parts, Nursing Homes, Franchising, Nuclear Energy, Discount Chain Stores, Newspapers, Mining, Food Safety, Marketing of Pharmaceutical Products, and Toys.

Mr. Kolb has been appointed to serve as a Mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and New York's Supreme Court Commercial Division and Appellate Division for the First Department. He is also a member of the AAA Commercial and Accounting Panels of Arbitrators and CPR’s Panel of Distinguished Neutrals.

He has served as a mediator or arbitrator in disputes involving the sale of distressed debt, valuation of investment partnership interests, commercial contract interpretation, identity theft, sale and ownership of commercial real estate in the United States and abroad, estate matters, employment discrimination, payment of professional advisory fees, nursing homes and sales of technology.

Since he became senior counsel in July of 2011, Mr. Kolb has devoted himself primarily to service as a mediator and arbitrator and to handling impact cases for those in need.

Contact

New York
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
P: 212-450-4394
F: 212-701-5394

Related Practices

Litigation

Bar Admissions

State of New York
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
U.S. District Court, E.D. New York
U.S. District Court, S.D. New York

Education

A.B., College of the Holy Cross, 1963
J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 1965
- cum laude
- Order of the Coif
- Member, Michigan Law Review

Work Highlights

Designated Arbitrator by two Fortune 100 corporations to resolve disputes between them arising out of a multi-billion dollar cross-border joint venture agreement
Arbitrator in AAA arbitration brought by major corporations involving complex commercial contract claims as to distressed debts ranging into the hundreds of millions of dollars
Representation of U.S. Fortune 100 corporation in the arbitration of a contract dispute with a major European corporation
Representation of major professional firms in numerous mediations arising out of the failures of major financial institutions, including successively the three largest bank failures in the history of the United States, several Fortune 500 corporations and the largest insurance company in North America
Representation of law firms in mediations arising out of malpractice claims in excess of $100 million dollars
Representation of New York’s Legal Aid Society in its pursuit of funding for effective defense of indigents in criminal matters
Along with The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, representation of plaintiffs in mass actions brought on behalf of individuals scammed when they sought mortgage modifications
Significant involvement in Election Protection efforts coordinated by The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Successful submission of an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Caperton v. Massey Corporation on behalf of major corporations and business organizations seeking a decision that the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution required recusal by a justice of the Supreme Court of West Virginia who had received exceptionally large campaign contributions from a party
Successful submission of an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Haywood v. Drown on behalf of law school professors seeking reversal of a New York Court of Appeals decision affirming the State’s grant of immunity to corrections officers from civil rights-based damage claims
Further examples of representation of those in need include serving as counsel for a class of preschool children in the City of New York seeking disability benefits provided by law, successful representation of a death row inmate and representation of indigent defendants in appeals after murder and robbery convictions

Recognition

Listed as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Legal Media Group’s Benchmark Litigation
Recipient of the Gould Award for Outstanding Advocacy, presented by the Office of the Appellate Defender
Recipient of The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Whitney North Seymour Award for Exemplary Support for Those in Need
Several times recipient of the Legal Aid Society’s Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service

Of Note

Current Memberships

Member, American College of Trial Lawyers; former National Chair of the College’s Access to Justice Committee
Member, AAA’s Advisory Committee on Accounting Matters
Member, ADR Section, American Bar Association
Member, Dispute Resolution Section, New York State Bar Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee
Member, Audit Committee, New York City Bar; former Vice President and Chair of the Executive, Judiciary and Litigation Committees
Member of the Board, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; former National Co-Chair; Chair of the Development Committee
Vice Chair, Board of Directors, The Legal Aid Society; Chair of the Development Committee
Chair, Audit Committee, Brennan Center for Justice

Professional History

Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP – 1965 to the present

Senior Counsel, 2011-present
Partner, 1973-2011
Practice Coordinator, Litigation Practice, 1989-1998
Head of the Washington Office, 1980-1988
Associate, 1965-1972

News

Daniel Kolb Receives Pro Bono Service Award

Benchmark Litigation Recognizes 21 Davis Polk Lawyers and Names the Firm Among the Best in the Nation in Three Practices

Injunction Obtained in Loan Modification Scam Lawsuit Against Homesafe America, Inc.

View More > >

Publications

Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts
Chapter on Professional Liability | Section of Litigation, American Bar Association

Last Name
Title ALL TITLES Associate Consultant Counsel Counsel - Registered Foreign Lawyer General Counsel Litigation Counsel Partner Registered Foreign Lawyer Senior Counsel Special Counsel for Pro Bono
Offices ALL OFFICES Beijing Hong Kong London Madrid Menlo Park New York Paris São Paulo Tokyo Washington DC
Practices ALL PRACTICES Antitrust and Competition -- Litigation Antitrust and Competition -- Transactional Asia Practice Bankruptcy Litigation Board of Directors Litigation and Strategic Counseling Capital Markets China Practice Commercial Dispute and Contract Compliance and Advisory Compliance and Advisory Consumer Class Action Consumer Products Corporate Corporate Governance Credit Derivatives and Structured Products Energy/Utilities Environmental Europe Practice Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Financial Crisis and Subprime Lending Financial Institutions Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Health Care Health Care/Life Sciences Hedge Funds India Practice Insolvency and Restructuring Intellectual Property Intellectual Property Litigation Internal Investigations International International and Domestic Arbitration International Litigation and Enforcement Investment Funds Litigation and Investigations Investment Management Japan Practice Leveraged Finance Litigation M&A-Related Litigation Mass Torts and Product Liability Media and Telecom Mergers and Acquisitions Private Equity Professional Liability Project Finance Real Estate Securities Class Actions Securities Enforcement Spain and Latin America Practice Tax Tax Controversy Technology Trading and Markets Trusts and Estates White Collar Criminal Defense
Law School ALL SCHOOLS American University, Washington College of Law Beijing Foreign Studies University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Bond University Faculty of Law Bordeaux University Boston University School of Law BPP Law School Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School Brooklyn Law School Campus Law Centre, Delhi University Chicago-Kent College of Law - I.I.T. China University of Political Science and Law College of Law, London Columbia Law School Columbia University Cornell Law School Duke University School of Law Ecole de formation des Barreaux (EFB-Paris) Emory University School of Law Fordham University School of Law Frankfurt University, Institute for Law and Finance Fudan University Law School George Washington University George Washington University Law School Georgetown University Law Center Ghent University Faculty of Law Harvard Law School Hofstra University School of Law Howard University School of Law Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Faculty of Law King's College London School of Law King's College, University of London London School of Economics London School of Economics and Political Science London School of Economics Department of Law McGill University, Faculty of Law Murdoch University School of Law National Taiwan University (NTU Law) National University of Singapore Faculty of Law New York University New York University School of Law Northwestern University School of Law Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Peking University Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo Faculdade Paulista de Direito Queensland University of Technology Renmin University of China Renmin University of China Law School Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Die Juristiche Fakultät Rutgers University Rutgers University School of Law - Newark Seton Hall University School of Law Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade Shanghai University of Finance and Economics St. John's University School of Law Stanford Law School Stockholm University School of Law SUNY Buffalo Tel Aviv University The College of Law, Chester, England Transnational Law and Business University Trinity College, Dublin School of Law Trinity College, University of Cambridge Tsinghua University UC Berkeley - Boalt Hall School of Law UC Hastings College of the Law UCLA School of Law Universidad Carlos III de Madrid School of Social Sciences and Law Universidad Católica Argentina (Buenos Aires), Facultad de Derecho Universidad de Buenos Aires Universidad de Deusto Universität Zu Köln Université de Strasbourg - Faculté de Droit, Sciences Economiques et Gestion Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 - Faculté de droit Université Nancy II - Faculté de Droit, Sciences Economiques et Gestion Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas Université Paris-Sud XI University at Buffalo Law School - SUNY University of Bristol School of Law University of British Columbia Faculty of Law University of Cambridge University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law University of Cape Town University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law University of Chicago University of Chicago Law School University of Connecticut School of Law University of Delhi Faculty of Law University of East Anglia University of Edinburgh School of Law University of Genoa (Italy) University of Georgia School of Law University of Glasgow School of Law University of Groningen University of Hong Kong University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law University of International Business & Economics University of Iowa College of Law University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law University of London University of Melbourne University of Melbourne Law School University of Miami School of Law University of Michigan University of Michigan Law School University of Minnesota Law School University of Munich, Faculty of Law University of Murcia University of Naples Federico II School of Law University of Natal, School of Law University of New South Wales University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law University of Notre Dame Law School University of Otago, Faculty of Law University of Oxford University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Law School University of Pittsburgh School of Law University of Queensland University of Queensland, TC Beirne School of Law University of San Diego School of Law University of South Carolina School of Law University of Stellenbosch, Faculty of Law University of Sydney Law School University of Tel Aviv, The Buchmann Faculty of Law University of Texas at Austin University of Texas School of Law University of the West of England, Bristol University of the Witwatersrand, Oliver Schreiner School of Law University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law University of Toronto, Faculty of Law University of Toronto, Faculty of Law/Joseph L. Rotman School of Management University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law University of Virginia University of Virginia School of Law University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration University of Washington School of Law (Seattle) University of Western Australia University of Western Australia, Faculty of Law University of Western Ontario University of Wisconsin Law School Univerzita Karlova v Praze Vanderbilt University Law School Wake Forest University School of Law Washington & Lee University School of Law Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis School of Law Wayne State University Law School Yale Law School Yale University
Clerkship ALL CLERKSHIPS Amon, Carol Bagley Aspen, Marvin E. Bates, John D. Bea, Carlos T. Becker, Edward R. Beezer, Robert Berman, Richard Bernstein, Stuart M. Binnie, Ian Block, Frederic Boggs, Danny J. Bork, Robert H. Boyle, Terrence Breitel, Charles D. Breyer, Stephen G. Brody, Morton A. Brown, Janice Rogers Buchwald, Naomi Reice Byrne, Jr., William Matthew Cabranes, José A. Caffrey, Andrew A. Callinan, Ian Cardamone, Richard J. Casey, Richard Conway Castel, P. Kevin Cedarbaum, Miriam Goldman Chagares, Michael A. Chandler III, William B. Chin, Denny Clark, Thomas A. Clay, Eric L. Coffey, John L. Conboy, Kenneth Conner, William C. Cote, Denise Cummings, Walter J. Cyr, Conrad K. Daniels, George B. Davis, Legrome Drain, Robert D. Duffy, Kevin Thomas Edelstein, David N. Feinberg, Wilfred Fisher, Raymond C. Flannery, Thomas A. Fogel, Jeremy Fuentes, Julio Gagliardi, Lee P Garaufis, Nicholas G. Garibaldi, Marie L. Garth, Leonard I. Ginsburg, Douglas H. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader Glasscock III, Sam Glasser, I. Leo Gleeson, John Goettel, Gerard L. Goodwin, Alfred T. Gorenstein, Gabriel W. Greenberg, Morton I. Gregory, Roger L. Griesa, Thomas P. Grunis, Asher Haight, Jr., Charles S. Hall, John E. Hays, Paul R. Henry, Robert H. Herndon, David R. Hornby, D. Brock Hurley, Denis R. Iacobucci, Frank Imber, Annabelle Clinton Irenas, Joseph E. Irizarry, Dora L. Jacobs, Dennis Jiuyong, Shi Judges' Chambers, Senior Kaplan, Lewis A. Karas, Kenneth M. Katzmann, Robert A. Kaufman, Chief Judge, Irving R. Kearse, Amalya L. Keeley, Irene M. Kelly, Jr., Paul J. Kennedy Jr., Henry H. Kennedy, Anthony M. Kennedy, Cornelia G. King, Carolyn Koeltl, John G. Korman, Edward R. Kravitch, Phyllis A. Laster, Travis Leaphart, W. William Lechner, Jr., Alfred J. Legg, Benson E. Leisure, Peter K. Leon, Richard J. Letts, J. Spencer Leval, Pierre N. Lew, Ronald S.W. Lumbard, J. Edward Luttig, J. Michael Marshall, Thurgood Martin, Jr., John S. Matthes, M.C. Mauskopf, Roslynn R. McLaughlin, Joseph M. McLaughlin, Mary A. McMahon, Colleen Motz, J. Frederick Mukasey, Michael B. Murphy, Diana E. Nelson, David A. Newman, Jon O. Nickerson, Eugene Oakes, James L. O'Scannlian, Diarmuid F. Otis, Louise Owen, Richard Parker, Barrington D. Patterson, Jr., Robert Pauley III, William H. Pitman, Henry B. Platt, Thomas C. Pogue, Donald C. Pollak, Louis H. Pooler, Rosemary S. Pratt, George C. Preska, Loretta A. Raggi, Reena Rehnquist, William H. Robinson, Stephen C. Roth, Jane R. Sand, Leonard B. Saunders, Mary E. Scalia, Antonin Scheindlin, Shira A. Seitz, Collins J. Sifton, Charles P. Silberman, Laurence Silberman, Laurence H. Skotnikov, Leonid Smith, D. Brooks Smith, Jerry E. Snow, G. Murray Sprizzo, John E. Stahl, Norman H. Stotler, Alicemarie H. Straub, Chester J. Sullivan, Richard J. Swain, Laura Taylor Sweet, Robert W. Sykes, Diane Tauro, Joseph L. Thomas, Clarence Thompson, David Tjoflat, Gerald B. Townes, Sandra L. Trager, David G. Van Dusen, Francis L. Wallace, J. Clifford Walls, William H. Webster, William H. Weinfeld, Edward Weinstein, Jack B. Wellford, Harry W. Wesley, Richard C. White, Byron R. Widener, Jr., H.E. Wilbur, Richard C. Williams, Richard L. Williams, Stephen F. Winter, Ralph K. Wisdom, John Minor Wollman, Roger Wright, Caleb M. Young, William G. ALL COURTS British Columbia Court of Appeals Delaware Court of Chancery District of Columbia Court of Appeals High Court of Australia International Court of Justice Montana Supreme Court New Jersey Supreme Court New York Court of Appeals Quebec Court of Appeals Supreme Court of Arkansas Supreme Court of Canada Supreme Court of Israel U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit U.S. Court of International Trade U.S. District Court, Arizona U.S. District Court, C.D. California U.S. District Court, Delaware U.S. District Court, District of Columbia U.S. District Court, E.D. New York U.S. District Court, E.D. North Carolina U.S. District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania U.S. District Court, E.D. Virginia U.S. District Court, Maine U.S. District Court, Maryland U.S. District Court, Massachusetts U.S. District Court, N.D. California U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois U.S. District Court, N.D. West Virginia U.S. District Court, New Jersey U.S. District Court, S.D. Illinois U.S. District Court, S.D. New York U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Tax Court