Robert F. Wise, Jr.

Partner

robert.wise@davispolk.com

Mr. Wise is a member of Davis Polk’s Litigation Department. He has concentrated in commercial and complex litigation, including securities, antitrust, contracts, and business tort cases. His clients in these matters include investment and commercial banks, professional firms, officers and directors, and industrial companies. His practice has involved both trial and appellate advocacy. He has tried jury and non-jury cases in federal and state courts in New York, California, Texas and other states. Mr. Wise has an active securities litigation and SEC enforcement practice on behalf of both issuers and financial institutions.

Contact

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New York
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
P: 212-450-4512
F: 212-701-5512

Related Practices

Bar Admissions

State of New York
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court, E.D. New York
U.S. District Court, S.D. New York

Education

B.A., University of Virginia, 1969
- with high distinction
J.D., Yale Law School, 1972

Work Highlights

Successfully defended a major underwriter in the four-month MiniScribe securities fraud trial before a Texas state court jury that resulted in verdicts against other defendants totaling hundreds of millions of dollars
More recently has represented a series of issuers in federal securities law Rule 10b-5 class actions
In a non-securities law trial, he won a defense verdict on contract and fraud claims against a major Japanese bank after a two-week federal jury trial in New York
In an industrial products liability case, Mr. Wise participated in the trial of the commercial liability claims between the utility operator and the supplier of the nuclear reactor arising out of the Three Mile Island accident
In his antitrust practice, he represented Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and DLJ in antitrust and securities law investigations, litigation, and settlement negotiations arising out of trading practices in the Nasdaq market
Is currently representing several investment banks in several federal class litigations challenging various aspects of the initial public offering market and the securities lending business

Recognition

Mr. Wise is listed as a leading lawyer in several legal industry publications, including:

Legal Media Group’s Benchmark Litigation; Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Litigation Lawyers; and Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Competition & Antitrust Lawyers
The Legal 500 U.S.
Law Business Research’s Who’s Who Legal–International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal–International Who’s Who of Commercial Litigators
incisivemedia’s (formerly American Lawyer Media) Litigation 2008 – Best Lawyers in Commercial Litigation

Of Note

Mr. Wise has participated in a number of panels and other programs sponsored by bar associations and is co-author of a practice book on the 1993 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure published by the New York State Bar Association.

Current Memberships

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Member, American Bar Association
Member, New York State Bar Association

Past Memberships

Co-chair, Joint Committee on Local Rules, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Trustee, Practising Law Institute
Member, Executive Committee, Section on Commercial and Federal Litigation, New York State Bar Association
Chairman, Federal Procedure Committee, Section on Commercial and Federal Litigation, New York State Bar Association
Chair, Financial Markets Subcommittee of the Insurance Committee of the Antitrust Section, American Bar Association
Member, Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction and the Juvenile Justice Committee, New York City Bar

Professional History

Partner, 1979-present
Associate, 1972-1979

News

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

Client Publications

Supreme Court Limits False Statement Liability Under Rule 10b-5 To Those Who Actually Make Misstatements
Client Newsflash

Supreme Court Determines that Class Certification Does Not Require Proof of Loss Causation in Securities Fraud Cases
Client Newsflash

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Important Securities Case
Client Newsflash

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Practices ALL PRACTICES Antitrust 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 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 Albany Law School American University, Washington College of Law Australian National University Australian National University 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. 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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
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