James Ancone

Jim Ancone is a partner in the Litigation department of Sadis & Goldberg LLP. He regularly represents private fund managers, including hedge funds and venture capital funds, as well as directors and officers, in disputes involving issues such as business divorce, breach of fiduciary duty, inspection of books and records, and valuation. He also represents real estate investment companies and defends clients in S.E.C. investigations. Jim appears before state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery. He also handles AAA, JAMS, and FINRA arbitrations.

Before joining Sadis & Goldberg, Jim was counsel in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice at Mayer Brown. He began his career as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman and U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman, both in the Southern District of New York. He writes on developments in financial services litigation, including recent pieces on S.E.C. disgorgement and Delaware’s safe harbors for controller transactions.

Experience

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION

• Obtained $25 million as part of team representing hedge fund alleging fraudulent valuation of mortgage-backed securities. Forced favorable settlements by defeating motions to dismiss and developing evidence exposing defendants to significant liability.
• Multi-million dollar settlement of breach of contract claims on behalf of manufacturer against multinational consumer goods company in AAA arbitration.
• Won dismissal of shareholder derivative claims alleging millions in damages on behalf of directors and executives of offshore insurance company in New York Commercial Division.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of broker-dealer declaring it was not liable on claims filed by investors. Obtained anti-suit injunction that prohibited investors from litigating their claims against broker-dealer in Uruguay.  Bank Leumi USA v. Ehrlich, 98 F.Supp.3d 637 (S.D.N.Y.)
• Won dismissal of claims related to $47 million commercial property on behalf of real estate investment company.

 
GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS

• Part of team that successfully defended investor services group against S.E.C. investigation related to alleged improper allocations of personal expenses to a private equity fund. After a multi-year investigation, S.E.C. issued termination letter ending the investigation without any charges.
• Obtained S.E.C. termination letter as part of team on behalf of investment fund manager related to S.E.C. investigation focused on manager’s valuation of litigation finance investments.