Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Year Joined Organization: 1988

Languages

• Italian

Lawyer Overview

partner in the Litigation Department, Maria T. Vullo has over 20 years of trial and appellate experience that includes a broad range of complex litigation matters across the country. Her professional experience includes the following: Over 25 trials, arbitrations, mediations and evidentiary hearings. Appellate arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Ninth (including en banc) and Tenth Circuits, and the New York State Appellate Division, First and Second Departments. Significant experience in civil, criminal and regulatory matters, and in subject areas that include constitutional law, intellectual property, health care, securities, bankruptcy, tax, and environmental matters. Client representations include and have included Genentech, Inc., Emmis Communications, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Onex Corporation, Rhodia S.A., Cooper Union, Garden Way, Inc., Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation, Cantor Fitzgerald, Carnival Corporation, Famous Music Corporation, Weis Markets Inc., Lazare Kaplan International, RAG American Coal Company, Northville Industries Corp., and Harlan Weinberg, M.D. (Christopher Reeve’s physician). Reported decisions include Rockwell Int’l Corp. v. United States, 549 U.S. 457 (2007); In re Rhodia S.A. Sec. Litig., 531 F. Supp. 2d 527 (S.D.N.Y. 2007); Finance & Trading Ltd. v. Rhodia S.A., 28 A.D. 3d 706 (N.Y. App. Div., 1st Dep’t 2006); Dastgheib v. Genentech, Inc., 457 F. Supp. 2d 536 (E.D. Pa. 2006); In re Navigator Gas Transport PLC, 358 B.R. 80 (B. Ct., S.D.N.Y. 2006); RZS Holdings AVV v. PDVSA Petroleos S.A., 293 F. Supp. 2d 645 (E.D. Va. 2003); In re NAHC, Inc. Sec. Litig., 306 F. 3d 1314 (3d Cir. 2002); Garden Way Inc. v. Home Depot Inc., 94 F. Supp. 2d 276 (N.D.N.Y. 2000); United States v. Ackert, 169 F.3d 136 (2d Cir. 1999); In re Special Grand Jury 89-2, 143 F.3d 565 (10th Cir. 1998); BAII Banking Corp. v. Northville Industries Corp., 232 A.D. 2d 349 (N.Y. App. Div., 2d Dep’t 1996); Cullman Ventures, Inc. v. Columbian Art Works, Inc., 717 F. Supp. 96 (S.D.N.Y. 1989). Significant pro bono matters include being lead counsel to the plaintiffs in the “Nuremberg Files” website case, and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in an Alien Tort Claims Act suit against Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, in which a New York federal jury awarded plaintiffs $745 million in damages for human rights abuses. Reported decisions in pro bono matters include Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 290 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc), cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 2637 (2003); Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 422 F.3d 949 (9th Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1111 (2006); Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11468 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 28, 2006); Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. Bray (In re Bray), 256 B.R. 708 (B.Ct., D. Md. 2000); Doe v. Karadzic, 192 F.R.D. 133 (S.D.N.Y. 2000); Doe v. Karadzic, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1073 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 4, 1997). Author of Amicus Curiae Briefs in Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007); Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, 126 S. Ct. 1264 (2006); Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, 546 U.S. 320 (2006); Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, 537 U.S. 393 (2003); United States v. Bird, 401 F.3d 633 (5th Cir. 2005). Firm administrative responsibilities have included appointments as Chair, Public Matters Committee, 2002-2004; Chair, Summer Associates Committee, 1999-2001; Member of Partnership Committee, 2003-2005; Presently Member of Finance Committee, Public Matters Committee and Counsel Committee; active participant in women’s mentoring, diversity initiatives, recruitment and retention of associates, and training programs for associates and staff attorneys. CLE Lecturer on a variety of subjects, including Trial Skills, Using Demonstrative Trial Exhibits, Strategy and Tactics of Depositions, Deposition Skills, Privilege, Overview of Litigation Documents, Client Relations and Expectations, Interviewing Witnesses, Federal Discovery Rules, and New York State Practice. Ms. Vullo was senior editor of the Moot Court Board and a recipient of several American Jurisprudence Awards and awards for excellence in oral advocacy. Ms. Vullo joined Paul, Weiss in 1988 after serving as a law clerk for the Honorable John A. MacKenzie of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia. She is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Ms. Vullo was elected to the partnership effective January 1, 1996.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation

West Practice Categories

Litigation & Appeals

Bar Admissions

• New York, 1988
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
• U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York
• U.S. District Court District of Colorado
• U.S. Tax Court

Professional Associations and Memberships

• New York County Bar Association (Member)
• American Bar Association (Member)
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Member)
• First Department Judicial Screening Committee, 2007 - Present (Member)
• New York State Bar Association, Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction, 2006 - Present (Member)
• NARAL Pro-Choice America Board of Directors, 2007 - Present (Chair)
• NARAL Pro-Choice America Board of Directors, 2006 - 2007 (Vice Chair)
• NARAL Pro-Choice America Board of Directors, 2005 - Present (Board Member)
• Cy Vance for Manhattan District Attorney, 2008 - Present (Member, Vetting Committee)
• Lawyers Committee for Andrew Cuomo, 2005 - 2006 (Founding Member)
• Lawyers for Kerry/Edwards (Member)
• Federal Bar Council, 2003 - 2004 (Member, Public Service Committee)
• Sanctuary for Families, 1996 - 1998 (Member, Board of Directors)

Honors and Awards

• Named “New York Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers Magazine, 2006 - 2008
• Named in The National Law Journal’s “Defense Hot List” for successful trial representation of Genentech, Inc.
• Recommended by PLC Which Lawyer? for “litigating some of the most challenging and complex cases in front of courts and arbitration panels.”
• AV (highest) peer review ratings in Martindale-Hubbell
• Recommended by Global Counsel’s 2003-2004 Handbook on Dispute Resolution, for both trial and appellate matters
• Named “40 Under 40 Most Successful Litigators: Promising Young Advocates,” The National Law Journal
• Recommended by Practical Law Company’s Global Counsel 3000, for litigation and arbitration
• Named one of America’s Top 10 Women Litigators, The National Law Journal
• 2001 Finalist for “Trial Lawyer of the Year Award,” Public Justice Foundation, for Kadic v. Karadzic
• Nominated for the 2000 “Trial Lawyer of the Year Award,” Public Justice Foundation, for Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists
• Named “Litigator of the Month,” The National Law Journal
• “Lawyer Hero,” Stanford Law School
• Named one of the “Women on the Verge of 2000,” Ms. Magazine, 1999 - 2000
• Named one of “The 25 Smartest Women in America,” Mirabella
• Named one of New York’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars” by Crain’s New York Business

Classes and Seminars

• Panelist, “What’s at Stake - the Supreme Court", National Women’s Leadership Issues Conference, Women’s Leadership Forum, Women for Obama, Chicago, Illinois, October 10, 2008 - October 11, 2008
• Speaker, Roe v. Wade luncheon, NARAL Pro-Choice America, New York, New York
• Panelist, Women’s Campaign Fund, “The Changing Frontlines of the Courts"
• Jurist in mock U.S. Supreme Court, “Justine West v. New York,” Office of the Appellate Defender
• Panelist, NYU School of Law, “Public Interest While in Private Practice"
• Panelist, Pro Bono in Private Practice, Association of the Bar for the City of New York
• Keynote Speaker, NARAL Pro-Choice America’s “Power for Choice” Luncheon, Chicago, Illinois
• Moot Court Judge, Lawyering Program, NYU School of Law
• Guest Speaker, Yale University “Master’s Tea"
• Guest Speaker, Boalt School of Law, University of California, Berkeley
• Guest Speaker, NARAL’s 2002 New York City Justice Blackmun Society Briefing
• Panelist, “Hate Speech on the Internet: What Can and Should Be Done?", 2000 Legal Conference of the Anti-Defamation League, New York Regional Board, and New York Lawyers’ Division
• Moot Court Participant, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law

Past Employment Positions

• Hon. John A. Mackenzie, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Judicial Law Clerk
• House Subcommittee on Employment and Housing, Special Counsel

Education

• New York University School of Law, New York, New York, 1987
  J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
• College of Mount Saint Vincent, Riverdale, New York, 1984
  B.A.
  Honors: summa cum laude

Published Works

• “Screening Panel Members Announced", New York Law Journal, March 9, 2007
• “Legal Experts Tapped for Judicial Screening Committees", State News, March 8, 2007
• “Docket Watch: Upcoming Arguments at the Supreme Court", Legal Times, December 4, 2006
• “High Court Vets False Claims Act,” by Marcia Coyle, The National Law Journal, November 27, 2006
• “Jury Clears Genentech in Suit Asking for $1B,” by Shannon Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer, November 13, 2006
• “Attorney General Candidates Attract Lawyer Contributions,” by Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal, November 6, 2006
• “Big Suits: Planned Parenthood", The American Lawyer, November, 2005
• “City’s Lawyers Storm Florida in Ballot Blitz", The New York Observer, November 1, 2004
• “Pro Bono Highlight", The American Lawyer, January, 2002
• “Defending the Doctors", The American Lawyer, July, 1999
• “Personal: Notes on Lawyers", New York Law Journal, December 22, 1995
• “Supreme Court Rejects Abortion Poster Case", Associated Press, Sun Herald and Philadelphia Daily News, May 1, 2006
• “Deals and Suits: Planned Parenthood et al v. American Coalition of Life Activists et al.", Corporate Counsel, Vol. 05, Issue 12, December, 2005
• “An Interesting First Test’ for Bill; Senate to Resume Talk over Bankruptcy Payment Legislation Stalled by Schumer Abortion Amendment", Newsday, February 10, 2005
• “New Version of Nuremberg Files Yanked Off Web", Women’s eNews, December 8, 2003
• “Ramsey Clark’s Prosecution Complex", Legal Affairs, November 12, 2003
• “Administration View of Anti-Abortion Posters Sought", Washington Times, December 17, 2002
• “Terror in the Name of the Lord”, Ms. Magazine, January 1, 2002
• “In Some Cases, Justice Carries No Price Tag", The National Law Journal, February 19, 2001
• “Litigating The Reach of RICO, Can a Statute Aimed at the Mafia Apply to Foes of Abortion?", The National Law Journal, October 23, 2000
• “A Victory Over Hate", Newsday, August 11, 2000
• “Company Says Doral Name is a Trademark But Its Origins Still In Doubt", Miami Herald, July 18, 1999
• “Court: Attorney-Client Privilege Doesn’t Protect Talk with Third Party", The Legal Intelligencer, March 4, 1999
• Continuing Recent Trend, Court Dismisses Securities Fraud Claims Brought Against Foreign Issuer on Subject Matter Jurisdiction Grounds, October 8, 2007
• Prosecuting Genocide, Dec. 3, 2001

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New York, NY 10019-6064

Phones

(212) 373-3346

Faxes

(212) 492-0346

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Websites

http://www.paulweiss.com