Dewey & LeBoeuf

Suman Chakraborty

Associate

Suman Chakraborty practices in the area of international commercial dispute resolution, with an emphasis in arbitration, alternative dispute resolution and disputes involving the financial services industry. He has served as counsel in numerous commercial arbitrations and in state and federal courts in the United States. He has also overseen cross-border and bilingual discovery in both arbitration and court proceedings.

Mr. Chakraborty's practice encompasses a diverse range of matters including advising on litigation involving reorganization and insolvency, government investigations, claims of fraud and misrepresentation, sub-prime lending, credit default swaps and other derivatives, internal investigations, and a wide range of contract claims, including breach of contract and a rescission. Mr. Chakraborty has particular experience advising clients in the reinsurance and insurance field, and in other financial services industries.

Prior to being resident in the London office, Mr. Chakraborty was resident in the Firm's Washington, D.C. and New York offices.

In 2006, Mr. Chakraborty was on secondment to Nishimura & Asahi (formerly Nishimura & Partners) in Tokyo, Japan, where he served as Foreign Counsel. During his time in Tokyo, he represented Japanese and foreign clients in various M&A transactions, commercial disputes and contract negotiations. His work in Japan included advising foreign companies on arbitration in Japan, representing Japanese clients in cross-border disputes, negotiating and drafting share purchase agreements, advising Japanese clients on intellectual property licensing and non-disclosure agreements with foreign licensees, and advising foreign clients on strategic investments in Japan.

In addition to his commercial work, Mr. Chakraborty has been an active participant in Dewey & LeBoeuf's pro bono program, including acting as first-chair in a trial in the United States Immigration Court that resulted in the granting of political asylum to a Beninese national, and acting as lead counsel in a claim of political asylum by a national of a Caribbean country. Mr. Chakraborty has also advised non-profit organizations on voter rights laws in the United States and drafted amicus briefs in various appellate proceedings.

Representative Matters

Represented a Fortune 100 company in a three-part arbitration proceeding regarding the termination of business relationships
Defended a Fortune 100 company against federal court challenges to successful arbitration proceedings
Advised a South African company on corporate reorganization and insolvency law in the United States
Represented Bermudian statutory liquidators in a malpractice suit against the American and Bermudian auditors of an insolvent captive
Represented a Japanese company in parallel state court and ad hoc arbitration proceedings alleging fraud, breach of contract and misrepresentation by a managing general agent
Represented a Canadian life sciences company in a breach of contract action by its investment banking advisor
Counseled the trustees of an insolvent Japanese company on U.S. litigation and insolvency matters
Advised a Fortune 100 company on a breach of contract claim against its Japanese joint venture partners
Represented a Fortune 150 company in a AAA arbitration involving the decommissioning of a nuclear facility
Advised a hedge fund regarding claims of misrepresentation against the issuer of sub-prime mortgage back securities
Conducted internal investigations for an energy company into violations of federal and state commercial bribery laws
Represented an energy company in post-trial and appellate proceedings involving claims of securities fraud and violations of Rule 10(b)(5).

Publications

Co-author, "Reinsurance and Islamic Law: Arbitrating Disputes in the Retakaful World," Mealey's Litigation Report: Reinsurance (August 21, 2009).
Co-author, "Exploring Latest Developments in the US and What They Hold for the UK and European Markets," Daily & Lately (April 25, 2008).
"A Brief Review of Reinsurance Trends 2004" (with L. Schiffer and E. Perez), Andrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Report, Vol. 15, Issue 22 (March 18, 2005).

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, 2001, J.D., Recipient, International Trial Lawyers Advocacy Award for Excellence in Clinical Work; Harrison Institute for Public Law; Staff Editor, The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law
Princeton University, 1997, A.B., cum laude, Harold Willis Dodds '14 Award