Yehudah Buchweitz is a partner in Weil’s Litigation Department, where his practice focuses on a wide spectrum of complex commercial litigation and arbitration. His practice includes contract, fraud, fraudulent conveyance, and fiduciary duty actions, antitrust class action litigation, securities class action litigation, bankruptcy litigation, First Amendment litigation, copyright litigation, and “business divorce” matters. He has represented clients across the industry spectrum and through every phase of litigation.
Mr. Buchweitz’s notable recent matters have included representing:
- a major publisher in a high profile series of private antitrust class actions and government investigations into the pricing of e-books;
- a private university in its successful withdrawal from a Division I athletic conference;
- a U.S. energy company in a bankruptcy court trial of a multi-billion dollar fraudulent conveyance action;
- a global pharmaceutical company in several contract disputes in multiple arbitral fora arising out of drug development collaboration, licensing and acquisition agreements.
In addition, several of the victories Mr. Buchweitz has been involved in have resulted in written decisions, including:
- City of Omaha v. CBS Corp., 679 F.3d 64 (2d. Cir. 2012), aff’g 2011 WL 2119734 (S.D.N.Y. May 24, 2011) (affirming dismissal of federal securities fraud putative class action complaint concerning $14 billion impairment)
- Sanofi-Aventis v. Warner Chilcott, 50 122 T 00148 11 (I.C.D.R. July 14, 2011) (arbitral award in favor of Sanofi in multi-hundred million dollar contract dispute)
- Dan Rather v. CBS Corp., 68 A.D.3d 49 (1st Dept. 2009) (dismissal on appeal of a breach of contract, fiduciary duties and fraud complaint brought by the newscaster)
- Don King v. ESPN, Inc., 40 So.3d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (affirming summary judgment in defamation and false light case brought by the boxing promoter)
- Kendall v. Employees Retirement Plan of Avon Products, 561 F.3d 112 (2d Cir. 2009), aff’g 2007 WL 2728430 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 14, 2007) (affirming dismissal of ERISA putative class action complaint)
- People v. Cyrus, 48 A.D.3d 150 (1st Dept. 2007) (reversing first degree robbery conviction)
- Madison Square Garden, L.P. v. Metropolitan Transp. Authority, 19 A.D.3d 284 (1st Dept. 2005) (rejecting Article 78 Petition)
- Modi Enterprises v. ESPN, Inc., 12 A.D.3d 1203 (1st Dept. 2004) (dismissing appeal following complete defense verdict at trial in $231 million breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, and misappropriation case)
As a result of his wide-ranging work for clients in the media, sports, and entertainment industry, Law360 recently recognized Mr. Buchweitz as one of just four “Rising Stars” nationwide in this space.
Mr. Buchweitz also has an active pro bono practice. He currently serves as co-lead counsel to the East End Eruv Association in a high profile federal civil rights case brought against several Long Island municipalities regarding the establishment of an eruv. Earlier, among other matters, he obtained a full defense jury verdict as lead trial counsel in a case on behalf of the New York City Law Department; served as lead counsel in an appeal where the court vacated the conviction of a client on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel; and was co-lead counsel on submission of an amicus brief on First Amendment issues with the United States Supreme Court.
Outside of his active practice, Mr. Buchweitz publishes and speaks on a wide variety of legal issues, including attachment and execution issues in New York State, electronic discovery, minimizing litigation risks in contract drafting, and managing pre-litigation disputes. Additionally, for the past several years he has co-authored “Chapter 6: Marketing to Potential Corporate Clients” in Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel (Thomson Reuters/Association of Corporate Counsel).
Mr. Buchweitz graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 2002, where he was a staff member of the Fordham Law Review and Fordham Moot Court. Mr. Buchweitz graduated from Brandeis University in 1999, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in Politics, History and Legal Studies, and received high honors for his Senior Thesis, “The Creation of the First Majority-Minority Congressional District in New York.”
Mr. Buchweitz joined the firm as a summer associate in 2001. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Buchweitz worked as a legal intern for Justice Ira Gammerman of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, New York County, and for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Buchweitz served as a Legislative Intern for United States Representatives Peter King of New York and Martin Meehan of Massachusetts.
Mr. Buchweitz is admitted to practice in the state courts of New York and Connecticut, as well as in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of New York.