Biography
Drew is also known for responsive, thoughtful, and strategic client service. BTI Consulting has named him to its BTI Client Service All-Star list and Elite MVP lists for delivering “incomparable levels of client service excellence.” Law 360 has named Drew as a Class Action MVP, and Forbes selected him for its inaugural “America’s Top 200 Lawyers,” a list of attorneys with “stellar track records in their fields” who are “most respected by peers and clients.”
Drew has served in law firm leadership for most of his career and is currently a member of Weil’s Management Committee.
Trials, Enforcement, and Global Legal Strategy*
Drew is first call for big-ticket, brand threatening lawsuits and government investigations that demand a coordinated, global legal strategy. He has handled several sensitive high-level engagements for Boards and Special Committees involving issues including C-suite HR issues, director compensation, oversight claims, and related party transactions. Drew has successfully led the defense for clients facing mass tort and public nuisance litigation in parallel with state Attorney General and local government enforcement actions. Over the course of his career, he has successfully litigated more than 100 class actions. Drew also has represented several clients in investigations, suits, and trials (both by qui tam relators and the U.S. Department of Justice) under the False Claims Act. He also is sought after to bring significant business disputes on the plaintiff’s side. Across industries, Drew is the versatile advocate companies turn to — not only to try their most difficult cases, but to anticipate and mitigate business and litigation in an integrated strategy.
Appellate Practice and Strategic Counseling
Drew has briefed and argued appeals raising significant federal and constitutional questions before the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and several state supreme courts. He successfully argued BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell, a case that established clear rules for general personal jurisdiction. Drew was also counsel of record in Leidos, Inc. v. Indiana Public Retirement System, which involved the duty to disclose under the federal securities laws. He has argued cases addressing preemption, implied rights of action, statutory interpretation, the First Amendment, arbitration, bankruptcy, attorney-client privilege, and administrative law.
Sports Law
Drew also regularly handles high-stakes and highly publicized matters in the sports industry. His work there has earned recognition from Chambers USA for Sports Law and selection by The National Law Journal as one of 30 “Sports Trailblazers” in the United States. He has represented the National Football League Players Association as well as several active and retired football players in high-profile trial and appeals, including the “lock out” litigation between the NFL and NFLPA, and then-New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady in his defense and appeal of the “Deflategate” suspension. Drew also represented the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association in a joint investigation with the NWSL into league-wide player abuse and mistreatment. He currently represents leading tennis players in a federal antitrust suit against the major governing bodies of tennis. Sports Business Journal has recognized Drew as a “Power Player” in the sports industry and as one of the “brightest minds in the business.”
Other Experience
Drew serves on the Legal Policy Advisory Board of the Washington Legal Foundation, a public interest organization dedicated to advocating for economic freedom. He has served as a Lecturer on Law and Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School as well as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center for ten years.
Drew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Pamela Ann Rymer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and graduated cum laude from Harvard College.
* includes matters handled prior to joining Weil