Faith E. Gay is Co-Chair of the Firm's National Trial Practice and Co-Chair of the New York White Collar Practice. She has been repeatedly recognized as one of the leading trial, appellate and white collar lawyers in the United States by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Counsel and Super Lawyers, among others. Prior to entering private practice, she was Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit and the Civil Rights Division while serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. She was twice awarded the Director's Award for Special Achievement in Trial Litigation by the Attorney General of the United States, and she has been named one of the Top Female Trial Lawyers in America by Law360.
Ms. Gay has broad courtroom experience with more than 30 trials and 35 appellate arguments to her credit. Her practice is divided between complex civil litigation and corporate governance/white collar matters. Ms. Gay's long roster of high profile clients whom she has served as national or lead trial counsel include Coca-Cola, Colgate, ETrade, Home Depot, Morgan Stanley, Motorola, Novartis, Nuance, Pfizer, Sandoz, Schwab, Travelport, and Wyeth. Ms. Gay's civil docket - in which she has a near perfect record as lead trial counsel - focuses on securities litigation, complex contractual and financing disputes, products liability and consumer class actions.
In the white collar arena, she has represented corporations and individuals in investigations by the SEC, FINRA, DOJ, FDA, IRS, EPA, DOD and numerous attorneys general. Ms. Gay's SEC/FINRA experience includes OFAC and FCPA compliance and investigations as well as reporting and accounting issues. She has led internal investigations at the request of corporations, boards of directors, and special committees. No corporation or individual that Ms. Gay has represented while under investigation has ever been indicted.
Ms. Gay has also devoted significant time and energy to public interest litigation. By way of example, she successfully defended a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage before the Florida Supreme Court. She also represented New York Governor David Patterson in a victory the New York Times called "stunning" in upholding the appointment of Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor. She recently obtained the complete reversal of her client Marissa Alexander’s conviction and mandatory 20 year sentence for allegedly firing a warning shot at her sexually abusive spouse. More generally, she has litigated numerous criminal, immigration and housing court matters on a pro bono basis during her 25+ year career.