Lauren E. Aguiar

Over the course of her nearly three-decade career, Ms. Aguiar has handled many of the most significant civil litigation matters. Clients turn to her for her exceptional knowledge base on an array of litigation-related issues and she provides high-level counsel to clients in all types of venues and jurisdictions. She has worked on matters in a variety of industries, including consumer goods, luxury retail, energy, pharmaceutical, media and entertainment, food and beverage, technology and aviation.

Ms. Aguiar has received numerous industry awards during her career and has earned recognition as a standout in her field. For many years, she has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in Litigation: General Commercial (NY), where she is praised by clients as “on her game at all times,” “decisive, thorough and always prepared,” and someone who handles “cross-border matters and conflicting demands with ease.” She also was previously shortlisted by Chambers for its Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award.

Ms. Aguiar is recognized as a Legal 500 Leading Lawyer for General Commercial Disputes, as well as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Global Litigators and 500 Leading Litigators in America. She also is a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America (an invitation-only trial lawyers honorary society) and has been named repeatedly in The Best Lawyers in America and Benchmark Litigation, in which she is recognized as a Litigation Star. Ms. Aguiar also is cited by the Latin America Corporate Counsel Association (LACCA) as a leading litigation practitioner. Additionally, she was named as one of Crain’s New York Business’ 2021 Notable Women in Law, which profiles trailblazing female attorneys.

Ms. Aguiar has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving breach of contract, mergers and acquisitions, employment, fraud, fiduciary, trusts and estates, copyrights, false advertising, trade secret and class action litigation. She also regularly litigates and advises on private wealth law issues and significant trust and estate matters on behalf of individual and institutional trustees, executors, banks, beneficiaries, family offices and high-net-worth clients. Some of her representative matters include:

• litigation counsel for LVMH SE in expedited litigation arising from its $15.8 billion acquisition of Tiffany & Co. in Delaware Chancery Court
• counsel to the court-appointed receiver tasked with selling the nearly $1 billion Macklowe Art Collection
• counsel to Endo Pharmaceuticals in nationwide litigation regarding opioids
• trial counsel for Noble Corporation in a $1.7 billion suit alleging fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty, and aiding and abetting in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
• litigation counsel to a high-profile hedge fund manager in a dispute with the firm he founded, resulting in a week-long trial before an arbitral panel
• trial counsel for NextEra Energy in a federal breach of contract case against the Nuclear Energy Institute in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• litigation counsel for APTIM Corp. in a series of cases asserting theft of confidential information, breach of contract and tortious interference in multiple venues, including state courts, federal district courts, a federal appellate court, the U.S. Supreme Court and AAA arbitration
• counsel for The New York Review of Books regarding several key employment-related matters
• trial counsel for International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. in a federal case involving allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and breach of contract in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• litigation counsel for Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. in various lawsuits and arbitrations to protect its global trademarks, licensing rights and supply contracts, including (i) a successful jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Del Monte Corporation involving false advertising and breach-of-contract claims; and (ii) a successful ICDR arbitration securing Fresh Del Monte’s rights to trademarks for new range of international businesses
• trial counsel for pharmaceutical company Impax Laboratories, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• member of the trial team for Toyota Motors in federal and state class action litigation in California regarding widely publicized vehicle recalls
• MGA Entertainment in the Mattel v. MGA three-month jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a $1.8 billion case involving copyright infringement and various state law tort claims
• counsel to the estate of Syms in a long-running will contest, trust litigation and related disputes
• trial counsel to an aviation security company in an action against the federal government asserting a takings claim under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, culminating in a bench trial in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Ms. Aguiar is the president/chair of the Skadden Foundation, which runs the Skadden Fellowship Program.