Cassandra Porsch

Expertise Cassandra Advises Experience Highlights Career History

Partner

Commercial Litigation

+1 646 225 5981
Accolades
image image image

Expertise

Cassandra has represented clients in complex business litigation in state and federal courts and alternative dispute resolution forums for nearly 20 years.  Her specific expertise lies in matters involving investor rights, securities issues, high value contract disputes, partner/LLC member/shareholder disputes or “business divorce,” financial services disputes, and business-related torts such as breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, and fraud.  She also litigates matters involving restrictive covenants/non-competes, trade secrets, and wire or digital payment fraud.  Many of her cases have been litigated in the derivative, class action and/or multidistrict litigation context.  She is frequently brought in on cases involving thorny procedural issues.

Cassandra acts for a wide range of clients including investors, broker-dealers, private equity and venture capital-backed entities, hedge funds, and members of the manufacturing, real estate, fashion, professional services, and technology industries.  Clients benefit from Cassandra’s business acumen which was cemented when she separately earned her M.B.A. after completing law school.  She prides herself on providing highly responsive service and incisive legal analysis and strategy within the framework of a client’s goals.

Cassandra has been recognized in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 by Super Lawyers for Business Litigation, in addition to being listed in their Top Women Attorneys in New York.  She has also been awarded both the AV Preeminent attorney peer review rating and the Client Champion Gold rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  (Selection criteria can be found at www.superlawyers.com and www.martindale.com, respectively).

Cassandra is very active in the legal community, serving as Chair of the highly regarded Litigation Committee of the New York City Bar Association, which is frequently asked to comment on court rules, policy and procedure, in addition to sponsoring educational programs involving lawyers and judges.  She also appears regularly as faculty in Continuing Legal Education programs at the City Bar.  Cassandra practices in both New York and New Jersey.

Cassandra Advises

  • Investors, partners, private shareholders and LLC members
  • Startup founders
  • Public and private companies in B2B disputes
  • Financial services institutions and clients

Experience Highlights

Representative Matters

  • Cassandra represented a B2B technology provider in a dispute with a former executive over a financing transaction. The former executive filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act in connection with his participation in the transaction. Cassandra successfully moved to dismiss all claims and in December 2023 obtained the first federal decision interpreting accredited investor status within the context of the definition of an executive officer.
  • On behalf of a multi-state hotel and resort developer, Cassandra successfully reversed a contempt order. Prior to her involvement in the case, a former investor commenced judgment enforcement proceedings and sought discovery against both the developer and its principals. The investor obtained a contempt order against the principals for failing to produce financial information. After being retained, Cassandra filed a motion for reconsideration of the contempt order on the basis that the principals were not the proper subjects of discovery within the scope of the contempt order as they were not parties to the case and had never been properly subpoenaed. The court agreed and reversed the contempt order against the principals.
  • Cassandra represented the owners of a landmarked property against their billionaire neighbor for breach of a license agreement in a multiparty case defended by eight law firms in New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division. She obtained a temporary restraining order preventing a sale of the neighboring property pending litigation and obtained summary judgment on multiple claims including specific performance, indemnification, strict liability and private nuisance.
  • In a federal court action to collect unpaid invoices for a B2B service provider in a matter involving wire fraud, Cassandra litigated against an AmLaw 100 firm and collected a significant percentage of the claim.
  • Cassandra defended a textile manufacturer in a B2B breach of contract action.  She successfully moved to vacate a default judgment that had been entered prior to her involvement in the case.
  • Cassandra represented an investment bank in a consolidated class and derivative multi-party action in connection with the provision of a fairness opinion on a merger. She and her team successfully obtained dismissal of multiple claims against the client.
  • In putative class action cases consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, Cassandra defended a nationwide accounting firm on claims including fraud, professional negligence and unjust enrichment in connection with certain tax shelter plans. Cassandra and her team obtained dismissal of numerous claims and she then successfully obtained reconsideration of the court’s prior decision not to dismiss the claim for punitive damages, setting the case up for a favorable settlement.
  • Cassandra represented an investor in a biotechnology fund in a federal lawsuit against beneficial owners of more than 10% of company stock for disgorgement of short-swing profits prohibited under the securities laws. Defendants were represented by one of the top 15 largest global law firms and argued for dismissal on the basis that they were subject to an investment advisor exemption from the short-swing trading rules. Cassandra discovered through research that the Defendants were activist investors and successfully defeated the motion to dismiss on the basis that the Defendants did not qualify for the investment advisor exemption as activist investors.
  • On behalf of a New York City-based brokerage handling billions in assets, Cassandra successfully obtained summary judgment for the full amount of the claim in New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division in connection with a multimillion-dollar breach of contract. Cassandra then defeated a motion before the Appellate Division to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal.

Career History

Education

  • New York University Stern School of Business, M.B.A. (2012)
  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (2005)
  • Yale University, B.A., with distinction (2001)

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • United States District Court, Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • United States District Court, District of New Jersey
  • United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Co-authored “Why the New York City Bar Association Report on the State of Mediation Confidentiality in New York Is Required Reading,” in New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, September 2024.
  • Authored “NY COVID-19 Commercial Lease Decisions Lack Consistency,” in Law360 Expert Analysis, Jan. 13, 2021.
  • Quoted as counsel in The Wall Street Journal, “Uber, Lyft Drivers Want More Protection as Rising Crime Keeps Many Off the Roads,” December 11, 2021.
  • Faculty panelist, New York City Bar Association Continuing Legal Education programs including:
    • Working with Co-Counsel: Practical and Ethical Implications
    • The Non-Business Litigator’s Guide to Business Litigation
    • Business Litigation: A Crash Course
    • Who Pays the Piper? Navigating Liability in Wire and Digital Payment Fraud Cases

Bar and Professional Involvement

  • New York City Bar Association (Chair, Litigation Committee)
  • Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (Member, Grants Committee)
  • National Association of Women Lawyers

Expertise

Back to top

Cassandra has represented clients in complex business litigation in state and federal courts and alternative dispute resolution forums for nearly 20 years.  Her specific expertise lies in matters involving investor rights, securities issues, high value contract disputes, partner/LLC member/shareholder disputes or “business divorce,” financial services disputes, and business-related torts such as breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, and fraud.  She also litigates matters involving restrictive covenants/non-competes, trade secrets, and wire or digital payment fraud.  Many of her cases have been litigated in the derivative, class action and/or multidistrict litigation context.  She is frequently brought in on cases involving thorny procedural issues.

Cassandra acts for a wide range of clients including investors, broker-dealers, private equity and venture capital-backed entities, hedge funds, and members of the manufacturing, real estate, fashion, professional services, and technology industries.  Clients benefit from Cassandra’s business acumen which was cemented when she separately earned her M.B.A. after completing law school.  She prides herself on providing highly responsive service and incisive legal analysis and strategy within the framework of a client’s goals.

Cassandra has been recognized in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 by Super Lawyers for Business Litigation, in addition to being listed in their Top Women Attorneys in New York.  She has also been awarded both the AV Preeminent attorney peer review rating and the Client Champion Gold rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  (Selection criteria can be found at www.superlawyers.com and www.martindale.com, respectively).

Cassandra is very active in the legal community, serving as Chair of the highly regarded Litigation Committee of the New York City Bar Association, which is frequently asked to comment on court rules, policy and procedure, in addition to sponsoring educational programs involving lawyers and judges.  She also appears regularly as faculty in Continuing Legal Education programs at the City Bar.  Cassandra practices in both New York and New Jersey.

Cassandra Advises

Back to top
  • Investors, partners, private shareholders and LLC members
  • Startup founders
  • Public and private companies in B2B disputes
  • Financial services institutions and clients

Experience Highlights

Back to top

Representative Matters

  • Cassandra represented a B2B technology provider in a dispute with a former executive over a financing transaction. The former executive filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging violations of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act in connection with his participation in the transaction. Cassandra successfully moved to dismiss all claims and in December 2023 obtained the first federal decision interpreting accredited investor status within the context of the definition of an executive officer.
  • On behalf of a multi-state hotel and resort developer, Cassandra successfully reversed a contempt order. Prior to her involvement in the case, a former investor commenced judgment enforcement proceedings and sought discovery against both the developer and its principals. The investor obtained a contempt order against the principals for failing to produce financial information. After being retained, Cassandra filed a motion for reconsideration of the contempt order on the basis that the principals were not the proper subjects of discovery within the scope of the contempt order as they were not parties to the case and had never been properly subpoenaed. The court agreed and reversed the contempt order against the principals.
  • Cassandra represented the owners of a landmarked property against their billionaire neighbor for breach of a license agreement in a multiparty case defended by eight law firms in New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division. She obtained a temporary restraining order preventing a sale of the neighboring property pending litigation and obtained summary judgment on multiple claims including specific performance, indemnification, strict liability and private nuisance.
  • In a federal court action to collect unpaid invoices for a B2B service provider in a matter involving wire fraud, Cassandra litigated against an AmLaw 100 firm and collected a significant percentage of the claim.
  • Cassandra defended a textile manufacturer in a B2B breach of contract action.  She successfully moved to vacate a default judgment that had been entered prior to her involvement in the case.
  • Cassandra represented an investment bank in a consolidated class and derivative multi-party action in connection with the provision of a fairness opinion on a merger. She and her team successfully obtained dismissal of multiple claims against the client.
  • In putative class action cases consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, Cassandra defended a nationwide accounting firm on claims including fraud, professional negligence and unjust enrichment in connection with certain tax shelter plans. Cassandra and her team obtained dismissal of numerous claims and she then successfully obtained reconsideration of the court’s prior decision not to dismiss the claim for punitive damages, setting the case up for a favorable settlement.
  • Cassandra represented an investor in a biotechnology fund in a federal lawsuit against beneficial owners of more than 10% of company stock for disgorgement of short-swing profits prohibited under the securities laws. Defendants were represented by one of the top 15 largest global law firms and argued for dismissal on the basis that they were subject to an investment advisor exemption from the short-swing trading rules. Cassandra discovered through research that the Defendants were activist investors and successfully defeated the motion to dismiss on the basis that the Defendants did not qualify for the investment advisor exemption as activist investors.
  • On behalf of a New York City-based brokerage handling billions in assets, Cassandra successfully obtained summary judgment for the full amount of the claim in New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division in connection with a multimillion-dollar breach of contract. Cassandra then defeated a motion before the Appellate Division to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal.

Career History

Back to top

Education

  • New York University Stern School of Business, M.B.A. (2012)
  • Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (2005)
  • Yale University, B.A., with distinction (2001)

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • United States District Court, Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • United States District Court, District of New Jersey
  • United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Co-authored “Why the New York City Bar Association Report on the State of Mediation Confidentiality in New York Is Required Reading,” in New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer, September 2024.
  • Authored “NY COVID-19 Commercial Lease Decisions Lack Consistency,” in Law360 Expert Analysis, Jan. 13, 2021.
  • Quoted as counsel in The Wall Street Journal, “Uber, Lyft Drivers Want More Protection as Rising Crime Keeps Many Off the Roads,” December 11, 2021.
  • Faculty panelist, New York City Bar Association Continuing Legal Education programs including:
    • Working with Co-Counsel: Practical and Ethical Implications
    • The Non-Business Litigator’s Guide to Business Litigation
    • Business Litigation: A Crash Course
    • Who Pays the Piper? Navigating Liability in Wire and Digital Payment Fraud Cases

Bar and Professional Involvement

  • New York City Bar Association (Chair, Litigation Committee)
  • Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (Member, Grants Committee)
  • National Association of Women Lawyers