Ted DeBonis

Counsel

Direct
+1 212 257 6942
Fax
+1 212 257 6950
Where Advocacy Meets Business

“I strive to acquire my clients’ confidence that I’m working to understand the questions and develop the answers before I’m asked.  I do this by putting myself in their shoes, experiencing the problem or dispute from a first-person perspective.”

Ted has experience representing clients in a broad range of complex litigation and domestic and international arbitration matters.  He has represented clients in disputes involving insurance and reinsurance, banking and finance, construction and infrastructure projects, alternative energy, licensing and distribution agreements, bankruptcy, and investment agreements. His clients have included banks, fund companies, insurers and reinsurers, multinational corporations, contractors, project developers, and individuals.

 

Experience

Ted joined Chaffetz Lindsey in April 2011 from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he was an associate for five years.  While at Simpson Thacher, Ted spent several years litigating, arbitrating, and mediating issues arising out of the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Prior to commencing his legal career, Ted worked in the financial industry in capital markets.

Representative Matters

  • Representing a leading European insurer in Swiss Rules arbitration in coverage dispute arising from agrichemical company’s billion-dollar settlement of U.S. class action liability
  • Representing developer in ICDR arbitration concerning disputes over construction of a wind farm
  • Representing international insurance company in coverage dispute regarding the National Hockey League concussion litigation.
  • Represented a Turkish construction company in federal court proceedings in the District of Columbia to enforce an arbitral award against the Kyrgyz Republic arising from a dispute over a highway construction project in that country
  • Represented the plant owner in ICC arbitration relating to the construction of a solar power plant in the U.S. in a dispute involving claims in excess of US$1 billion
  • Obtained preliminary injunction in Florida district court for German multinational in aid of pending arbitration. See Rodenstock GmbH v. New York Optical Int’l, Inc., 18-62054-CIV, 2018 WL 4445108 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 14, 2018)
  • Represented a UK company in an ICDR arbitration relating to a joint venture dispute and subsequent enforcement proceedings
  • Currently advising a global insurer on coronavirus-related claims and exposure
  • Represented a European pension fund in litigation against a large financial services company for failure to deliver securities
  • Represented a European reinsurance company in arbitration disputes with U.S. based insurance companies relating to excess of loss reinsurance contracts
  • Represented a foreign central bank in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit in an action by judgment creditors to enforce billions of dollars in outstanding judgments against nearly $2 billion in assets restrained and later blocked in a New York bank account
  • Represented a large domestic insurance company on issues related to Hurricane Katrina
  • Advised insurer and reinsurer in connection with exposure to losses arising out of the destruction of the World Trade Center
  • Represented a U.S. multinational in investment treaty arbitration related to the Dabhol Power Project in India

Professional Affiliations

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., St. John’s University School of Law (Articles and Notes Editor of the St. John’s Law Review)
  • B.A., Columbia University

Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit

Subscribe to Updates

Stay informed of Chaffetz Lindsey’s updates, new articles, and events invitations by subscribing to our mailing list.

Subscribe