Adam Mocciolo

People

Adam Mocciolo is a veteran litigator with broad experience in complex, multidisciplinary cases across a wide spectrum of legal areas and client industries. His practice spans bet-the-company commercial litigation receiving extensive press coverage, high-profile employment disputes, and reputationally sensitive internal investigations, across the United States and overseas. He particularly relishes novel disputes requiring new legal thinking, and he has prevailed for clients in many issues of first impression, compiling a winning record in multiple federal appellate circuits.

In the commercial arena, Adam litigates fraud and asset recovery, securities, director-and-officer misconduct, shareholder oppression, antitrust and complex contract cases, business divorces, and all types of consumer class actions.

In the employment arena, he handles emerging noncompete issues, whistleblower claims, and mass and class actions.

He has undertaken complex, highly publicized internal investigations of matters from systematic clerical abuse to allegations of director fraud on shareholders.

In addition to his firm practice, Adam was previously the lead litigator in the law department of a Fortune 500 insurer with global operations, and he draws on that in-house perspective to provide practical, outcome-focused advice to business clients. He volunteers in numerous bar association, community, and court capacities. Before entering the practice of law, he served on the professional staff of a United States senator and was an adjunct instructor in politics at several universities.

Notable Work

Restrictive Covenants/Competition:

Prevailed in the leading case in the Third Circuit establishing the enforceability under Delaware law of “forfeiture-for-competition” agreements permitting employers to claw back financial benefits from former employees working for competing businesses.

Class Actions/Antitrust:

Represented a bank defendant for 15 years in the In re Payment Card Interchange & Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation matter, a nationwide class action by merchants over the fees and rules for payment card transactions on the Visa and Mastercard networks, generally regarded as one of the largest private antitrust cases ever litigated.

Business Divorces and Closely Held Business Disputes:

Successfully defended the general partner of a real estate development partnership from limited partners’ action seeking to enjoin portfolio sale by client and take control of the firm, a case presenting an issue of first impression in any jurisdiction on the extent of a court’s windup powers under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act.

Business Torts:

Successfully defended an ultra-high-net-worth client from an action by a bank alleging that client unlawfully interfered with the bank’s efforts to collect a nine-figure judgment against the client’s investment firm for margin-loan losses.

Internal Investigations:

Served on the investigation team that produced a comprehensive report on the history of clerical sexual abuse in a Roman Catholic diocese and management’s response to the abuse; it is believed to be the first investigation of its kind, globally, to be performed by independent outside counsel rather than criminal prosecutors.

Fraud and Asset Recovery:

Successfully represented a creditor in a highly publicized action seeking to claw back a debtor’s eight-figure donation of hidden overseas assets to a university, including obtaining a unanimous appellate reversal in the First Circuit establishing client’s standing to sue and overseeing related litigation outside the United States to secure assets.

Insurance Fraud:

As in-house counsel, oversaw a nationally prominent fraud and conspiracy case against a lawyer and alleged co-conspirators for misappropriation of a multimillion-dollar insurance payment.

Whistleblower Litigation:

Successfully litigated a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower retaliation claim by an executive who alleged she was discharged for reporting corporate ethics violations in a merger transaction.

Employment Discrimination Litigation:

Obtained unanimous appellate affirmance by the Second Circuit of a trial court’s dismissal of retaliation claims against a school district client in a high-profile dispute with a principal involving allegations of physical abuse of school children.

Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition:

Successfully prosecuted an action on behalf of a parking technology client against the client’s former software vendor that developed a competing product using software code written for client, obtaining transfer to the client of all rights in the competing technology.

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District of Connecticut, Federal Grievance Committee
Connecticut Bar Association, Standing Committee on Professional Ethics, Member; Federal Practice Section, Past Co-Chair; Connecticut Bar Journal Board of Editors, Member
Association of Corporate Counsel, Westchester-Southern Connecticut Chapter, Director
Federal Bar Council, Member
Raymond E. Baldwin Inn of Court, Member
ABA Section of International Law, Steering Group for International Employment Committee, Former Member; Immigration Committee, Former Vice-Chair
Connecticut Office of Public Hearing, Volunteer Mediator for Employment Cases
Harvard Club of Fairfield County, President

Super Lawyers Magazine, 2017-2021, Listed in Connecticut for Business Litigation
Connecticut Law Tribune, 2013, “New Leader in the Law”
Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent

Connecticut Bar Association Annual Advanced Labor and Employment Law Symposium, Speaker, "Restrictive Covenants: Recent Developments and Litigating Disputes," March 27, 2024
The Knowledge Group, Speaker, "Litigation Funding: Maximizing Potentials While Mitigating Risks," August 10, 2020
Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Speaker, "Internal Investigations During the Covid-19 Pandemic," June 25, 2020
Association of Corporate Counsel, Westchester/Southern Connecticut Chapter, Speaker, "Litigation Funding for Corporations: Understanding the Newest Financial Tool for Corporate Law Departments," September 25, 2019
Association of Corporate Counsel, Westchester/Southern Connecticut Chapter, Speaker, "Ethical Quandaries for In-House Counsel," January 19, 2018
Connecticut Bar Journal, Co-Author, "Connecticut Jurisprudence on E-Commerce Contracts of Adhesion: Page Not Found?," Vol. 87, 248-69, 2013

New York
Connecticut

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut

Adam S. Mocciolo

Notable Work

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