Kim Havlin
Kim Havlin
Kim Havlin
Kim Havlin

Biography

Kim Havlin is a partner in the Global Litigation Practice with extensive experience in complex business disputes. A skilled courtroom advocate and trial lawyer, Kim represents clients in a wide range of contract and business tort actions, as well as securities and class action cases and bankruptcy litigation. Kim has substantial experience across global industries, including the financial, technology, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and shipping sectors. Ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA, the guide remarks, "Kim Havlin is a go-to litigator with an impressive depth of expertise in major commercial disputes, with experience representing clients at trial and appellate levels."

"Kim is incredibly strategic with tremendous commercial awareness."

"She is responsive, understands the need to be commercial and stays level-headed even during the most trying moments."

Kim is also recognized by The Legal 500 US as a successful first-chair trial lawyer. "Kim Havlin has an outstanding level of response, is practical to deal with issues and resolves problems in fast-paced scenarios, and is always ready to help."

Kim boasts a successful track record in major commercial disputes in both state and federal courts. She has enjoyed successes in a number of high-profile matters, including market manipulation cases with multijurisdictional implications, bet-the-company litigation, and high-stakes class actions. Kim also regularly advises clients through the early stages of potential disputes in search of practical outcomes minimizing risk and exposure.

Clients benefit from Kim's extensive experience handling cross-border disputes for international clients and her ability to navigate the complexities of legal systems in the US and abroad. Kim regularly represents non-US clients in cases involving the extraterritorial application of US state and federal laws.

Kim has achieved a string of successes in securities cases on behalf of corporations and their officers and directors, in both individual and putative class action cases. Kim has also represented debtor and creditor groups in some of the world's largest bankruptcies and restructurings and precedent-setting cases involving the recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings.

Kim's experience includes government investigations and enforcement actions, and their crossover with civil litigation, having represented financial institutions in connection with global investigations into possible violations of US and foreign antitrust, fraud and commodities laws. She has coordinated investigations by the US Department of Justice, US Commodity Futures Trade Commission, Autorité des marchés financiers, European Commission and the UK Financial Services Authority.
Committed to equal access to justice, Kim has performed extensive pro bono work on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Aid Society and the Juvenile Law Center.

Kim is also a member of the Firm's elected Partnership Committee.

Experience

Representation of PIF and PIF's Governor, His Excellency Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan in a high-profile dispute involving LIV Golf, Inc. and the PGA Tour, Inc. Following many months of robust litigation by both sides, the parties announced that they had determined to resolve their issues and proceed with a transaction. As part of the deal, litigation was voluntarily dismissed by the parties with prejudice in June 2023.

Representation of Jefferies in an ongoing cross-border breach of contract dispute spanning numerous jurisdictions in the United States and Mexico.

Secured a favorable resolution for a former director and a former shareholder in a securities fraud action related to the bankruptcy of Fisker Automotive, in which the court found that plaintiffs failed to establish personal jurisdiction over our clients and ordered jurisdictional discovery.

Representation of CleanCapital in their 'bet-the-company' litigation, in its breach of contract and regulatory action, following a 16-day trial.

Representation of the litigation administrators and litigation oversight committee of Celsius Network LLC in connection with pursuit of various claims and causes of action for the benefit of creditors.

Representation of His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan in defending against the Uber securities class action filed in the Northern District of California.

Representation of Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina S.A., an Argentine cement manufacturer, in a securities class action filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York alleging Securities Act violations stemming from a 2017 IPO. We successfully won full dismissal of the federal action and subsequently secured a very favorable settlement of the state court action.

Representation of Tufin Software Technologies Ltd. in several securities class actions cases in New York state and federal court involving allegations of misrepresentations connected with Tufin's April 2019 IPO and December 2019 Secondary Public Offering. After consolidating the cases in a single forum and successfully narrowing the case significantly at the motion to dismiss stage, we achieved an extremely favorable settlement for our clients.

Representation of Pfizer subsidiaries in a high-stakes breach of contract dispute arousing out of a pharmaceutical supply agreement with Cilag CmbH. Following a successful motion to change venue to a preferred forum, we successfully moved to dismiss claims for breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Representation of New York Community Bancorp in the enforcement of defaulted debt against international guarantors, leading to a complete victory at trial, from case inception to judgment within a 13 month period.

Represented Pfizer in defense of a significant breach of contract action relating to claimed royalties on a cancer product in New York state court.

Representation of Hess Corporation in defense of an action alleging breach of contract and fraud, which had purchased Hess's bunker oil assets on the US East Coast. After securing dismissal of the majority of plaintiffs' fraud claims on a motion to dismiss, the remaining claims were tried in a five-day bench trial in New York Supreme Court, Commercial Division. The Court entered judgment for Hess on all counts.

Representation of an individual in prosecuting a D&O coverage claim under an insurance policy. Following a two-week jury trial, the jury unanimously found for our client on all counts, including breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and returned a multimillion-dollar award in our client's favor.

Representation of a leading European global financial institution in multiple putative class action cases relating to the setting of foreign interbank rates, in several cases securing complete dismissal on jurisdictional grounds.

Representation of Pfizer in the defense of an action brought by a distributor alleging damages from the termination of a long-standing distributorship agreement for products in the Middle East.

Successful motions to dismiss all claims in securities class action cases against Dynegy, Talbots, and German-based technology company Aixtron SE.

Representation of OAS, one of Brazil's largest companies, in its restructuring, including chapter 15 proceedings in New York bankruptcy court, litigation in New York state court and provisional liquidation proceedings in the British Virgin Islands.

Pro Bono counsel to GLAD Law, the Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, and others on an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case involving challenges to certain books in public school curricula.

Pro bono counsel to Legal Services NYC on an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark case that secured marriage equality nationwide.

Pro bono counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State against a public hospital district that refused to comply with legislation ensuring neutrality with respect to women's reproductive rights, winning a complete victory and resulting in a reversal of the hospital district's policies and practices.

New York
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
US District Court for the Western District of New York
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
JD
University of Toronto
Bachelor of Arts & Science (Hons.)
McMaster University

summa cum laude

English
French
Hebrew

Chambers USA, 2021 – 2025, ranked as a leading litigator for New York: General Commercial Litigation

The Legal 500 US, 2022 – 2025, ranked as a leading litigator for Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes and Dispute Resolution - Securities Litigation: Defense by The Legal 500 US, 2022 - 2025

Under 40 Hot List, Benchmark Litigation, 2018

Pro Bono Publico Award, The Legal Aid Society, 2012

Co-author, "Building Better Earnouts In The Current M&A Climate" Law360 (July 23, 2025)

Service areas