Introduction
Paul F. Downs is a first-chair trial lawyer, and New York–based commercial litigator representing companies and institutions in high-stakes New York commercial litigation, federal business disputes, and New York Commercial Division matters, as well as arbitrations and appeals. He is known for leading complex, high-value disputes and bet-the-company litigation. Paul is known for leading complex, high-value disputes involving nine-figure and billion-dollar claims, and for tailoring trial strategy, arbitration strategy, and appellate strategy to clients’ business objectives and litigation risk tolerance.
My focus
I represent public and private companies, financial institutions, technology businesses, and emerging growth companies in complex commercial litigation, business litigation, trial and appellate matters, and arbitration. I regularly handle disputes in New York state and federal courts, including the New York Commercial Division, the Southern District of New York, and the Eastern District of New York, as well as proceedings before AAA, FINRA, JAMS, and international arbitration tribunals. My matters include commercial contract disputes, trade secret litigation, fiduciary duty claims, business torts, antitrust litigation, environmental and CERCLA disputes, technology disputes, and regulatory disputes, with particular depth in the financial services, technology, environmental, and import-export sectors.
I represent clients across a wide range of highly regulated, capital-intensive, and international industries in complex commercial litigation, arbitration, appeals, and business disputes. These matters often involve significant financial exposure, regulatory scrutiny, operational risk, reputational risk, and cross-border issues. My industry experience includes:
- Banking and financial services, including complex commercial litigation involving fiduciary duty claims, commercial contracts, fraud claims, financial products, lending disputes, and business torts
- Technology and data-driven businesses, including disputes involving emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, data, software, trade secrets, antitrust issues, and AI-related litigation risks
- Energy and environmental matters, including billion-dollar environmental litigation, CERCLA disputes, regulatory disputes, and complex commercial matters involving environmental risk
- Import and export, manufacturing, textiles, and consumer goods companies, including disputes involving international supply chains, distribution agreements, tariffs, cross-border regulatory issues, and complex international contractual and trademark disputes
- Life sciences and biotechnology, including pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical disputes involving patents, trade secrets, commercial contracts, licensing issues, and high-value business disputes
- Real estate and development, including disputes involving large-scale commercial real estate and infrastructure projects
- Entertainment, sports, and media, including professional sports league matters, franchise relocation litigation, media-related disputes, and complex commercial litigation involving high-profile business interests
I am also an editor of the New York Commercial Division Practice Guide, part of Bloomberg Law’s Litigation Practice Portfolio Series, and serve as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, where I teach Commercial Litigation and Legal Writing. I frequently author articles and provide legal commentary in the New York Law Journal and other publications on New York Commercial Division practice, commercial litigation, trial practice, evidence, discovery, legal technology, and developments affecting business litigation in New York courts. I am frequently consulted for complex New York commercial litigation, New York Commercial Division strategy, trial strategy, arbitration strategy, appeals, dispositive motions, and high-dollar business disputes involving significant legal, financial, operational, and reputational risk.
Representative experience
- Served as first-chair trial counsel in a Southern District of New York federal jury trial involving complex commercial claims, securing a $24 million net verdict and recovery of attorneys’ fees
- Achieved summary judgment in a billion-dollar CERCLA and environmental litigation dispute in the Eastern District of New York
- Secured a complete defense victory in a $130 million AAA arbitration involving a complex commercial real estate dispute
- Defended Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies in complex commercial contract disputes, trade secret litigation, business tort claims, and high-stakes commercial litigation
- Represented clients in federal antitrust arbitration against Google involving claims of monopolistic practices in the technology sector
- Successfully represented a biopharmaceutical company in international arbitration involving complex commercial and life sciences issues
- Represented a professional sports league and member clubs in franchise relocation litigation involving high-profile commercial, contractual, and business issues
- Represented a major airline in complex contractual disputes involving significant business and operational issues
- Maintains a robust pro bono practice focused on civil rights litigation, including trying cases on behalf of individuals under 42 USC §1983
Looking ahead
I closely monitor and write about the emerging benefits, efficiencies, risks, and challenges of generative AI and legal technology, including the use of AI in litigation, discovery, digital evidence, virtual trial tools, legal ethics, professional responsibility, and evolving court standards governing AI-assisted legal work.
Clerkship
- Law clerk to the Honorable David. J. Hale, United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Presentations
- "Artificial Intelligence in the Law Practice: Legal Impacts and Ethical Implications panel," NYSBA ComFed Spring Meeting 2026, May 3, 2026
- “Trials (including Evidence Rules in Discussion),” Commercial Litigation Academy 2026, March 4, 2026 (speaker)
- “Litigating in New York: Updates to the Rules,” New York City Bar Association, December 2025 (speaker)
- “Meet NY’s Commercial Judges—by and for Junior Lawyers—Part 3,” New York State Bar Association, December 2022 (moderator)
Publications
- "The Virtual Evidence Courtroom: A Secure, Simplified and Streamlined Tool for Complex Trials," New York Law Journal, May 2026 (co-author)
- “Commercial Division Clarifies its Jurisdiction Over Complex Commercial Insurance Coverage Cases,” New York Law Journal, March 2026 (co-author)
- “Litigation: Current Practice and Proposed Changes,” New York Law Journal, January 2026 (co-author)
- “Presumptive Mediation in the Commercial Division,” New York Law Journal, October 2025 (co-author)
- “Qualifying for Assignment to the Commercial Division,” New York Law Journal, August 2025, (co-author)
- “Contempt of Court Orders in the Commercial Division,” New York Law Journal, April 2025, (co-author)
- “Commercial Division Now Requires Initial Disclosures,” Law.com, June 20, 2025 (co-author)
- “The Art and Science of Statements of Material Facts in Commercial Division Cases,” New York Law Journal, February 2025, (co-author)
- “Effective Use of Interrogatories in Commercial Division Cases,” New York Law Journal, October 2024, (co-author)
- “What You Need to Know About New York Commercial Division Rule 13(c),” New York Law Journal, October 2024, (co-author)
- “New York's New Approach to Non-Compete Agreements,” NYSBA New York Litigator, October 2023, (co-author)
In the news
- New York Law Journal
Expert witnesses in the Commercial Division: Strict disclosure, proven foundation, and policed boundaries
July 6, 2026New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing New York’s Commercial Division Rule 13(c), which outlines disclosure requirements and other considerations for the use of expert witnesses in Commercial Division litigation.
- New York Law Journal
The Virtual Evidence Courtroom: A secure, simplified and streamlined tool for complex trials
May 4, 2026New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing New York’s Commercial Division Rule 25-a, which promotes the use of the Virtual Evidence Courtroom (VEC), a secure online platform that streamlines trial evidence management.
- New York Law Journal
Commercial Division clarifies its jurisdiction over complex commercial insurance coverage cases
March 9, 2026New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing provisions of the Commercial Division Rules to clarify and expand the Commercial Division’s jurisdiction over complex commercial insurance disputes.
- New York Law Journal
Attorneys ‘on the move’
Feb 25, 2026This roundup article of recent attorney moves and promotions across New York features New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs for being elected vice chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed).
- New York Law Journal
Attorneys ‘On the Move’
Nixon Peabody partner Paul Downs has been elected vice chair of the New York State Bar Association’s commercial & federal litigation section.Feb 25, 2026 - New York Law Journal
AI in New York litigation: Current practice and proposed changes
Jan 5, 2026New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing how New York courts are addressing the use of AI in litigation.
- New York Law Journal
Presumptive mediation in the Commercial Division
Oct 22, 2025New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing the increase in New York’s Commercial Divisions using early mediation to resolve business disputes quickly and cost-effectively.
- New York Law Journal
Qualifying for assignment to the Commercial Division
Aug 12, 2025New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing the criteria for qualifying a case for assignment to New York’s Commercial Division.
Romania secures hold on ‘stolen’ El Greco as court filings reveal Dmitry Rybolovlev is its owner
June 21, 2025This article quotes a statement from NP, which is for representing the state of Romania in the legal dispute over ownership of an El Greco painting that was pulled from a Christie’s New York sale in February, following a claim by the Romanian government that the work belongs to its national collection. The NP team is led by Los Angeles Privacy & Technology partner Thaddeus Stauber, leader of the Arts & Cultural Institutions team, and counsel Aaron Brian of Los Angeles, and includes Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs of New York City, associate Zachary Osinski of Los Angeles, and practice assistant Heidi Gutierrez.
- New York Law Journal
Commercial Division now requires initial disclosures
June 20, 2025New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing Commercial Division Rule 11-h. Taking effect on July 7, 2025, the new rule will require parties litigating in the Commercial Division to exchange certain categories of basic information at the outset of every case without awaiting service of formal discovery demands.
- Law360
Attorneys who moved up the firm ranks in Q1
May 14, 2025This roundup of partner-level promotions from the first quarter of 2025 includes the partner elevations of Complex Disputes partners Paul Downs of New York City, Eric Ferrante of Rochester and Christie Kurow of Chicago; San Francisco Privacy & Technology partner Andrew Winetroub; Washington, DC Affordable Housing & Real Estate partner Rebecca Simon; and Boston Community Development Finance partner Justin Fitzgerald. Washington, DC AHRE partner Colette Dafoe and Chicago PBFN partner Julie Seymour’s appointments to NP’s Management Committee are featured, as are Washington, DC partner Greg Doran’s selection as head of NP’s PFIRE department and Boston partner Jeff Gilbreth’s appointment as Labor & Employment practice group leader.
- New York Law Journal
Contempt of court orders in the Commercial Division
April 23, 2025New York City Complex Disputes partner Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial & Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing the legal intricacies of contempt sanctions in recent Commercial Division cases.
- New York Law Journal
Attorneys ‘on the move’
Feb 6, 2025This roundup article of recent promotions and moves across the state highlights Complex Disputes partners Paul Downs of New York City and Eric Ferrante of Rochester for their promotions to partner.
What you need to know about New York Commercial Division Rule 13(c)
Sep 13, 2024New York City Complex Disputes counsel Paul Downs, co-chair of the Commercial Division Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section (ComFed) of the New York State Bar Association, co-authored this article discussing the importance of the state’s Commercial Division Rule 13(c) and how the courts apply it. The rule streamlines the process of introducing expert analysis and opinions into the courtroom, ensuring that such submissions are relevant and reliable.
- The American Lawyer
Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs
May 31, 2024This article covers a New York Court of Appeals decision that allows for a revival of claims against FanDuel asserted by the founders, former employees, and early investors of the sports gambling company. The coverage highlights Complex Disputes counsel Erik Goergen of Buffalo for representing the plaintiffs in the case.
- NYSBA NYLitigator
New York’s new approach to non-compete agreements
Oct 16, 2023Complex Disputes counsel Paul Downs and department attorney Vincent Nguyen, both of New York City, contributed this article discussing New York’s proposed law banning non-compete agreements and what it means for both employers and workers.
- New York Law Journal
Your Commercial Division ‘tool kit’
Aug 17, 2023This article reviews the 2023 “New York Commercial Division Practice Guide,” which was co-edited by New York City Complex Disputes senior counsel Stephen P. Younger. The guide serves as a tool kit for lawyers who appear in the Commercial Division. New York City Complex Disputes counsel Paul Downs also contributed to the guide.
- Law360
Nixon Peabody expands complex disputes practice in New York
March 6, 2023This article focuses on the arrival of New York City Complex Disputes counsel Paul Downs to the firm, detailing his practice area, career, and why he chose NP. The article also highlights the recent arrival of New York City Complex Disputes senior counsel Stephen P. Younger, noting the two attorneys’ longstanding working relationship. It also quotes Chicago partner and Complex Disputes practice leader John Ruskusky and New York City Office Managing Partner Ilana Kameros.
Admitted to practice
New York
US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
US District Court, Southern District of New York
US District Court, Eastern District of New York
US Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
US District Court, Western District of Kentucky
US Court of International Trade
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, JD
Centre College, BA
Professional activities
- New York State Bar Association
- Commercial & Federal Litigation section, Vice chair
- ComFed, Vice chair–elect
- Commercial Division Committee, Co-chair
- New York City Bar Association, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee
- American Bar Association
- Fordham University School of Law, Adjunct Professor
- Centre College’s Law, Policy, and Government Advisory Board
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- New York Bar Foundation, Fellow
Insights And Happenings
View AllProfessionals in the Practice Area
View AllTimothy D. Sini
Partner / Chair, Litigation Department- New York City
- +1 516.832.7655
- tsini@nixonpeabody.com
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Robert Fisher
Partner / Practice Group Leader, Government Investigations & White Collar Defense- Boston
- Boston +1 617.345.1335
- rfisher@nixonpeabody.com
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Jenny L. Holmes
Partner / Deputy Leader, Cybersecurity & Privacy- Rochester
- Rochester +1 585.263.1494
- jholmes@nixonpeabody.com
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