Overview
Kirsten Nelson Cunha practices in Litigation. She joined Shearman & Sterling in 2006 after practicing in Boston for over eight years. Ms. Cunha focuses on securities litigation and other complex disputes and has represented a variety of financial institutions, companies and individuals in class action litigation, arbitrations, SEC and governmental investigations, and internal investigations.
Experience
- Representation of Countrywide and several affiliates in multiple disputes brought by major institutional purchasers of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities
- Defense of Société Générale in action brought by investors
- Representation of Bank of America in connection with class action brought by purchasers of auction rate securities
- Defense of Merrill Lynch in Enron securities litigation
- Representation of Boston Scientific in securities, derivative and ERISA litigation
- Representation of Viacom in copyright action against YouTube and Google
- Representation of Viacom in dispute with owner/operator of the Nickelodeon Hotel
- Representation of Arcelor Mittal in post closing purchase price adjustment dispute
- Defense of Amaranth International Limited in FERC proceeding and related class actions
- Representation of special committee of board of directors in shareholder action
- Representation of media and entertainment corporation in post closing dispute arbitration
- Representation of a limited partner in dispute with venture capital firm
- Defense of mutual fund portfolio manager in SEC action alleging market timing
- Defense of a large multinational company in securities fraud, derivative and ERISA actions
- Defense of an individual portfolio manager in SEC action alleging market timing
- Representation of former outside director in securities class action
- Representation of the audit committees of two different companies in two internal investigations
- Representation of an architectural firm in a federal jury trial in ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claim resulting in a verdict on liability for the architectural firm
- Defense of a healthcare software company in securities fraud case in a federal jury trial resulting in verdict for the company on all counts
- Defense of an individual in federal criminal securities fraud trial
- Representation of a large broker/dealer firm in fraud action
- Defense of a broker/dealer firm in NASD arbitration
- Representation of a former officer of a mutual fund company in SEC investigation resulting in dismissal after Wells submission
Qualifications
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Education
Boston College Law School
J.D., magna cum laude
- Note and Production Editor, Boston College Law Review
Northeastern University
B.S. in Political Science, magna cum laude
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Admissions
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Courts
- United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Of Note
Publications
- “Nichols v. United States and the Collateral Use of Uncounseled Misdemeanors in Sentence Enhancement,” 37 B.C.L. Rev. 557 (1996)
- “Section 301 of the LMRA Does Not Require Preemption of a Minimum State Labor Standard if the Legal Character of the Claim is Independent of the Rights in a Collective Bargaining Agreement: Livadas v. Bradshaw,” 36 B.C.L. Rev. 330 (1995)