James P. Wehner is a Member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C., office. His principal practice area is complex civil litigation, with particular emphasis on insolvency litigation and data privacy issues.
Mr. Wehner also serves as General Counsel to the firm.
Services
Mr. Wehner has extensive experience with disputes arising from financial products, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, and fraud. He counsels corporations, nonprofits, and trusts on privacy issues, data security, and information practices and litigates those matters in various forums. Mr. Wehner is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US). His insolvency work encompasses mass tort bankruptcies, areas in which he both advises and litigates. In the course of his practice, Mr. Wehner appears before federal and state courts across the country, and before domestic and international arbitral panels.
Highlights
- Defended several European banks in a large U.S.-based clawback case.
- Assessed and revised the data security and privacy program for an international nonprofit research institution.
- Coordinated with Swiss and Gibraltar counsel representing a large estate in international asset-freeze litigation over control of a $100 million charitable fund.
- Advised numerous bankruptcy trust advisory committees on data security and related litigation.
- Tried a case estimating the debtors' overall liability for asbestos personal injury on behalf of the official committee in a large Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.
- Developed and implemented data anonymization protocols for large pools of personal data in significant Chapter 11 cases.
- Represented the purchaser of a synthetic collateralized debt obligation in a case involving the management of a pool of reference obligations.
- Prosecuted fraud and conspiracy claims arising out of a municipal bond transaction against a national financial institution.
- Litigated and settled a federal multidistrict consumer class action lawsuit in the cellular telephone industry.
- Defended and settled an automotive warranty class action.
Admissions & Education
Bar & Court Admissions
- New York
- Virginia
- District of Columbia
- 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 (inactive)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York
Education
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1995, cum laude
B.A., Georgetown University, 1989
Certifications
Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US)
Recognitions & Noteworthy
Honors & Recognitions
- Benchmark Litigation, Future Star, 2013-Present; Recommended, Washington, D.C., 2010-Present
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Other Professional Affiliations
Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals
Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
Member, International Bar Association
