Peter John Sacripanti is Co-Chair of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Chair of the Firm’s Executive Committee. He is based in the Firm’s New York office, where he concentrates his practice on complex business and environmental disputes, including class action litigation, products liability litigation and multi-party mass tort matters.
Peter has particular experience defending major corporations and industry groups. His clients include a multinational petroleum company for which he has served as national trial counsel in more than 100 environmental and products liability litigation matters. He recently served as liaison counsel to the petroleum industry and successfully defeated class certification in In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (“MTBE”) Products Liability Litigation, a multi-district putative class action in the Southern District of New York. He continues to serve as liaison counsel to the industry in related environmental and products liability matters.
Peter also represents a Fortune 500 company in the management and defense of its nationwide asbestos docket. In addition to serving as lead counsel, he was instrumental in developing an unprecedented legal strategy which utilized the Bankruptcy Code to restrain the prosecution of an additional 200,000 asbestos-related claims against this client. Other litigation clients include several members of the Fortune 100, as well as dozens of mid-size and small-cap companies across various industries.
Peter has been ranked among the country’s top lawyers by Chambers USA. Clients have stated: “Peter Sacripanti of McDermott Will & Emery remains a name of choice when it comes to major litigation matters. ‘If you want to have a fight and win, he is your man,’ say clients.” "We have the highest regard for Peter Sacripanti of McDermott Will & Emery. First and foremost a trial litigator, his practice in the environmental area includes mass toxic tort matters."
In 2001, Peter was awarded the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Past Medalists include six U.S. Presidents, as well as Nobel Prize winners and leaders of industry, education, the arts, sports and government. Peter was a recipient of the Pace Law School Alumni Leadership Award in 2001. He shared the distinguished honor with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
A strong advocate for education, Peter is a Trustee of Fordham University, The Jesuit University of New York. Peter also serves as a member of The Columbus Citizens Foundation, a nonprofit organization in New York City committed to fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement.
Peter is a member of the New York, District of Columbia and New Jersey Bars, and has been admitted to practice before state and federal courts across the United States. He began his career as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice, where he was recruited as part of the prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program.
Education
- Pace University School of Law, J.D., 1984
- Fordham University, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1982
