As one of the Firm’s deputy general counsels, Harry Davis focuses on providing advice and support to McDermott’s attorneys and business staff, including with regard to risk-related issues, litigation matters, conflicts of interest, ethics and other topics. Prior to his current role in the Office of General Counsel at McDermott, Harry was the General Counsel at Schulte Roth & Zabel and a long-time litigation partner.

Harry has substantial experience in both civil litigation and securities regulatory matters and has litigated numerous cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including substantial trial experience in bench and jury trials, arbitrations, evidentiary hearings, mediations and administrative adjudications.

Over the course of a career spanning more than 35 years, Harry has represented clients in investigations and litigations involving allegations of insider trading, market manipulation, market timing and late trading, misconduct involving PIPEs, short-swing profits, securities, commodities and common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, employee raiding and other employment issues, misappropriation of trade secrets and other business torts, as well as breach of contract and other theories of liability.

In addition to being an experienced litigator, Harry is also a prolific author and speaker.

• Lead partner representing private equity funds and their advisers as well as securities intermediaries in litigations challenging the validity of life insurance policies for purported lack of insurable interest in cases adverse to life insurance companies as well as families of the deceased insureds who had knowingly sold those policies into the life settlement market (often at a substantial profit) but who nonetheless sought many years later to claw back the death benefits properly paid to the private equity funds who had purchased those policies in the market. In doing so, Harry has established important precedent relating to liability and damages, including defeating claims in numerous trial and appellate courts around the country (including establishing important precedent in the Delaware Supreme Court).
• One of the lead trial counsels to interdealer broker Tullett Prebon plc (now TP ICAP plc) in a four-month jury trial in New Jersey State Court (Hudson County) against rival BGC Partners Inc. for illegally hiring away 80 brokers and managers as part of a global raid on Tullett’s business in the Americas. Claims tried to the jury included violations of New Jersey’s racketeering statutes, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information, and tortious inference. Also represented Tullett Prebon’s U.S. subsidiaries in related FINRA arbitration (which included a 50+ day arbitration hearing). Jury trial settled in favor of Tullett Prebon for $100 million during jury deliberations, resulting in over $130 million in recovery by Tullett Prebon and its subsidiaries in these related cases.
• Lead trial counsel to interdealer broker Tullett Prebon in an AAA Arbitration alleging misappropriation of trade secrets. Successfully invalidated the contractual damages provision relied upon by rival BGC Partners in seeking approximately $2 billion in damages. Following trial, the arbitrator awarded BGC less than $1 million in damages in this “bet the company” case and found that BGC was not the prevailing party and, therefore, was not entitled to attorney’s fees despite the fact that Tullett had conceded liability. Successfully defended the arbitration award in response to a motion to vacate it in New York Supreme Court as well as on appeal to the Appellate Division, which found that the Arbitrator’s conclusion that the provision was unenforceable to be “inescapable” based upon the evidence Tullett had introduced in the arbitration hearing. BGC v. Tullett (AAA Arbitration, NY Supreme Court and Appellate Division, 1st Department).
• Lead trial counsel in successful defense of Bear Stearns Securities Corp. (now part of J.P. Morgan) in a series of individual and class action lawsuits filed by shareholders and the bankruptcy trustee of Manhattan Investment Fund Ltd., a hedge fund that collapsed following disclosure that its manager concealed approximately $400 million in losses through the creation of false account statements. Defeated allegations that Bear Stearns, which had provided clearing services to the fund, aided and abetted the manager’s fraud, breached its fiduciary duty and violated fraudulent transfer laws, including winning a jury verdict for Bear Stearns following a two week trial (which verdict was affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit). Manhattan Investment Fund, Ltd. Litigations (2nd Circuit Ct. App., S.D.N.Y., Bankr. S.D.N.Y. and N.Y. Sup. Ct.).
• Obtained dismissal on behalf of various clients in a variety of different benchmark rate cases alleging those clients had engaged in antitrust, Commodity Exchange Act and RICO violations. Obtained dismissal for London-based interdealer broker Tullett Prebon plc (and its affiliates) in all LIBOR-related litigations in which Tullett had been sued. These high-profile cases had alleged rate rigging, market manipulation and antitrust violations regarding U.S. dollar LIBOR as well as Yen LIBOR and Euroyen TIBOR benchmark interest rates. In the U.S. dollar LIBOR cases, the Court refused to allow plaintiffs to amend their complaint to add Tullett as a defendant, finding any amendment would be futile because Tullett would not be subject to personal jurisdiction in the case. In the Yen LIBOR and Euroyen TIBOR cases, the Court dismissed one of the cases in its entirely for lack of Article III standing on grounds that the plaintiffs did not trade financial instruments sufficiently tied to these benchmark rates, and dismissed Tullett in a second related case for lack of personal jurisdiction while allowing the case to go forward against several other defendants. Also obtained dismissal of Tullett and its affiliates in a case alleging the manipulation of an Australian benchmark rate, known as the Bank Bill Swap Rate (“BBSW”) on personal jurisdiction grounds. Finally, obtained dismissal of National Bank of Canada and its Canadian and U.S. subsidiaries alleging manipulation of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate (“CDOR”). In this case, Harry served as one of two co-lead attorneys on behalf of all defendants and obtained dismissal on behalf of all foreign defendants on personal jurisdiction grounds and on behalf of all defendants on a variety of grounds dismissing the antitrust, Commodity Exchange Act, RICO and state law claims in their entirety.
• Successfully defended hedge funds involved in activist campaign in connection with claims alleging violations of Investment Company Act anti-pyramiding provisions, market manipulation, proxy fraud, participation in an undisclosed group and violation of short-swing profit rules. meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I, Inc. v. Millennium Partners, L.P. (S.D.N.Y.).
• Successfully represented domestic and offshore hedge funds in connection with PIPEs investigations by the SEC, the New York State Attorney General and other state securities regulators involving claims of insider trading, market manipulation and other purported securities law violations.
• Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit against hedge funds in a novel fraudulent transfer case brought by the bankruptcy trustee of JTS Corporation arising from investments in convertible preferred stock and the subsequent conversion of that stock into common shares. That decision was affirmed on appeal both by the United States District Court (N.D. Cal.) and the Ninth Circuit. Decker v. Advantage Fund, Ltd., et al. (Bankr. N.D. Cal., N.D. Cal. and 9th Circuit Ct. App.).
• Successfully represented institutional investors in the takeover of the board of directors of an offshore and master fund and in gaining control over a domestic fund after disclosure by the fund manager that he had acquired concentrated positions in various life sciences companies. On behalf of the funds, negotiated with those life sciences companies to resolve disputes under Sections 13 and 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, neutralizing a highly dilutive poison pill, and obtained dismissal of a securities fraud class action filed against the funds by short sellers of the life sciences companies. Also successfully represented the funds in connection with investigations by the SEC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Trade Commission and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, resulting in no claims being brought against the funds even though civil and criminal charges were filed against the fund manager. Durus Life Sciences Funds Litigation.
• Achieved a favorable settlement for a hedge fund in connection with an investigation by the SEC and the New York State Office of the Attorney General relating to market timing and late trading, and successful representation of another hedge fund in connection with investigations being conducted by multiple offices of the SEC, the NYAG and the U.S. Attorney’s Office relating to market timing with no claims being brought against that hedge fund or its investment adviser.
• Successfully represented a substantial limited partner in LJM2 Co-Investment, LP in connection with removal of a general partner, including litigation confirming the removal, related SEC and Congressional investigations, and other litigation matters. In re Enron Corporation.
• Has conducted internal investigations and handled regulatory investigations for numerous private investment funds and broker-dealers relating to alleged insider trading, market manipulation and compliance with securities laws.

• Benchmark Litigation
• The Legal 500 US
• New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel Honoree
• New York Super Lawyers
• Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2026

Education
Cornell Law School, JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Editor, Cornell Law Review, Member, Moot Court Board, 1988
Johns Hopkins University, BA, Departmental Honors, 1983

Admissions
New York
New Jersey

Courts/Agencies
US Court of Appeals, First, Second, Third, Ninth and Tenth Circuits
US District Court for the Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey and the District of Colorado