Williams, J. Page

Peter Macdonald is a partner and a vice chair of the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Business Trial Group and the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice Group. He joined the firm in 1984.

Practice

Mr. Macdonald has been lead counsel or primary co-counsel in more than 25 trials, including matters in New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, New Hampshire and Washington DC. In addition to extensive trial work, Mr. Macdonald has also obtained dismissal before trial of many more cases, and has effectively negotiated settlement of numerous complex business disputes. These matters have spanned a range of legal and business issues, including accounting questions, contract disputes, fraud claims, corporate governance matters, intellectual property, trade secrets, employment and securities law. In the field of securities litigation, Mr. Macdonald has frequently defended federal securities law class actions for many publicly traded companies. Beyond trial court level work, Mr. Macdonald has also argued many appeals, including before the Delaware Supreme Court, the New York Court of Appeals, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the Federal Courts of Appeal for the First, Second and Eleventh Circuits.

Recent Highlights

Significant matters in recent years include the following:

In 2010, Mr. Macdonald won an arbitration award of more than $100 million on behalf of a major medical device manufacturer asserting breach of contract. The arbitration was conducted between 2008 and 2010, and involved intellectual property license and contract issues. At the conclusion of the proceeding, the losing party paid the principal amount of the award in full.

In 2010, Mr. Macdonald successfully concluded a 58-day trial before the American Arbitration Association involving allegations against a European bank of financial fraud. As co-counsel, Mr. Macdonald both defended the claims and pursued lien rights on behalf of the bank. After trial, the arbitration panel rejected the other side’s claims, and made a monetary award in excess of $20 million to Mr. Macdonald’s client, including an award of 100 percent of the legal fees incurred in the matter.

In 2010, acting on behalf of a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, Mr. Macdonald obtained dismissal of a securities fraud class action in the Southern District of New York. The action was filed when the company’s stock suffered a one-day 70 percent price drop after the disclosure of safety related information about a product in clinical trials. The district court dismissed the case based on the plaintiff’s failure to meet federal pleading requirements.

In 2009, Mr. Macdonald obtained dismissal of a securities fraud class action in the Northern District of Georgia arising from a restatement of five years of audited financial statements following an internal investigation of grants of “in the money” options. The dismissal was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In 2009, Mr. Macdonald successfully argued before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in obtaining affirmance of the dismissal of a putative class and derivative action brought against his clients in the Southern District of New York.

In 2009, Mr. Macdonald was co-counsel in a three week trial before the American Arbitration Association involving license rights to molecular diagnostic probes. His client prevailed on all issues and was awarded more than $3 million in attorneys fees and expenses.

In 2008-09, Mr. Macdonald led the team that obtained the release of Dewey Bozella, who had been wrongfully imprisoned in New York State for more than 26 years. The case, handled on a pro bono basis, generated widespread media coverage. See New York Times October 29, 2009, A21, "Unyielding in His Innocence, Now a Free Man." For its work on the case, the team was given the Gideon Champion of Justice Award by the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

In 2008, on the first day of a jury trial in the United States District Court in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Macdonald obtained dismissal of a securities fraud class action by successfully cross-examining, and excluding on Daubert grounds, the testimony of the plaintiff bar’s leading damages expert.

In 2008, Mr. Macdonald successfully tried a 10-day breach of contract case in New York arising from $240 million business acquisition. The dispute was between two Fortune 50 companies.

In 2008, Mr. Macdonald obtained dismissal of a long-running $600 million breach of fiduciary duty case pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The case had been litigated for many years, both before the Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court, and culminated in dismissal in late 2008. Parfi v. Mirror Image International Inc. 954 A.2d 911 (Del. Ch. 2008)

In 2002, Mr. Macdonald successfully defended a leading Internet company in a week long jury trial. The plaintiff, a former president of a big three television network, sought breach of contract damages of $45 million. The plaintiff was represented by one of the largest law firms in New York City, which pursued the case aggressively in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The jury returned a favorable verdict after deliberating less than two hours. The result was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Mr. Macdonald also defended a multi-national consulting company in a one-month jury trial that concerned a failed $1 billion aluminum smelter project proposed in Venezuela. The case, tried in the US District Court in Boston, involved technical and financial issues regarding the feasibility of the project. The jury found in favor of Mr. Macdonald's client on all claims, and the court went on to award Mr. Macdonald's client more than $1.1 million in attorneys' fees, costs and expert witness expenses, stating that "the result obtained...was virtually total victory." 995 F. Supp. 217 (D. Mass. 1998). Arguing before the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Mr. Macdonald successfully obtained affirmation of the district court's judgment. 147 F.3d 47 (1st Cir. 1998).

In 2001, Mr. Macdonald successfully led the defense, on a pro bono basis, of the Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc. The other side, represented by one of New York City's largest law firms, filed suit before the AAA in New York, claiming breach of contract. Mr. Macdonald's client won the case after a full trial, and the AAA awarded no damages.

Professional Activities

Mr. Macdonald is a member of the American Bar Association. He has lectured on civil trial topics at continuing legal education programs, and is a former adjunct professor of law at Northeastern University School of Law.

Publications

Mr. Macdonald has published articles in both the Boston University Law Review and the Boston Bar Journal.