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Lauren R. Mendolera

Partner

Lauren’s zealous advocacy and experience in commercial litigation, including complex insurance-coverage and antitrust matters, has led to excellent results for her clients at a national level. Lauren has developed a uniquely robust perspective through her time clerking for a federal judge, working in both state and federal government positions, and representing some of the nation’s largest insurers and sophisticated insureds in complex coverage issues. This has allowed her to bring a level of sophistication and creativity to her work in order to better serve her clients’ insurance-coverage needs.

Alongside her contract dispute experience, Lauren has also represented multi-national companies in antitrust matters, including headline-grabbing Department of Justice investigations, shareholder and business owner disputes, non-profit funding disputes, and individuals through every stage of their tax controversies, both in discussions directly with the IRS and through litigating in the United States Tax Court.

In addition to years of law firm-litigation experience, Lauren also worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C., the New York State Assembly, and the New York State Attorney General’s Office – Consumer Fraud Bureau. She draws from this government experience, as well as her prior law firm experience in New York City at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to secure outstanding results for her clients in complex and high-stakes disputes.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Governance Committee Member, Massachusetts Avenue Project
  • Board Member, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. (VLP)
  • Member, New York State Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
  • Member, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Named Buffalo Business First’s 40 Under 40, 2024
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Insurance Law (2021-2024)
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorneys” Award, The Daily Record, 2020
  • Recipient, 2019 Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project V.I.P. Award
  • Recipient, City Bar Justice Center’s Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, 2016
  • New York University School of Law
    • Board Member and Senior Notes Editor, N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
    • McKay Scholar
  • University at Albany
    • Presidential Scholar
    • New York State Assembly Stanley Fink Scholar

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Lead internal investigations for public and non-public companies, including in relation to contract fraud, employment discrimination, whistleblower statutes, misuse of public funds and False Claims Act violations, antitrust violations, and in connection with inquiries from the Department of Justice, FINRA, IRS, and SEC.
  • Represent national insurers and policyholders in actions related to insurance-coverage issues and disputes, including high-stakes cases involving bad-faith claims or extracontractual damages.
  • Represent shareholders in shareholder disputes, including breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and corporate waste claims.
  • Participate in DOJ, SEC, and FINRA investigations and arbitrations involving international banks, broker-dealers, and financial advisors.
  • Provide clients with insurance-coverage advice, including providing advice regarding adequacy of type and levels of coverage.
  • Provide legal advice and represents clients with respect to cyber insurance, errors and omissions insurance, umbrella insurance, excess insurance, commercial general liability insurance, property insurance, environmental insurance, professional liability insurance, representations and warranties insurance, crime insurance, automobile insurance including underinsured benefits, business interruption insurance, employment practices insurance, product liability insurance, and product recall insurance.
  • Consult and represent insurers for litigation and pre-litigation risk management regarding insurance claims-handling and underwriting procedures, including with respect to diacetyl-exposure lawsuits, chemical-exposure claims, manuscript endorsements, timely disclaimer and notice requirements, and insurer good-faith requirements.
  • Represent excess insurers throughout monitoring, settlement, and trial.
  • Represent taxpayers in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax departments, including the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
  • Represent clients in contract disputes with various counterparties, including contractors, purchasers, and vendors.
  • Advise and represent non-profit entities in cy pres proceedings for purposes of modifying restrictions on the use of charitable funds.
  • Advise non-profit entities on compliance with 501(c)(3), including non-profits with diversity, equity, and inclusion missions.
  • Represent plaintiffs and defendants on antitrust claims relating to price-fixing and market allocation.

NEWS

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Southern, and Eastern Districts of New York
  • U.S. Tax Court

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Berle M. Schiller, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

EDUCATION

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University at Albany, B.A., summa cum laude

Lauren’s zealous advocacy and experience in commercial litigation, including complex insurance-coverage and antitrust matters, has led to excellent results for her clients at a national level. Lauren has developed a uniquely robust perspective through her time clerking for a federal judge, working in both state and federal government positions, and representing some of the nation’s largest insurers and sophisticated insureds in complex coverage issues. This has allowed her to bring a level of sophistication and creativity to her work in order to better serve her clients’ insurance-coverage needs.

Alongside her contract dispute experience, Lauren has also represented multi-national companies in antitrust matters, including headline-grabbing Department of Justice investigations, shareholder and business owner disputes, non-profit funding disputes, and individuals through every stage of their tax controversies, both in discussions directly with the IRS and through litigating in the United States Tax Court.

In addition to years of law firm-litigation experience, Lauren also worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C., the New York State Assembly, and the New York State Attorney General’s Office – Consumer Fraud Bureau. She draws from this government experience, as well as her prior law firm experience in New York City at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to secure outstanding results for her clients in complex and high-stakes disputes.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Governance Committee Member, Massachusetts Avenue Project
  • Board Member, Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. (VLP)
  • Member, New York State Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section
  • Member, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Named Buffalo Business First’s 40 Under 40, 2024
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Insurance Law (2021-2024)
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, 2021
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorneys” Award, The Daily Record, 2020
  • Recipient, 2019 Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project V.I.P. Award
  • Recipient, City Bar Justice Center’s Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, 2016
  • New York University School of Law
    • Board Member and Senior Notes Editor, N.Y.U. Journal of Legislation and Public Policy
    • McKay Scholar
  • University at Albany
    • Presidential Scholar
    • New York State Assembly Stanley Fink Scholar

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Lead internal investigations for public and non-public companies, including in relation to contract fraud, employment discrimination, whistleblower statutes, misuse of public funds and False Claims Act violations, antitrust violations, and in connection with inquiries from the Department of Justice, FINRA, IRS, and SEC.
  • Represent national insurers and policyholders in actions related to insurance-coverage issues and disputes, including high-stakes cases involving bad-faith claims or extracontractual damages.
  • Represent shareholders in shareholder disputes, including breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and corporate waste claims.
  • Participate in DOJ, SEC, and FINRA investigations and arbitrations involving international banks, broker-dealers, and financial advisors.
  • Provide clients with insurance-coverage advice, including providing advice regarding adequacy of type and levels of coverage.
  • Provide legal advice and represents clients with respect to cyber insurance, errors and omissions insurance, umbrella insurance, excess insurance, commercial general liability insurance, property insurance, environmental insurance, professional liability insurance, representations and warranties insurance, crime insurance, automobile insurance including underinsured benefits, business interruption insurance, employment practices insurance, product liability insurance, and product recall insurance.
  • Consult and represent insurers for litigation and pre-litigation risk management regarding insurance claims-handling and underwriting procedures, including with respect to diacetyl-exposure lawsuits, chemical-exposure claims, manuscript endorsements, timely disclaimer and notice requirements, and insurer good-faith requirements.
  • Represent excess insurers throughout monitoring, settlement, and trial.
  • Represent taxpayers in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and state tax departments, including the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
  • Represent clients in contract disputes with various counterparties, including contractors, purchasers, and vendors.
  • Advise and represent non-profit entities in cy pres proceedings for purposes of modifying restrictions on the use of charitable funds.
  • Advise non-profit entities on compliance with 501(c)(3), including non-profits with diversity, equity, and inclusion missions.
  • Represent plaintiffs and defendants on antitrust claims relating to price-fixing and market allocation.

NEWS

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Southern, and Eastern Districts of New York
  • U.S. Tax Court

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Berle M. Schiller, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

EDUCATION

  • New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University at Albany, B.A., summa cum laude

Evoto
Lauren R. Mendolera