Fara Tabatabai is a partner and experienced litigator in Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s New York office. Her practice focuses on complex commercial, products liability, and antitrust litigation and arbitration. She represents U.S., Canadian, European, and Asian clients in a variety of industries and has served as litigation and trial counsel in numerous high-stakes domestic and international disputes. Fara has expertise in mass disputes, particularly class actions and consolidated multi-district litigation. She is also experienced with cross-border disputes and acted as counsel to the European debtors of the Nortel Networks enterprise in the first U.S.-Canadian cross-border trial in history.
Multiple legal and business publications have recognized Fara
as a top attorney in her field. In 2019,
the New York Law Journal selected Fara as one of the New York legal profession’s
“Rising Stars.” Crain’s New York Business Magazine named Fara one of its 2020 “Notable
Women in Law,” and Profiles in Diversity Journal named Fara a 2021 “Woman Worth
Watching.” In 2023, Law360 selected Fara
as a “Rising Star” in international arbitration.
Fara is also committed to providing quality pro bono legal services. She has received several awards for her pro bono work, including two Legal Aid Society awards for her role in class action litigation against New York State to increase housing subsidies for low-income families and a Commitment to Justice Award for her work on an immigration case for Her Justice, an organization that provides legal services to low-income women.
Fara currently serves as President of the Iranian American Bar Association’s New York Chapter and was previously a Member of the Corporate Leadership Committee of the New York Women’s Foundation. In 2020, she was selected as a Fellow in the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity, and in 2024, she was selected to participate in the prestigious David Rockefeller Fellows Program through Partnership for New York City.
Recognition
Recommended by The Legal 500 United States for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action Defense: Consumer Products (including Tobacco) (2023, 2024)
Recommended by The Legal 500 United States for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices) Defense (2023, 2024)
Professional Activities
President of Iranian American Bar Association, New York Chapter
Past Member, Corporate Leadership Committee, New York Women's Foundation
Court Admissions
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Highlighted Matters
Representation of chemical company in multi-case, multi-jurisdiction products liability action. Ongoing.
Representation of large e-commerce retailer in contract dispute arbitration. Ongoing.
Representation of nationwide property manager in multi-district antitrust class action litigation. Ongoing.
Representation of Sinclair Broadcast Group in multi-district antitrust class action litigation. Ongoing.
Representation of pharmaceutical company in contract dispute relating to drug pricing. Case settled in our client’s favor.
Representation of Japanese nuclear power company TEPCO in international contract dispute. Won arbitration award in our client's favor.
Representation of pharmaceutical company in contract dispute relating to Medicaid rebate liability. Won summary judgment for our client.
Representation of the European entities of the former Nortel Networks global enterprise in multi-billion dollar US-Canada cross-border litigation. Case settled after trial in our client's favor.
Representation of Trustee of the Lehman Brothers Inc. estate in multi-billion contract dispute over the sale of Lehman’s U.S. broker-dealer business. Trial resulted in an award of $5 billion to client.
Representation of Trustee of the Lehman Brothers Inc. estate in complex, multi-billion dollar claims dispute with a European affiliate. Case settled in our client’s favor.
Representation of Merck in defense of multi-district products liability litigation. Case settled in our client’s favor.