Adam L. Goodman

Education
- University of Pennsylvania, B.A. 2009, summa cum laude
- Harvard Law School, J.D. 2013, magna cum laude (Notes Editor, Harvard Law Review)
Clerkships
Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States, 2017 – 2018
Honorable David H. Souter (Ret.), Supreme Court of the United States, 2017 – 2018
Honorable Robert A. Katzmann, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2016 – 2017
Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 2015 – 2016
Adam L. Goodman
Adam Goodman is a Partner in the Litigation Department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. His practice focuses on federal securities class actions, derivative suits and merger litigation, antitrust enforcement challenges by government agencies, and federal and state appeals.
Mr. Goodman litigates high-stakes disputes across the state and federal courts. Recent matters and associated outcomes include the expedited Delaware litigation culminating in the $44 billion sale of Twitter to Elon Musk on the deal’s original terms; a complete and first-of-its-kind victory at trial over the FTC on its challenge in its administrative forum seeking to unwind a multibillion-dollar investment; the successful resolution of the FTC’s attempt to block Intercontinental Exchange’s $11.7 billion merger with Black Knight as anticompetitive; the dismissal of numerous class and derivative actions brought against JPMorgan following the collapse of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme; the dismissal of a securities fraud class action against Raytheon Technologies arising out of the company’s disclosure of a criminal subpoena; the dismissal on extraterritoriality grounds of a RICO action against Hewlett-Packard brought by Mexico’s state-owned oil company; and the dismissal of a securities fraud class action against United Technologies alleging fraudulently misleading earnings guidance.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Goodman served as a law clerk at each level of the federal judiciary. Mr. Goodman clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice David H. Souter of the United States Supreme Court, for Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Goodman received a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Mr. Goodman is admitted to practice in the State of New York; the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York; the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Goodman is also an active member of the New York City Bar Association, where he serves on both the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Committee and the Securities Litigation Committee.
Select Publications
- The Supreme Court’s Business for October Term 2022,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, July 17, 2023.
- FTC Diminishes Role of Administrative Law Judge,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, June 12, 2023.
- Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to California Law Alleged to Burden Out-of-State Industry,
in NYU Law School’s Blog on Compliance and Enforcement, May 17, 2023.
- Wachtell Lipton Discusses Constitutional Challenges to Ongoing SEC and FTC Administrative Proceedings,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, April 19, 2023.
- Important Supreme Court Business Cases Decided During October Term 2021 and Cases to Watch in October Term 2022,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, July 6, 2022.
- Important Supreme Court Business Cases Decided During October Term 2020 and Cases to Watch in October Term 2021,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, July 15, 2021.
- Regulators Around the World Address Short Selling in Response to the Covid-19 Market Crisis,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, March 26, 2020.