Elaine P. Golin

Education
- Yale University, B.A.
- University of Edinburgh, Diploma
- Columbia Law School, J.D., (Articles Editor, Columbia Law Review)
Clerkships
Honorable Sandra L. Lynch United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit
Elaine P. Golin
Elaine P. Golin is a partner in the Litigation Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Her practice includes contracts, corporate governance, RMBS and securities litigation, as well as other types of complex commercial litigation. Ms. Golin also focuses on the negotiated resolution of complex matters.
Recently, Ms. Golin has represented Cardinal Health in matters pertaining to the opioid epidemic, providing strategic and governance advice on litigation and potential resolutions, and related matters, and has advised Bank of America, Huntington Bank and other financial institutions on litigation and regulatory issues relating to implementation of Covid-19 relief programs, including the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program.
Ms. Golin has represented Bank of America, PNC and other financial institutions in numerous disputes concerning mortgage-related matters. Representations include Bank of America’s groundbreaking settlement of claims relating to Countrywide mortgage-backed securities and related litigation, Bank of America’s multifaceted resolutions with FHFA, MBIA, FGIC and AIG, Bank of America’s global RMBS agreement with the Department of Justice, and PNC in mortgage litigation with RFC. Ms. Golin acts as national strategic counsel to Bank of America in RMBS and other mortgage-related matters.
Other significant representations include: J.C. Flowers, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase in material adverse change litigation with Sallie Mae; IAC in litigation with Liberty Media; Rohm and Haas in its suit to enforce its merger agreement with Dow Chemical; and senior secured lenders in the Spectrum Brands bankruptcy litigation. Ms. Golin also participated in the pro bono representation of artist Christoph Büchel in a successful First Circuit appeal involving the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.
As a litigation associate, Ms. Golin worked on several of the firm’s high-profile matters, including its representation of IBP in IBP v. Tyson and of Larry Silverstein in insurance litigation arising out of the destruction of the World Trade Center.
Ms. Golin received a B.A. from Yale College, a diploma in Literature from the University of Edinburgh, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was an articles editor of The Columbia Law Review and a James Kent Scholar. She clerked for the Honorable Judge Sandra Lynch of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Among other professional recognitions, Ms. Golin has been named by Lawdragon as one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States and as a Lawdragon Legend, was profiled in Lawdragon’s Lawyer Limelight and is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of the top 250 women in litigation and as a “national practice area star.”
Ms. Golin serves on the board of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, a non-profit providing leadership education to low income high-school and college women of color, and on the board of Mobilization for Justice, a legal services organization in New York City.
Select Publications
- The CARES Act: Litigation and Enforcement Lessons from the Financial Crisis,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, April 9, 2020.
- Lessons Learned: 10 Years of Financial Services Litigation Since the Financial Crisis,
in The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Financial Services Disputes, Global Legal Group Ltd., 2019.
- New York's Highest Court Holds that Six-Year Statute of Limitations on RMBS Repurchase Claims Runs from Time of Securitization,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, June 15, 2015.
- New York Appellate Court Holds that Common-Interest Privilege Can Apply to Merger Parties' Pre-Closing Communications Even if Litigation is Not Contemplated,
in The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, December 11, 2014.
- New York Appellate Court Holds that Claims for Breach of RMBS Representations and Warranties Accrue on Issuance,
in The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 14, 2014.