Leah Godesky
Partner
Disclaimer
Thank you for your interest. Before you communicate with one of our attorneys, please note: Any comments our attorneys share with you are general information and not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will exist between you or your business and O’Melveny or any of its attorneys unless conflicts have been cleared, our management has given its approval, and an engagement letter has been signed. Meanwhile, you agree: we have no duty to advise you or provide you with legal assistance; you will not divulge any confidences or send any confidential or sensitive information to our attorneys (we are not in a position to keep it confidential and might be required to convey it to our clients); and, you may not use this contact to attempt to disqualify O’Melveny from representing other clients adverse to you or your business. By clicking "accept" you acknowledge receipt and agree to all of the terms of this paragraph and our Disclaimer.
Leah Godesky is a trial lawyer who represents clients across an array of industries, including insurance, entertainment, securities, and pharmaceuticals. Her litigation experience spans a variety of forums, including federal and state-court proceedings, arbitrations, and regulatory investigations. Leah works diligently to provide clients with favorable results in challenging and time-sensitive circumstances.
Leah also maintains an active pro bono docket. She is currently serving as co-counsel with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project for Kentucky physicians asserting a constitutional challenge to a state statute.
Honors & Awards
- Named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report (2020)
- Recognized by New York Law Journal as a “Rising Star” and “New York Trailblazer” (2020)
- Recieved the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award (2020)
- Named to Crain’s New York Business “Notable Women in Law” (2019)
- Named to Top Music Lawyers List by Billboard (2019, 2020)
- Selected as a “Winning Litigator” by The National Law Journal (2019)
- Named to the 40 & Under Hot List in General Commercial & Securities by Benchmark Litigation (2018-2021)
- Shortlisted by Chambers Women in Law Awards: Future Leader –– Gender Diversity (2018)
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
- Connecticut
- New York
Court Admissions
- US Court of Appeals, First, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits
- US District Court, Central District of California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Southern District of New York, and Western District of Wisconsin
Education
- Columbia University, J.D.: James Kent Scholar; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Colgate University, B.A., Political Science, Religion: magna cum laude
Professional Activities
Author
- “State Attorneys General and Contingency Fee Arrangements: An Affront to the Neutrality Doctrine? The Underlying Legal Theories and a Novel Proposal for Reform,” Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems (May 2009)
Fellow
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
Member
- New York Women's Bar Association
- Representing leading insurer in coverage litigation arising from COVID-19 pandemic business-interruption claims.
- Representing an insurance company in coverage disputes relating to environmental-pollution investigation and remediation costs. KeySpan Gas East Corp. v. Century Indemnity Company (NY); Brooklyn Union Gas Co. v. Am. Home Assurance Co., et al.
- Obtained important and broad-reaching New York Court of Appeals ruling rejecting policyholder’s argument that damages from long-term environmental contamination cannot be allocated “pro rata” during years insurance was unavailable.
- Representing pop-music star Kesha in litigation involving defamation and abuse claims.
- Obtained summary-judgment-stage injunction for Twentieth Century Fox in employee-poaching dispute with Netflix regarding the enforceability of California fixed-term employment contracts.
- Defended biopharmaceutical company CTI Biopharma in securities-fraud class action and derivative litigation alleging misrepresentations regarding the regulatory-approval process. In re CTI Biopharma Corp. Securities Litigation.
- Obtained voluntary dismissal of a securities class-action complaint against a former Pfizer officer alleging misrepresentations regarding the safety profile of the company's pain medications. In Re: Pfizer Securities Litigation.
- Obtained dismissal of a fraud complaint against a global financial institution relating to the creation, sale, and management of a collateralized-debt obligation. Aozora Bank Ltd. v. Barclays Bank PLC, et al.
- National coordinating counsel for a global financial institution in federal-court litigation, FINRA arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings arising from the marketing, sale, and underwriting of auction-rate securities.
- Obtained summary judgment on investor's federal and state securities-fraud claims. Tutor Perini Corp. v. Banc of Am. Sec.
- Obtained summary judgment that investor waived its right to arbitrate claims by first pursuing them in federal court. Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. N.R. Hamm Quarry.
- Represented biopharmaceutical company Nektar Therapeutics in a breach-of-contract dispute regarding a licensed product.
- Represented the former employee of a major financial institution in a criminal investigation of the municipal-bond industry.
Leah is actively involved with O’Melveny’s pro bono practice. Her representative pro bono experience includes:
- Serving as co-counsel with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project in successfully challenging the constitutionality of a Kentucky statute that infringed on women’s ability to access critical healthcare services.
- Serving as co-counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood in successfully challenging the constitutionality of a Virginia statute that restricts women’s access to healthcare services.
- Serving as co-counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights in successfully challenging the constitutionality of a state statute that infringed on North Carolina physicians’ First Amendment rights.
- Obtaining asylum for an eastern European refugee of Roma descent.
- Representing a domestic-violence victim in trial-court litigation and appeals relating to malicious-prosecution and abuse-of-process claims filed by her ex-spouse.
- Co-authoring United States Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of the Guttmacher Institute arguing in support of the Affordable Care Act's contraception-coverage provision.
- Obtaining voluntary dismissal of federal-court malicious-prosecution claim arising out of a sexual-assault report.
VIEW MORE