Priyanka Wityk

Priyanka Wityk is a seasoned litigator representing public and private companies across a variety of industries, including financial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and real estate. She has expertise in litigating complex commercial disputes in federal and state court that involve contract, trade secret misappropriation, business torts, antitrust, securities, bankruptcy, and other issues, as well as defense of law firms in legal malpractice cases. She is a founding member of Friedman Kaplan’s Women’s Initiative Committee.

Prior to joining Friedman Kaplan in 2016, Priyanka practiced at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Representative Matters

• Representation, including serving as trial counsel, of a CDO collateral manager and recovery service provider in litigation brought by a CDO trustee.
• Representation of an affiliate of the former owner of the iconic Shore Club Hotel in Miami’s South Beach in litigation asserting breach of contract and business tort claims following a series of clandestine transactions that divested our client of its rights in the Shore Club.
• Representation of an online mortgage lender in litigation asserting claims for tortious interference with contract, misappropriation of confidential information, and violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in connection with a competitor’s solicitation and hiring of the client’s former employee.
• Representation of a major law firm and one of its partners in defense of alleged legal malpractice claims in which the plaintiff seeks approximately $60 million.
• Representation of the former President and CEO of a prominent medical lab in defense of a qui tam lawsuit alleging violations of the False Claims Act and various anti-kickback statutes; all claims in the case were dismissed.
• Representation of successor indenture trustee for $250 million of unsecured notes of Nine West Holdings, Inc. in connection with Nine West’s bankruptcy and potential claims arising out of the company's 2014 leveraged buyout and asset sales. Counsel on trial team in a contested bankruptcy confirmation hearing that led to a revised plan of reorganization that provided a greater recovery to noteholders and other unsecured creditors.
• Representation of the NWHI Litigation Trust that was established in the bankruptcy to pursue claims relating to the 2014 transaction in which Nine West’s predecessor was purchased, certain of its businesses were sold off, and its shareholders received more than $1 billion for their shares.
• Representation of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in defense of an antitrust class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to set the ISDAfix benchmark rate in violation of the Sherman Act.
• Representation of an investment bank in connection with litigation arising out of a multimillion-dollar dispute in which a former client of the investment bank sued for breach of contract and in which the investment bank asserted counterclaims to recover fees owed to it.
• Representation of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in a multimillion-dollar breach of contract action by a supplier.
• Representation of a medical service provider in internal investigations arising from allegations of possible violations of federal health care law.
• Representation of the former owner and operator of weight loss clinics in California in an appeal to the Ninth Circuit of the client’s conviction for allegedly operating an insurance fraud scheme and in related restitution and forfeiture proceedings.

Outside the Office

Priyanka is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2021 class of Fellows, a program designed to identify, train, and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. She is also a member of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) and on the editorial board of NAWL’s publication, the Women Lawyers Journal, which focuses on issues relevant to women in the law. Priyanka has also served as a member of NAWL's Leadership Program Committee.