Jamuna D. Kelley

Jamuna Kelley represents major public and private companies in connection with a broad variety of complex commercial disputes, involving bankruptcy, consumer, malpractice, and other claims. Jamuna also has an active pro bono practice, with a particular emphasis on employment discrimination.

Representative Matters

• Representation of a group of lenders holding over $600 million of first-lien debt in Serta Simmons Bedding in closely watched lawsuits in New York state and federal courts and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas challenging the validity and legality of the company’s uptier transaction with another group of lenders.
• Representation of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in defense of a class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to set the ISDAfix benchmark rate.
• Representation of Caesars Entertainment Corporation in defense of federal and chancery court lawsuits brought by various creditor groups alleging that certain transactions violated the terms of bond issuances and the Trust Indenture Act. 
• Representation of a former senior executive of a major financial institution in connection with a publicly-reported money laundering investigation being conducted by the DOJ, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and state entities into our client’s former employer.

• Representation of GSO Capital Partners in litigation challenging its refinancing of debt issued by New Jersey-based home builder Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.

• Representation of the Tribune Company Litigation Trust and indenture trustees for Tribune’s pre-LBO bondholders in prosecuting claims for intentional and constructive fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting, and professional malpractice, among others, against Tribune's former shareholders and financial advisors arising out of Tribune’s 2007 leveraged buyout. The case was exceptionally complex, seeking to claw back billions of dollars distributed to approximately 5,000 shareholders, including mutual funds, trusts, pension plans, and individuals, in a multidistrict litigation that consolidated more than 40 separate actions brought in multiple federal and state courts throughout the country.
• Representation of an Am Law 100 law firm and an individual partner of the firm in defense of a legal malpractice action brought by a former client in connection with patent litigation in which the firm had represented the defendant. The plaintiff's appeal was dismissed by the First Department Appellate Division.

• Pro bono representation, as co-counsel, of a former national restaurant chain employee as plaintiff in an employment discrimination lawsuit alleging the employee was improperly fired from her job after missing work due to injuries suffered in a domestic violence incident.
• Representation of witnesses in high-profile investigations conducted by governmental and regulatory authorities in federal district courts and pending civil litigations.

Prior to joining Friedman Kaplan, Jamuna practiced at Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP in Philadelphia.

Outside the Office

Jamuna is a member of 100 Women in Finance and the Federal Bar Council, an organization dedicated to promoting excellence in federal practice and fellowship among federal practitioners in the Second Circuit. She is also an active member of professional organizations that advocate for gender equity and women’s rights within the workplace, including the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Legal Network for Gender Equity, which connects those who have experienced sexual misconduct in the workplace with attorneys and public relations professionals who can help them.