Thomas R. Valen

Thomas R. Valen

Vice Chair, Business & Commercial Litigation

This attorney has been selected for the recognitions mentioned herein, which have been conferred by the corresponding publications and/or organizations noted. An overview of the award selection methodologies for these recognitions can be found at https://www.gibbonslaw.com/awards. Links to certain specific methodologies are embedded in individual entries. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Mr. Valen represents an exceptional range of domestic and international clients in major complex dispute resolution and business counseling matters in the United States and abroad. His experience, business judgment, and training help him serve the needs of corporations and individuals in both civil and criminal litigation, enabling him to efficiently handle his clients’ most significant matters involving either governmental or private claims, including commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and shareholder disputes. Mr. Valen’s flexible, practical approach to dispute resolution enables him to represent his client’s needs in whatever forum a dispute may arise.

One matter that illustrates Mr. Valen’s breadth of experience and ability to manage complex and high-stakes matters is his representation of Bill Hwang, Founder and CEO of Archegos Fund LP. The Fund, which at one time owned investments valued at several billion dollars, collapsed due to a margin squeeze in March 2021. Since that time, Mr. Hwang and others have faced governmental investigations, extensive criminal and civil litigation, as well as other interactions with regulators, domestic and international banks, insurance carriers, press, and many other interested parties. Mr. Valen represented Mr. Hwang in all of these matters, ensuring a coordinated response across each aspect of this many-faceted problem.

Areas of Focus

Civil and Criminal Litigation & Compliance Counseling

Mr. Valen’s recent work includes:

  • Serving as a member of the appellate team representing the former President of a major bank, who had been convicted of criminal charges based on how the bank reported the status of its loan portfolio to regulators. The team won a reversal of the convictions in a landmark ruling about the government’s burden of proof in false statements prosecutions.
  • Representing the Presiding Officers of the New Jersey Legislature in federal court litigation regarding New Jersey’s successful effort to legalize wagering on professional and collegiate sporting events, which resulted in the United States Supreme Court striking down a decades-old federal statute as an unconstitutional intrusion on the sovereignty of the states.
  • Leading nationwide internal investigation for a major pharmaceutical company into claims that its sales representatives engaged in inappropriate conduct while marketing a newly-approved biopharmaceutical product.

Credentials

Education

Rutgers School of Law - Newark (J.D., with honors)

  • Order of the Coif

Cornell University (B.A.)

Professional Admissions

State of New Jersey

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

District of Columbia Court of Appeals

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Supreme Court of the United States

Professional Activities

New Jersey State Bar Association

American Bar Association

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Task Force on Equal Treatment in the Courts, 1994-1997

Judicial Clerkship(s)

Law clerk to the Honorable Anne E. Thompson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

Civic/Charitable Activities

Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark
Board of Trustees