Elyse Echtman

Elyse, Co-Leader of Orrick’s Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, is a trial lawyer with over 25 years of experience trying and resolving complex commercial and product liability matters. Elyse has served as trial counsel for clients including Johnson & Johnson, DISH, Telenor, Nintendo, and Credit Suisse.

• Engagements

  Some of Elyse's notable representations include the following:

  • Johnson & Johnson Proposition 65 Litigation. In a case Law360 described as one of the top battles to watch in 2019, Elyse took the lead in J&J’s defense of claims by seven plaintiffs who alleged J&J’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products contain asbestos and thus violated Prop 65’s warning label requirement. The suit sought injunctive relief – a warning label on the products – as well as statutory penalties of $2,500 per day for each J&J talc product sold without a warning label. After J&J’s expert reports demonstrated the lack of merit to plaintiffs’ claims, the Plaintiffs sought permission from the court to drop their lawsuit. In granting the voluntary dismissal, the judge awarded J&J its legal fees incurred defending the suit. Elyse continues to be a critical member of the team defending J&J in related ongoing matters.
  • DISH Network. Elyse represents DISH Network and Sling TV in a declaratory judgment, breach of contract and copyright infringement action pending in the Southern District of New York against Asia TV, a provider of television programming content from South Asia. Following a two-day evidentiary hearing, Elyse successfully obtained a preliminary injunction against Asia TV preventing termination of the parties’ contracts, maintaining the status quo, and requiring Asia TV to continue to provide its television programming to DISH. 
  • DISH Network. Elyse second-chaired Orrick’s representation of DISH Network at trial in one of the highest stakes telemarketing cases in the nation, which was brought by the United States government (specifically, the FTC) and the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio seeking civil penalties upward of $23 billion.
  • American Cyanamid Company. Elyse represents Cyanamid as national counsel in litigation concerning lead pigment in paint. These cases have included actions by individuals, some framed as putative class actions, and actions initiated by various State and local governments, such as the State of Rhode Island, the City of Chicago, certain New Jersey municipalities and certain California Counties and municipalities.
  • TCPA. Elyse regularly counsels and defends clients in connection with Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims, including defense of large-scale class actions.
  • Nintendo. Elyse was a member of Orrick's trial team that represented Nintendo in a patent dispute at the International Trade Commission related to the Nintendo Wii. Following a bench trial in August 2011 before an Administrative Law Judge, the Orrick team obtained a complete victory for Nintendo. The Financial Times selected the case for its list of the most innovative client results of 2012.
  • DHL. Elyse participated in Orrick's representation of DHL as national counsel in wide-ranging commercial litigation relating to DHL Express (USA) Inc.'s decision to cease offering domestic-only shipping services in the United States, handling those matters pending in the New York courts. Elyse's representation of DHL also has included the defense of a putative class action brought in the Western District of New York (successfully defeating attempts at class certification), as well as state false claims act cases brought in multiple states.
  • UNCITRAL Arbitration. Elyse has represented a major European telecommunications concern in various UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings
  • In re 105 East Second Street. Elyse second-chaired the successful trial defense of a United States Trustee in Federal Bankruptcy Court in a multi-faceted real estate partnership dispute, affirmed by the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Criminal Matters. Elyse served as a Special Assistant District Attorney with the Kings County District Attorney's Office, Homicide Bureau, during which time she second-chaired four homicide trials.