Elyse Echtman
Partner
New York
Elyse, Chair of Orrick’s Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, is a trial lawyer with more than 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.
Elyse’s trial experience has enabled her to develop targeted litigation strategies even when handling cases likely to settle, avoiding unnecessary and costly motion and discovery practice where possible. Her practice focuses not only on defending companies in litigation but also on counseling clients on ways to quickly resolve disputes. She is a strong team leader, with proven success partnering with clients and other professionals to execute innovative litigation strategies.
Clients applaud Elyse, telling Chambers USA 2021 that "she's very good at working with clients, recognizing their needs and making sure that they're met.” That praise is echoed by sources saying that Elyse “is good on her feet in court, writes excellent briefs and thinks strategically."
As demonstrated by the engagements below, her practice is not limited by case type or industry. Instead, clients rely on her ability to immerse herself in the relevant details of their products and services, as well as her unique blend of pragmatism, imagination and advocacy.
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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 talcum powder products contain asbestos and thus violated California Proposition 65 warning requirements. 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. 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. As a condition of the voluntary dismissal, the judge awarded J&J its legal fees incurred defending the suit. In another significant win, Elyse and team convinced a federal judge in the Southern District of California to dismiss with prejudice a consumer class action complaint alleging that J&J misled consumers in connection with its marketing of talc products. In a third Proposition 65 win, Elyse obtained an early summary judgment ruling in a California state court action alleging that talcum products manufactured by J&J and others contained lead, arsenic and chromium without a warning.
- 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 represented 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.
