Lina Dagnew

A partner in the Litigation Department, Lina Dagnew is a trial lawyer who represents domestic and international clients in various complex commercial and civil litigation matters, as well as in internal investigations, white collar defense and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters. She has jury trial experience in federal and state courts and has counseled clients in pharmaceuticals, financial services, manufacturing, media and other industries. Lina has also handled various litigation and regulatory matters as in-house counsel at one of the largest financial institutions.

Experience

Lina’s representations include:

• Citigroup in multiple civil litigation matters in state and federal courts on variable rate debt obligations, including an antitrust class action;
• Citibank in the successful dismissal of a qui tam action brought under the Florida False Claims Act in connection with synthetic fixed-rate transactions with a notional value of $1 billion;
• the special committee of the board of directors of QAD Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based enterprise software solutions, in a stockholder’s preliminary injunction motion in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking to block a shareholder vote on QAD’s $2 billion merger with private equity firm Thoma Bravo and subsequent litigation;
• The New York State Unified Court System in litigations in state and federal courts regarding the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees, nearly all of which have been successfully dismissed;
• a pharmaceutical company in various lawsuits, including a putative class action, brought by health insurance companies in connection with copay foundations;
• a multinational chemical company in FCPA assessment of a potential target company;
• the founder and former CEO of Premium Point Investments, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund, in a criminal securities fraud trial in the Southern District of New York involving allegations of mismarking; and
• AbbVie in a bellwether trial in Illinois state court on testosterone replacement therapy products, obtaining a complete defense verdict.

Lina was recently recognized by Lawdragon and named to “The 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation” and by Benchmark Litigation on its 2023 and 2024 “40 and Under Hot List” calling her an “emerging talent in white-collar crime litigation and investigations.” She also maintains an active pro bono practice and has successfully represented clients in civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts as well as administrative proceedings. She serves on the board of the Urban Justice Center, an organization that incubates and accelerates early-stage social justice organizations and founders. She is also a contributing author to the Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Review, U.S. Chapter.

During law school, Lina was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, representing clients in housing law, family law, employment law and disability benefits matters.

Practices

Litigation

White Collar & Regulatory Defense

Internal Investigations

Antitrust

Anti-Corruption & FCPA

Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation

False Claims Act & Qui Tam

Pro Bono

Education 

B.A., Manchester University

summa cum laude

J.D., Harvard Law School

Languages 

Amharic

Bar Admissions 

District of Columbia

New York