Brandon L. Arnold

Brandon L. Arnold litigates complex civil and commercial cases, including trials and appeals in state and federal courts across the country. Brandon’s work spans a wide range of issues, including distressed-debt litigation, breach of contract and quasi-contract claims in the entertainment and financial industries, and claims under the federal False Claims Act and similar state statutes. He also coordinates extensively with foreign counsel prosecuting actions abroad and initiating actions in U.S. courts to obtain discovery for use in foreign actions.

Brandon has substantial experience representing clients in cases concerning complex commercial documents and financial instruments. Brandon represented general obligation bondholders in connection with Puerto Rico’s PROMESA (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act) Title III proceedings. In addition to litigation matters, Brandon counsels financial institutions and other clients on the interpretation of complex commercial documents and financial instruments.

He also represents clients in U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, and in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) examinations concerning the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering rules.

Brandon has briefed appeals in the Second, Third and DC circuits as well as in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2021, Brandon won a Third Circuit appeal challenging a final removal order entered against a pro bono client by showing that certain convictions were not categorical crimes of violence. Although the Board of Immigration Appeals had twice rejected similar arguments, the DOJ confessed error after reviewing Brandon’s brief, noting that the case concerned “an area of law that is often counter-intuitive and is extraordinarily convoluted.”

Experience

Represented a publicly traded entertainment company in various lawsuits concerning the company’s entry into the foreign gaming market.
Prosecuted actions under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 in various federal courts to obtain discovery for use in foreign proceedings.
Briefed a successful motion to dismiss a suit alleging $385 million in false claims related to electronic health records.

Represented a hedge fund in a complex bondholder dispute arising from exchange offers and consent solicitations in which, after a bench trial, the court sided with the client on every issue and awarded more than $300 million in damages.
Represented a group of general-obligation bondholders of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the first restructuring of a state-level government.
Defended an investment fund against breach-of-contract litigation over an alleged term-loan trade.
Represented a noncitizen on a pro bono basis in a Third Circuit appeal challenging a final order of removal in which, after our brief was filed, the government confessed error and the court directed the termination of removal proceedings.
Represented a leading technology company in government-contract litigation concerning a state health insurance website.
Conducted an anti-money laundering investigation of a broker-dealer, and represented the broker-dealer in regulatory proceedings.
Defended a major financial institution in federal and state securities suits related to residential mortgage-backed securities.

Credentials

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, New York University School of Law, 2013
- Order of the Coif
- Florence Allen Scholar
- Articles Editor, New York University Journal of Law & Business
B.A., summa cum laude, New York University, 2008
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Dean’s Scholarship (merit scholarship)
- Presidential Honors Scholar

Bar Admissions

District of Columbia, 2016
New York, 2014

Clerkships

Honorable Carol Bagley Amon, Chief Judge, U.S.D.C., Eastern District of New York
Honorable Stephen F. Williams, U.S.C.A., D.C. Circuit

Court Admissions

U.S.C.A., 3rd Circuit
U.S.C.A., 4th Circuit
U.S.C.A., D.C. Circuit
U.S.D.C., District of Columbia
U.S.D.C., Southern District of New York
U.S. Supreme Court