Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., Esq., Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP
As an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in Manhattan after his graduation from Columbia Law School, Nicholas Gravante had the opportunity to work side-by-side with famed trial lawyer David Boies on the Texaco/Pennzoil litigation. Today, Gravante serves as the administrative partner of the 64-lawyer New York City office of Mr. Boies’s eponymous firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and also as the firm’s general counsel. With a focus on commercial litigation, antitrust litigation, and business crimes, he is a sought-after trial lawyer.
A self-described aggressive cross-examiner and calculated risk taker, his winning style and dynamic reputation have earned Gravante stellar credibility with judges and juries. That credibility has helped clients like Starr International Co. achieve striking victories.
Starr, controlled by former American International Group CEO Maurice Greenberg, was recently in a protracted battle with AIG for control of a contested block of AIG common stock worth billions of dollars. Over the course of a successful multi-week trial, the Boies Schiller team secured the entire top floor of the Millennium Hilton hotel in lower Manhattan. "It was a very important case for our firm and client," he recalls.
A group of TrialGraphix presentation technology and graphics consultants remained on-site for the duration of the trial, preparing hundreds of demonstratives and controlling the technology operations throughout the matter. "They were responsive and did great work,” Gravante says. “The work they did was integral to our success in that case."
The victory was so substantial that AIG settled all of its remaining disputes with Greenberg and Starr soon afterwards. "After that trial, AIG realized it did not want to be litigating with Mr. Greenberg, especially with Boies Schiller as his counsel," Gravante says.
An avid tennis player, skier and coin collector, Gravante serves on the board of directors for the Brooklyn Public Library and the Community Service Society of New York. His eclectic interests are reflected in his representative clients, which include The Andy Warhol Foundation, thousands of independent mom-and-pop pharmacies, and members of Vice President Joe Biden's immediate family. In many of these matters, he has enlisted the support of TrialGraphix. "We have been using TrialGraphix as far back as I can remember," Gravante says.
During the firm's representation of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world, in a dispute with NBC Universal and Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language content producer, over the contract with their soap opera stars. TrialGraphix assisted in creating binders of demonstratives for "podium books" to assist with motion practice. "We have consistently used TrialGraphix for that kind of work," he says.
When litigating the potential dissolution of AriZona Iced Tea, TrialGraphix helped the trial team describe a series of complex corporate structural issues in an uncomplicated fashion. "Adversaries are sometimes overwhelmed by the simplicity and power of the demonstratives we create," he says.
TrialGraphix was also key in a suit on behalf of private equity firm Terra Firma against Citigroup Inc. and three of its subsidiaries alleging fraud in connection with the bank's role in the 2007 private auction of EMI Group. Terra Firma survived summary judgment to get a difficult case to the jury with the assistance and insight of the TrialGraphix team. In a jury study of the case shortly before trial, its consultants advised the Boies Schiller team on the matter's strengths and weaknesses. "They were right on the money," Gravante says. In addition to profiling the ideal jury, TrialGraphix identified the key issues the trial team should press, as well as the concerns it needed to rebut. Although Citigroup prevailed, the insight was extremely valuable.
It is that advantage that has sustained the relationship between the firm and TrialGraphix for the past decade. “We set a budget, they stick to it, and their cost is always commensurate with the value we receive," Gravante says. "TrialGraphix has been great and historically been the company to which we have first turned for graphics technology support at trial."