Robert Giuffra

Robert Joseph Giuffra Jr. (born ) is an American attorney. He is Co-Chair and a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, and is a member of their Management Committee.

Personal life and education

Giuffra graduated from Bronxville (N.Y.) High School in 1978.Robert Giuffra, Bronxville Grad of '78, Argues Landmark Case for Banks and Fed before US Court of Appeals
" MyHometownBronxville, 24 March 2010 He earned his bachelor's degree ''summa cum laude'' and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1983. Giuffra graduated from Yale Law School in 1987. In 1998, Giuffra married Joyce Campbell, a former press secretary for Senator Bob Dole. The Giuffras have three children (Elizabeth, Caroline and Robert Giuffra III) and live in Manhattan and Southampton.

The couple has been honored for their charitable work, receiving the Spirit of St. Nicholas Award from Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the 69th Cardinal's Christmas Luncheon in December 2014.Cardinal’s Luncheon Helps Catholic Charities Offer Christmas Hope
by Ron Lajoie, Catholic New York, 10 December 2014“Sullivan & Cromwell’s Robert Giuffra Jr.: From Rehnquist to VW,”
by Lenore Adkins, Bloomberg Big Law Business, March 10, 2017 Giuffra is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and was honored at the organization's annual gala in 2024.

Career

Giuffra served as a law clerk to Judge Ralph Winter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1987 to 1988 and to Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court from 1988 to 1989. He joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1989.

Giuffra represented Robert Wallach, counsel to former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, in obtaining the dismissal of his conviction in the Wedtech case; Armand D'Amato, the brother of then-Senator Alfonse D'Amato, in securing the reversal of his mail fraud conviction; David Duncan, the former Arthur Andersen LLP partner who served as lead auditor for Enron and whose guilty plea was later vacated by a federal court; Vornado Chairman and CEO Steven Roth at trial and on appeal.“Trial Pros: Sullivan & Cromwell’s Robert Giuffra,”
Law360, March 7, 2016
by Jonathan Rabinovitz, The New York Times, 1 November 1994

In 2011, Giuffra served as the lead counsel to a group of leading financial institutions in separate actions in New York State court against MBIA challenging its 2009 restructuring, winning the appeal in the New York State Court of Appeals.
by David Bario, July 1, 2011 In 2003 and 2004, Giuffra served as counsel to the Audit Committee of Computer Associates. He later represented Computer Associates in settling investigations by the Department of Justice and SEC.

In 2014, Giuffra represented Enbridge in obtaining a unanimous jury verdict dismissing Energy Transfer Partners’ claims seeking more than $1 billion in damages from Enbridge based on alleged tortious interference with a pipeline project.

In 2015, Giuffra represented The New York State Bankers Association, which sued in federal court to overturn New York City's Responsible Banking Act, legislation that sought to regulate the activities of banks receiving deposits from the City. Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down the law.“Judge strikes down de Blasio effort to regulate banks,”
by Aaron Elstein, Crain's New York Business, August 10, 2015

During 2015, Giuffra also represented DISH Network and EchoStar in obtaining the dismissal of tortious interference claims seeking billions of dollars in damages in an adversary proceeding begun in connection with LightSquared’s Chapter 11 cases.

In March 2017, Giuffra obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a multibillion-dollar putative class action against UBS by Enron shareholders who asserted that UBS bankers knew, and failed to disclose, relevant information about the energy company's finances.

Giuffra represented Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in its litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board and class action plaintiffs over alleged violations of diesel vehicle emissions regulations. In 2019, Fiat Chrysler reached final settlements to resolve those cases.

Giuffra was counsel for Volkswagen AG in the multi-district litigation arising from government investigations into the automaker's use of defeat device software.“Court Sets Deadline for a Volkswagen Diesel Fix, but Solution Could Prove Elusive,”
by Jack Ewing, The New York Times, March 24, 2016 He negotiated a $14.7 billion settlement with U.S. federal and state regulators and class action plaintiffs.Litigators of the Week: One for the History Books,”
by Jenna Greene, The American Lawyer, October 28, 2016 He since has secured the dismissal of related cases brought by the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wyoming and Missouri alleging violation of state environmental laws.

Giuffra reportedly was one of the attorneys who declined to represent President Donald Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Giuffra has represented former Deputy National Security Advisor K. T. McFarland in connection with the Mueller investigation. He reportedly persuaded federal investigators that McFarland had not intentionally misled them about her exchanges with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn regarding conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak concerning sanctions targeting the Russian government.

In 2022, Giuffra represented Allianz when the SEC and DOJ investigated the "Structured Alpha" funds managed by Allianz. Guiffra helped Allianz reach a settlement with a guilty plea of $6 billion in payments to investors and government authorities.

Giuffra represented Goldman Sachs in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, which was a $13 billion class action lawsuit seeking damages after the 2008 financial crisis. Following 13 years of litigation, Giuffra and his team successfully reversed the decision from a lower court to end the case in favor of Goldmans Sachs in 2023.

At Sullivan & Cromwell, Giuffra is currently leading the appeal against the prosecution of Donald Trump in New York, which had produced a criminal conviction and unconditional discharge in January 2025.

In April 2025, President Donald Trump dialed Giuffra into an Oval Office meeting with the chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, which Trump had targeted as part of a larger retaliation campaign against attorneys and law firms that represented his political opponents. Giuffra helped facilitate a resolution between Paul, Weiss and the White House after both sought his involvement.

Public service and political activities

Giuffra served as a White House aide during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Giuffra served as chief counsel to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs from 1995 to 1996, helping to draft the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Giuffra served as counsel to the Senate Whitewater Committee.

Governors of both parties have appointed Giuffra to state government positions. Giuffra served on the ''New York State Commission on Public Integrity'' from 2007 to 2009, overseeing state government ethics and lobbying laws."Gov. Spitzer Announces Appointments to New York State Commission on Public Integrity," US Fed News, September 21, 2007 He also served as a commissioner of the New York State Ethics Commission from 1998 to 2007. Giuffra also served as president of the Federal Bar Council from 2008-10."Federal Bar Council Quarterly
- Dec./Jan./Feb. 2009""Federal Bar Council Quarterly
- Sept./Oct./Nov. 2010" He is Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate LawBoard of Advisors, Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law
/ref> and a member of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of New York.Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, Board of Trustees and Officers
/ref>Downtown Alliance, Board of Directors
/ref> He is the Chairman of the American Swiss Foundation.“American Swiss Foundation Elects New Chairman Robert J. Giuffra, Jr.,”
press release, March 15, 2016

Giuffra is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. In 2017, The American Lawyer named him “Transatlantic Disputes/Regulatory Lawyer of the Year” for his representation of Volkswagen, and in 2014 “Litigator of the Year” for his work in defending UBS and Porsche. In 2011, he was named one of 10 leading U.S. legal innovators by the Financial Times. In 2019, he received the Judge Simon H. Rifkind Award.�
Judge Simon H. Rifkind Award Luncheon
” March 14, 2019

See also

* List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Chief Justice)

References

External links

Sullivan & Cromwell

American Swiss Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giuffra, Bob
American lawyers
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Living people
Yale Law School alumni
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni
Sullivan & Cromwell partners
1968 births
Donald Trump attorneys