Evan R. Chesler is Cravath's Presiding Partner. He has broad experience in both trial and appellate courts, and has tried numerous cases in Federal and state courts all over the country.
Mr. Chesler handles a wide variety of litigation, including securities, shareholder derivative, intellectual property, general commercial, environmental, ERISA, contractual disputes and antitrust. He has represented companies and their management in virtually every industry including technology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and financial services.
Mr. Chesler is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a fellow of the New York Bar Foundation and a member of the Executive Committee of the Center for Public Resources. He is the President of the Dwight Opperman Institute of Judicial Administration, the oldest nonpartisan organization in the United States devoted to the education of the judiciary. Mr. Chesler is also a trustee of the New York Public Library and is Chairman of its Lawyers' Committee. He is the author of numerous articles on legal topics as well as a chapter in the popular book, Inside the Minds of Leading Litigators (Aspatore Books, 2002).
Mr. Chesler is an adjunct professor of law at New York University School of Law, where he teaches an Advanced Trial Practice Seminar, and has been an adjunct faculty member at NYU's College of Arts and Science, where he has taught an honors seminar entitled, "Constitutional Rights in Times of National Crisis." He is a recipient of the Judge Simon H. Rifkind Award from the Jewish Theological Seminary (2012); the Law & Society Award from the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (2011); the Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession Award from Chambers and Partners (2009); the Anti-Defamation League's 2007 Human Relations Award; and the Office of the Appellate Defender's Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy (2006). He was recently appointed a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Mr. Chesler has been recognized as a leading litigator in several practice areas by numerous professional publications, including Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Best Lawyers in America, The American Lawyer, Benchmark Litigation, The Legal 500 and Lawdragon. He was named New York City's 2012 "Lawyer of the Year" for Bet-the-Company Litigation by The Best Lawyers in America and received Chambers USA's 2012 Award for Excellence in the Litigation: Business Trial Lawyers category.
Mr. Chesler received his law degree cum laude from New York University School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif (the national honor society for law students), was Topics Editor of the Law Review, served as a junior fellow at the Center for International Studies (at which he co-authored two published articles on aspects of international law), twice received the John Norton Pomeroy Prize for academic excellence and was awarded the Benjamin Butler Prize.
Following his graduation, Mr. Chesler served as law clerk to Hon. Inzer B. Wyatt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined Cravath as a litigation associate in 1976 and became a partner in 1982. Mr. Chesler became head of the Litigation Department in 1996. He was elected Deputy Presiding Partner in November 2005, and Presiding Partner effective January 1, 2007. Effective January 1, 2013, Mr. Chesler will become Chairman of the Firm, the first person to be given that title in the Firm's history.
Mr. Chesler received an A.B. degree, with highest honors in History, from New York University, after which he earned an M.A. in Russian Area Studies at Hunter College. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University and of the New York University School of Law. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the law school's Board of Trustees. Mr. Chesler is a member of NYU's Board of Overseers of the Faculty of Arts and Science and founder and Chairman of LAMP (the Lawyer Alumni Mentoring Program), which provides mentoring and curriculum enrichment programs to prelaw students. He has received two awards from the University, the Alumni Distinguished Service Award (2001) and the Alumni Meritorious Service Award (2004). Mr. Chesler was also recently inducted into the Alumni Association of Hunter College's Hall of Fame for his extraordinary contributions as one of the country's leading litigation and corporate lawyers.