Christopher D. Belelieu is a litigation partner and first-chair trial lawyer. Chris’s practice focuses on complex and high-stakes commercial litigation disputes, representing clients across a range of industries with a particular focus on the financial services industry. Chris represents both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts, as well as in different arbitral forums. In 2024, Chris was voted a BTI Consulting Group Client Service All-Star. One client described Chris as “very sharp and very thoughtful about market changes and trends, knows what I'm focused on and tailors his interactions to that and also expands it."
Throughout his career, Chris has represented companies such as Perella Weinberg Partners, Elliott Investment Management, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Millennium Management, certain Blackstone portfolio companies, MidOcean Partners, Motive Partners, BTG Pactual, Arlington Capital Partners, ATL Partners, Meridiam, Fifth Wall, GEICO, Amazon, SES, WeWork and Forbes.
Chris is a member of the Board of Directors for The Legal Aid Society. Chris has had a significant pro bono practice throughout his career, and has received several awards for his work, including the Commitment to Justice Award from Her Justice for his work representing a victim of domestic violence in immigration and family court proceedings (2012) and an award from The Legal Aid Society for his work litigating on behalf of homeless families with children for the provision of shelter (2007).
Chris received his law degree from the Columbia Law School where he was recognized as a James Kent Scholar, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a recipient of the David Berger Memorial Prize in International Law. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of The Columbia Journal of European Law and as Executive Editor of The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. After graduating from law school, Chris served as a clerk for Judge Rosemary Barkett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Chris earned an A.B. summa cum laude from Georgetown University and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Georgetown, he was a member of the men’s varsity tennis team.
Chris is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Global Diversity Committee.
Recent Representative Experience
Trials
- Lead trial counsel in a seven-week bench trial for Perella Weinberg Partners in New York state court against former members of the firm related to violations of both their contractual (including their restrictive covenants) and fiduciary duties.
- Lead trial counsel in Delaware Court of Chancery trial for Samvit Ramadurgam, the co-founder of Destiny XYZ and Destiny Tech 100, a publicly-traded closed-end fund giving retail investors exposure to private start-ups, against his co-founder and other Board members for, among other things, breaches of fiduciary duty.
Securities and SPAC Litigation
- Lead counsel for SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. and certain officers and directors in securities class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits related to European demand and inventory levels.
- Lead counsel for Driven Brands and certain officers and directors in securities class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits related to its cash wash business and the integration of its auto glass segment.
- Lead counsel for former directors and officers of Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. in Delaware Court of Chancery litigation related to de-SPAC merger with SmartRent.
- Lead counsel for Millennium Management, Suvretta Capital Management and TOMS Capital Investment Management in litigation in New York state court related to PIPE investments in SPAC.
Earnout Disputes
- Lead counsel to a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners in an earnout dispute in Maryland state court.
- Lead counsel to a portfolio company of ATL Partners in an earnout dispute in Delaware Court of Chancery.
Other Commercial Disputes
- Representing Amazon in litigation in New York federal court related to its Key for Business.
- Represented Marsh McLennan in litigation related to purported breaches of new hires’ restrictive covenants with their former employer.
- Represented Guy Carpenter in litigation against a competitor and certain individuals related to their breaches of their contractual (including restrictive covenants) and fiduciary duties.
- Represented SES, the world’s largest satellite company, in bankruptcy court against leading competitor, Intelsat.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Antitrust and Competition
- Class Actions
- Emerging Companies / Venture Capital
- Energy and Infrastructure
- Investment Funds
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Private Equity
- Securities Litigation
- Sports Law
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- Columbia University - 2006 Juris Doctor
- Georgetown University - 2003 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, Hon. Rosemary Barkett, 2007 - 2008