Cory Buland

New York Partner Cory Buland regularly guides some of the nation’s leading companies to success in bet-the-company litigation. Buland’s roster of clients has included Uber, Walmart, Chevron, J.B. Hunt Transportation Services, Corinthian Capital Group, Wellstat Therapeutics, and Ellington Management Group.

Buland’s practice is diverse – he leads both plaintiffs and defendants through complex commercial disputes of every stripe: from breaches of contract to business torts; pharmaceutical to securities litigation; and theft of trade secrets to suits under the False Claims Act.

Named one of the nation’s Top 500 Leading Litigators by Lawdragon (2023), included on Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under Hotlist (2023), and called a Rising Star of the Courtroom by Bloomberg Law (2022), Buland earns his clients’ trust through his dedication to understanding their business and industry and his commitment to achieving their goals. Clients return to Buland because of his keen ability to master complex topics and markets and distill their cases into crisp, compelling arguments for judges, juries, and arbitrators.

Complex Litigation 

Buland has secured major wins for his clients across the nation. Notable representations include:

City of Baltimore v. Purdue Pharma et al. (Circuit Court for Baltimore City).  Buland represented the City of Baltimore in litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors.  Susman Godfrey secured more than $400 million for the City in pre-trial settlements and obtained a $266 million jury verdict following a three-month trial against the remaining two defendants.  Read more. 

255 Butler Associates, LLC v. 255 Butler LLC (Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County). Buland led a Susman Godfrey team that secured a $36 million judgment after a lengthy trial on behalf of client, 255 Butler Associates LLC, against its commercial landlord in a case concerning breach of contract, alleged extortion, and substantial lost profits related to a prominent piece of Brooklyn real estate. Read more.

In re: WeWork Litigation (Delaware Chancery Court). Buland represented WeWork founder, Adam Neumann, against SoftBank after SoftBank withdrew its offer to buy up to $3 billion in WeWork stock from Mr. Neumann and other shareholders. This lawsuit represents one of the largest individual claims to be litigated this century. A week before trial, the case settled as reported by media outlets throughout the world. The New York Times’ coverage of the lawsuit can be accessed here and here.

Waymo v. Uber (Federal Court, San Francisco). Buland and a team from Susman Godfrey were hired by Uber Technologies, Inc. just months before the “Tech Trial of the Century” when Alphabet’s Waymo was claiming more than $2 billion in damages against Uber over allegations of stolen trade secrets. In a critical move, Buland and his team successfully got all of Waymo’s expert’s damages opinions struck and the case soon settled during the first week of trial. Benchmark Litigation awarded Buland and the Susman Godfrey team National Impact Case of the Year for their work on this matter. Read more.

BTG. Int’l v. Wellstat Therapeutics Corp. (Delaware Chancery Court). Buland secured a $70 million verdict ($58 million after fees and expenses) on behalf of Wellstat Therapeutics in bet-the-company lawsuit against the distributor of its leading product. Hired less than two months before trial, Buland took a lead in preparing for trial. At trial, Buland skillfully presented Wellstat’s case through its Head of Research and Development and presented the critical damages expert who laid the foundation for the Court’s $70 million damages award. The verdict was later confirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court. Read more.

Walmart v. Visa, Inc. (New York Supreme Court, New York County). Buland represented Walmart in breach of contract action against Visa over the use of new “chip-and-pin” technology in the multi-billion market for debit cards. The dispute involved emerging concerns over payment card security, efficiency, and competition. The parties reached a confidential settlement after Buland filed a summary judgment motion on behalf of Walmart. Read more in Wall Street Journal’s coverage.

Lincolnshire Management, Inc. v. Kumble (New York Supreme Court, New York County). Buland defended a private equity firm and its founder, Stephen Kumble, against a breach of contract claim brought by another private equity firm seeking more than $10 million in damages. Buland played a key role leading up to and during arbitration, eventually securing a favorable net award for his client after drastically limiting Kumble’s liability and prevailing on his counterclaims. Notably, Buland’s day-long cross-examination of the plaintiff’s Chief Financial Officer demonstrated Kumble’s entitlement to relief on his counterclaims. Buland also successfully argued the motion to confirm the award in New York Supreme Court and defeated a motion to vacate. Read more.

Background

Prior to joining Susman Godfrey, Buland served as a law clerk to then-Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Richard Sullivan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Buland is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he served as Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review and was a James Kent and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He graduated with distinction from the University of Nebraska. Buland resides with his wife, Olga, and two sons in New York City.

Notable Representations

Honors & Distinctions

Clerkships

Education

Admissions