Attorneys
Sandeep Savla
Founder
Sandeep Savla represents companies, financial institutions, boards, and executives in high-stakes civil litigation, white-collar defense, and regulatory investigations. He brings more than 30 years’ experience across private practice, government enforcement, and a senior in-house role at a global investment bank.
Before founding Savla PLLC, Sandeep was a Partner at Latham & Watkins and a Partner and Co-Head of the Regulation, Investigations, Securities and Compliance Group at Norton Rose Fulbright, where he led the firm’s white-collar defense, regulatory investigations, and securities litigation practices.
He previously served as Managing Director and Head of Litigation for the Americas at Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and as Senior Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He began his career as a barrister in London, where he appeared in regulatory enforcement proceedings and took more than 15 criminal jury trials to verdict.
Representative Matters
Civil Litigation
- —Won a federal court trial as lead counsel—and the subsequent appeal—on behalf of a global financial institution in a CDO securities dispute with a principal value exceeding $1 billion; affirmed by the Second Circuit.
- —Obtained complete appellate dismissal, as lead counsel, of claims against a financial institution arising from CMBS and CDO transactions governed by complex commercial agreements.
- —Served as lead counsel in litigation concerning alleged mismanagement of CDO collateral by a collateral manager.
- —Represented companies in litigation concerning ISDA swap and forward transactions.
- —Represented a client in a series of securities and derivative actions before district courts and a federal appeals court.
White-Collar Defense & Government Investigations
- —Represented New York City and the Mayor of New York in a congressional investigation concerning sanctuary-city policies.
- —Represented a major financial institution in the Panama Papers investigation involving U.S. and foreign regulators.
- —Conducted large-scale investigations involving the DOJ, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and foreign regulators.
- —Represented companies and individuals in SEC, accounting, FCPA, and bribery investigations.
Experience
- —Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
- —Partner and Co-Head, Regulation, Investigations, Securities and Compliance Group, Norton Rose Fulbright
- —Managing Director and Head of Litigation for the Americas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
- —Senior Counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Recognition
- —Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer — Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (2024–2026)
- —Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer — Securities Litigation: Defense (2024–2026)
- —Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2024–2026)
- —Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators (2024–2026)
- —Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers (2026)
Education & Admissions
- —Stanford Law School, LL.M., 2001
- —Oxford University, Bachelor of Laws, 1991
- —Admitted in New York, 2001
- —Admitted as a barrister in England and Wales, 1992
Recent News
Sandeep represented New York City and Mayor Eric Adams before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, at a widely covered hearing on “sanctuary-city” policies.
Press Coverage:
- —The New York Times — “Democrats Target Adams at ‘Sanctuary City’ Hearing” — March 5, 2025
- —Associated Press — “Republicans Hammer Mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York Over ‘Sanctuary City’ Policies” — March 5, 2025
- —New York Post — “Mayor Adams Grilled by Congress Alongside Three Other Sanctuary City Leaders on Controversial Immigration Laws” — March 5, 2025
Sean McMahon
Of Counsel
Sean McMahon represents companies, financial institutions, boards, and individuals in complex commercial litigation, securities disputes, and regulatory investigations.
Sean previously practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP and Clark Smith Villazor LLP. He also served as a law clerk to Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Representative Matters
- —Represented bondholders of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. in litigation concerning the validity of bonds issued by PDVSA, resulting in a judgment of approximately $3 billion in favor of the bondholders.
- —Obtained dismissal of a securities class action against Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. that advanced a novel theory of liability under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act; the Second Circuit affirmed.
- —Represented portfolio companies of Zohar III and related debtors in complex bankruptcy litigation, securing favorable rulings on significant issues before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
- —Represented Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. on behalf of noteholders in litigation relating to defaulted note obligations, resulting in a favorable settlement.
- —Represented the seller of a medical device company in an ICC arbitration arising from earnout obligations following an acquisition.
- —Represented Steak n Shake Enterprises, Inc. in an AAA arbitration involving contingent advisory fees.
- —Represented the chief financial officer of a pharmaceutical company in an SEC insider-trading inquiry that concluded without charges or enforcement action.
- —Represented a multinational financial institution in the Panama Papers investigation involving U.S. and foreign regulators.
- —Represented companies and individual witnesses in connection with DOJ and SEC investigations and subpoenas.
Experience
- —Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP
- —Associate, Clark Smith Villazor LLP
- —Law Clerk to Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Education & Admissions
- —Columbia Law School, J.D., 2013; Notes Editor, Columbia Law Review; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- —Boston College, B.A., 2009
- —Admitted in New York
Michael Showalter
Of Counsel
Michael Showalter represents clients nationwide in complex commercial litigation, from trial courts to the Supreme Court.
Michael graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He previously practiced in the appellate groups of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Wiley Rein. He has extensive experience drafting briefs and dispositive motions in high-stakes litigation and appellate matters.
Representative Matters
- —Drafted U.S. Supreme Court merits or certiorari-stage briefs on behalf of a defense contractor in a statutory-interpretation case; an energy company in a Takings Clause case; an automobile company in a retirement-plan case; an energy company in an administrative-law case; and a fitness company in a personal-jurisdiction case. E.g., Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt (U.S. 2019) (represented defense contractor); Strang v. Ford Motor Co. General Retirement Plan (U.S. 2018) (represented automobile company).
- —Lead drafter for U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs in administrative law, Fourth Amendment, statutory interpretation, and retirement-plan cases. E.g., SEC v. Jarkesy (U.S. 2024) (represented telecommunications trade associations); Calcutt v. FDIC (U.S. 2023) (represented banking trade association).
- —Lead drafter in cases before the D.C. Circuit, Second Circuit, Third Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit, Delaware Court of Chancery, and state and federal trial courts in matters spanning constitutional law, administrative law, complex commercial litigation, statutory interpretation, contract interpretation, class certification, and tort law. E.g., LTD Broadband v. FCC (CADC 2024); Hikvision v. FCC (CADC 2024); DIRECTV v. Mission Broadcasting (CA2 2024); Cipla v. Amgen (CA3 2019); Baxter v. HHS (CA4 2024); Impossible Foods v. Impossible X (CA9 2023).
- —Primary management responsibility for litigation in Florida and New York state courts on behalf of an ore-mining company bringing actions to enforce an international arbitration award and recover fraudulently transferred property.
- —Identified, developed, and drafted a statutory-interpretation argument for a position that hornbooks and all six courts to have addressed it had rejected—and won in federal district court. Palmer v. Amazon (EDNY 2020).
Experience
- —Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- —Associate, Wiley Rein LLP
- —Law Clerk to Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- —Law Clerk to Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Publications
Michael’s scholarship has appeared in leading legal journals, including the Notre Dame Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
Education & Admissions
- —Yale Law School, J.D., 2016; Yale Law Journal
- —Admitted in the District of Columbia
Our Network
When matters require additional scale or specialized expertise, we draw upon a trusted network of other practitioners. This provides institutional capability as needed—while preserving direct senior oversight and accountability.