Courtney Statfeld

Courtney Statfeld’s practice includes accomplishments in handling large-scale litigations involving complex financial products, particularly asset-backed securities. She crafts creative and strategic solutions for disputes arising out of complex financial products, securities, distressed corporate debt, and commercial matters. Her clients include industry leaders such as hedge funds, private equity firms, investment advisors, institutional investors, trustees, international banks, and Fortune 500 companies. Courtney’s hallmark is her tireless dedication to client service and building trusting, long-term relationships that enable her to proactively identify, address, and successfully advocate for her clients’ needs.

Success History

Courtney recently secured a summary judgment in a case that could impact thousands of asset-backed securities containing hundreds of billions of dollars of residential mortgages securitized in the early 2000s. Notably, she also obtained a series of rulings—including at summary judgment—that set the basic framework for MBS litigation nationwide. Courtney handles complex cases from inception to settlement.  Courtney litigates in federal and state courts across the country prosecuting and defending claims for breach of contract, fraud, business torts, and state and federal securities violations, including claims related to collateralized debt obligations, residential and commercial MBS, indenture bonds and bond insurance.  She has helped investors and insurers recover more than $1 billion in losses. Recent work has also included representing investors in a number of trust instruction proceedings across the nation involving disputes regarding the proper interpretation of provisions in the governing agreements for various trusts.

Professional Honors & Achievements

The legal industry’s top publications and directories have consistently recognized Courtney for her prowess and successful representations. Chambers USA ranks her Tier 1 among top litigators in her field in their “Litigation: Securities – Institutional Plaintiffs” category. Courtney has also been honored as a Fellow of the Litigation Council of America and has been recognized among Lawdragon's "500 Leading Litigators in America," and “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.” Benchmark Litigation has named Courtney a "Litigation Star" and included her in their annual “Under 40 Hot List,” a collection of the best and brightest attorneys across the U.S. and Canada.

• Secured a summary judgment from the Superior Court of California in a novel case related to the termination of mortgage-backed securitizations.
• Representation of US Bank in seeking recovery for hundreds of millions of dollars of defective mortgage loans. The parties reached a tentative settlement, for which the trustee is seeking judicial approval.
• Representation of HSBC, as trustee, in litigating coordinated cases that collectively seek repurchase of nearly $2 billion of defective mortgage loans. Summary judgment has been reached in one case, with others expected to go to trial summer or 2023.
• Representation of an investor in a precedent-setting case on an issue affecting hundreds of billions of dollars of pre-Financial Crisis mortgage-backed securities, all of which are at or nearing the point when call options can be triggered.
• Representation of a group of junior bondholders in an Article 77 proceeding concerning the proper distribution of payments among different bond classes with an original principal value in the billions of dollars. 
• Representation of Freddie Mac and 400 Capital in a proceeding to determine whether eight securitization trusts can be terminated without payment to bondholders of millions of dollars in loan principal. 

Prior to joining McKool Smith:

• Represented an insurance company in its $5 billion lawsuit against Bank of America and various countrywide entities alleging breach of contract and fraud in the procurement of financial guaranty insurance of residential mortgage-backed securities.
• Represented a hedge fund in pursuing claims for the repurchase of mortgages worth more than $3 billion due to breaches of contractual representations and warranties.
• In a multijurisdictional dispute between a real estate investment trust and former co-owners of a portfolio company, obtained summary judgment on breach of contract claims asserted by—and dismissal of breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims asserted against—the investment trust.
• Represented one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies in a patent infringement claim; obtained summary judgment asserted by the company against the infringer on all counts.

• Ranked as a leading lawyer (Tier 1) in New York for Litigation: Securities – Institutional Plaintiffs by Chambers USA (2022-2023). The 2023 edition notes that she "is highly detail-oriented, a very strong advocate and an aggressive litigator when you need one."
• Recognized among Lawdragon's 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers (2019-2023)
• Recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a "Future Star" (2023)
• Recognized in the guide to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2022, 2024)
• Recognized as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA), 2020-2023
• Recognized in the Benchmark Litigation "Under 40 Hot List," which honors the achievements of the nation’s most accomplished legal partners of the age of 40 or younger, 2017-2020
• Recognized as a "Rising Star" in New York by Super Lawyers, 2015-2018