Palmina M. Fava, Partner, Litigation Department
Paul Hastings
Palmina M. Fava is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings, and a co-chair of the firm’s Global Compliance and Disputes practice. Ms. Fava conducts internal corporate investigations, drafts and implements corporate governance programs, and represents corporations and individuals in civil litigation and government investigations.
Ms. Fava’s clients include publicly traded, privately held, and non-profit companies in the fields of technology; finance and banking; defense contracting; telecommunications and multi-media; drug, industrial, and consumer product manufacturing; hospitality; and insurance.
Ms. Fava conducts internal investigations on behalf of senior management and boards of directors with respect to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), international anti-corruption and anti-bribery restrictions, fraud, kickbacks, accounting irregularities, and off-label pharmaceutical marketing, and regularly represents companies in such matters before the United States Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, other federal and state agencies and international regulatory bodies. Ms. Fava has led teams in internal investigations in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and South America. She works collaboratively with clients’ in-house resources and other third parties to conduct comprehensive inquiries and to enhance corporate compliance programs.
Ms. Fava also designs and implements comprehensive corporate compliance programs addressing a client’s particular risks, provides employee and third-party agent training, conducts routine proactive audits of a client’s high risk areas, structures commercial arrangements to protect against compliance risks, and handles due diligence of agents, joint venture partners, and targets in M&A transactions. Additionally, Ms. Fava provides strategic and general business advice to clients faced with potential criminal investigations, class action lawsuits, and shareholder derivative claims.
Ms. Fava’s litigation practice focuses on complex commercial, business tort, and intellectual property disputes. She has served as lead litigation and trial counsel on matters involving breaches of fiduciary duty, breaches of contract, interference with business relationships, commercial misrepresentation, defamation, libel and slander, fraud, negligence, misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark and trade dress infringement, insurance coverage, and employment termination. She has successfully tried and defended cases in federal and state courts and arbitration panels, and represented clients in appellate arguments, mediations, and negotiations. Ms. Fava also advises clients on litigation avoidance and preparedness, and performs litigation and government investigation risk assessments on behalf of hedge funds and financial institutions.
Ms. Fava earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1997 with honors and a B.A. from Georgetown University (cum laude) in 1994. She is admitted to practice in New York. Ms. Fava is a recipient of the Fordham University School of Law Joseph D. Crowley Award and a Pro Bono Service Award, and the Italian Government’s Distinguished Service Award. She is fluent in Italian.
