Faith Elizabeth Gay

Career

Faith Gay is a founding partner at Selendy Gay Elsberg.

In a nationally recognized career spanning more than three decades, Faith has been lead counsel in over 35 jury trials and has successfully navigated bet-the-company crises and investigations for scores of Fortune 500 companies. Before founding Selendy Gay Elsberg, Faith was co-chair of national trial practice at one of the country’s top litigation firms and a highly respected federal prosecutor. Raised in rural Georgia and a resident of New York City, Faith is comfortable in courtrooms around the country.

Faith was recently named a “Litigation Trailblazer” by the National Law Journal, is a two-time recipient of Crain’s “100 Notable Women in Law” award, and the Office of the Appellate Defender presented Faith with the prestigious Gould Award for Outstanding Appellate Advocacy in 2019. She is highly rated by Chambers (in Commercial Litigation, Government Investigations and White-Collar matters), and is a long-time recipient of top litigation awards including the Lawdragon 500, Benchmark's "Litigation Stars,” Super Lawyers, and many others.

Chambers lists Faith as one of the country’s top litigators, citing “significant praise for her work in high-stakes litigation covering commercial claims, white-collar issues and matters of constitutional law.” Clients have touted her "extraordinary feel for litigation,” saying: "I've never met a lawyer like her; she combines so many talents in a single human body. She's incredibly responsive, unbelievably insightful, and her advice is always sound."

In naming her a “Top Female Trial Lawyer,” Law360 described Faith as “a great litigator” with “a kind of magnetic charisma, a likeability and intelligence that allow her to present complicated cases in a way that disarms tough judges, hostile witnesses, and skeptical jury members.”

Faith is a former chief of the Civil Rights Unit (Criminal Division) and deputy chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. With deep experience in plaintiff and defense matters, she divides her time between complex civil litigation, corporate governance, and white-collar and regulatory investigations.

In her commercial practice, she focuses on complex contractual and financial instrument disputes, securities, antitrust and bankruptcy litigation, intellectual property disputes, and consumer class actions. She also has extensive experience in Board and Special Committee assignments, representation of C-Suite executives and high net worth individuals in corporate and family law matters, and, first and foremost, in resolving litigation that is seriously compromised and requires emergency re-shaping. Her long roster of high-profile clients that she has served as national or lead trial counsel includes the American Federation of Teachers, Bausch, Bridgewater, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Domtar, Edge & Node, E-Trade, Home Depot, MacAndrews & Forbes, McKinsey & Company, Novartis, Nuance, Pfizer, Regeneron, Revlon, Sandoz, and Schwab.

In her white-collar practice, Faith has represented individuals and corporations in investigations by the SEC, FINRA, DOJ, FDA, IRS, EPA, DOD, and numerous state attorneys general. She has led internal investigations at the request of corporations, boards of directors, and special committees. No individual or corporation that Faith has represented while under investigation has been indicted, pleaded guilty, or forced to accept deferred prosecution.

Publications

"Moving a Fairness Mantra into Action" in Litigation Journal, 2023.

"LGBTQ+ Representation in the Boardroom Is Critical for Every Successful Business," Agenda, 2021.

"Privilege Under Siege, Here and Abroad: The State of Corporate Attorney Client Privilege," Federal Bar Council, 2017.

"Prominent Women in Big Law, Government and Entrepreneurship," (Speaker) Northwestern University School of Law Alumni Conference, 2017.

"NLawProud: International Women’s Day 2017," profiles of 12 Northwestern University School of Law women leaders, 2017.

"Prominent Women Lawyers Call Out Their Mentors,” Bloomberg, 2016.

"Inaugural BigLaw Business Summit," (Speaker) Bloomberg/BNA Law, 2015.

Work Highlights

In a three-week trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery on fraud and breach of contract claims, obtained a complete defense verdict for a national communications conglomerate.

Represented a global management consulting firm in defending RICO and bankruptcy fraud claims in the Southern District of New York, the Southern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Delaware. All but one case was dismissed.

Represented a CEO and founder of a national non-profit who was unjustly terminated from the organization she founded and obtained reparations for her mistreatment.

Represented a series of high-profile female executives whose positions have been wrongly threatened in litigation. None of these claims have been successful.

Obtained a settlement of a nationwide class action on behalf of student loan borrowers against one of the country’s largest student loan servicers. In approving the settlement, the presiding judge wrote, “the class has achieved a significant benefit” which will “have a profound impact on all public service employees.”

In multiple Alien Tort Claims Act cases filed in New York and Florida federal courts, obtained complete dismissals for a Fortune 500 consumer products company.

In state and federal securities class actions concerning payment-for-order flow allegations, obtained complete dismissals for a nationally known discount brokerage concern.

Represented a biotechnology company in obtaining dismissal of a patent infringement suit brought by a multinational pharmaceutical company that sought over $500 million in damages.

Representing high net worth individuals in matrimonial actions involving cutting edge legal issues in connection with prenuptial agreements and asset division.

In FCPA investigations by the Department of Justice and SEC, obtained complete declinations for a Fortune 500 consumer conglomerate and related individuals.

In defending a Fortune 500 consumer products company, obtained a key appellate ruling from an en banc panel of the Fourth Circuit that federal judges may vacate otherwise unappealable remand orders where there is evidence of attorney fraud associated with the remand.

Represented a medical device company subject to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation related to insurance reimbursement claims it submitted on behalf of customers covered by federal employee health plans.

Represented a major academic institution in an internal investigation of a high-profile apparent hate crime on the school’s campus. The firm was hired to analyze the schools’ overall security systems and safety compliance protocols, and to recommend changes to those systems and protocols.

Faith has also devoted significant time and energy to public interest litigation. She recently obtained a complete reversal of Marissa Alexander’s conviction and mandatory 20-year sentence for allegedly firing a warning shot at her serially abusive spouse. She co-founded the American Immigration Representation Project to provide lawyers to immigrant detainees in response to new federal immigration and deportation policies. Faith also represented New York Governor David Patterson in a victory the New York Times called "stunning" in upholding the appointment of Richard Ravitch as Lieutenant Governor. She has litigated numerous other civil rights, criminal, immigration and voting rights matters on a pro bono basis.

Education

Awards