John Buretta

John Buretta is a partner and the global co-chair of the Paul Hastings Litigation Department and is based in the firm’s New York office. Described by clients as a “powerhouse” and “an absolute star,” John is an internationally recognized litigator who handles bet-the-company disputes, corporate crises and investigations.

John has represented public and private companies, boards of directors and audit committees, senior executives and general counsels in consequential matters in many industries, such as aerospace, automaking, autonomous vehicles, banking, consumer products, energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and technology. His cases have included materially significant disputes involving corporate governance and board fiduciary duties, alleged breaches of contract and other commercial conflicts. He has also handled consequential matters arising under other specialized laws, including antitrust, securities, accounting standards, transportation regulations, money laundering and anti-money laundering controls, trade sanctions and export controls, manufacturing integrity and product recalls, the False Claims Act, tax compliance and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In recognition of his ability to master technical detail and develop clear strategy inside and outside the courtroom, the Department of Transportation selected John to monitor and enhance the automotive industry’s multiyear nationwide recall of Takata ammonium nitrate airbag inflators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration described the recall as the largest and most complex in U.S. history.

John brings to his decades-long practice as a prominent law firm litigator his additional experience as a former Department of Justice senior official. He served for over a decade in the DOJ, first as a lead trial prosecutor in New York and later as a senior official in the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw nearly 600 prosecutors handling the department’s most complex criminal matters involving corporate fraud, FCPA, insider trading, healthcare fraud, money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations, trade sanctions, asset forfeiture, cybercrime, intellectual property theft and public corruption.

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (cum laude)

University of California, Berkeley, B.A.