Tamar Wise

Practice Areas

Tamar is a dedicated and creative commercial litigator who represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, including securities, contract, First Amendment, and real estate cases in jurisdictions nationwide. Tamar also has an extensive appellate practice in both state and federal appellate courts, including as a key member of the Cozen O'Connor team that took a case to the United States Supreme Court and secured a precedent-setting victory in 2019. Tamar is also regularly called upon to counsel on defamation and libel issues and cases and has secured important rulings for clients in this evolving legal and Constitutional space.

Tamar has significant experience with commercial and securities cases spanning a wide range of industries, including financial services and investments, mortgage lending, and aviation. She has successfully briefed and argued motions at all stages of litigation.

In 2019, Tamar was selected as one of New York City's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars by City and State Magazine. She was also recognized as a New York Metro Super Lawyer in 2022 and as a Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2012 to 2018. Tamar speaks and writes regularly in legal and business publications, and most recently was an invited panelist at the 32nd Annual Media & The Law Seminar on the topic of the First Amendment and social media control. Additionally, Tamar served on the New York County Democratic Committee’s 2022 Civil Court Independent Judicial Screening Panel.

Personal

Tamar graduated cum laude from Yale University with a degree in history and earned her law degree from New York University School of Law, where she was the recipient of the American Corporate Counsel scholarship and a staff editor of the Journal of Law and Business. Tamar is admitted to practice in New York and Pennsylvania.

In her spare time, Tamar loves running in Central Park, cheering for the Knicks, and all other things New York.

Experience

• Successfully defended the appeal of the dismissal of a case alleging claims for FMLA retaliation and harassment as well as defamation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

• Achieved a precedent-setting decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in a putative class and collective action brought against a social media company, holding that employees who had signed arbitration agreements with class action waivers were not entitled to receive notice of the collective action under the FLSA.

• Second-chaired a major First Amendment victory before the Supreme Court of the United States, Manhattan Community Access Corporation v. Halleck, from filing of the case in district court. In June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled entirely in favor of Cozen O’Connor’s client, reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and holding that a private company which, among other things, operates the public access channels in Manhattan, was not a "state actor" and therefore not subject to liability under the First Amendment. The Court clarified its tests for when private parties can be found to be "state actors" and thus subject to constitutional liability.

• Successfully defended the appeal of the dismissal of a multimillion-dollar federal securities fraud lawsuit against a New York-based real estate developer and its individual executives before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

• Successfully defended the appeal of the dismissal of a securities and defamation “short and distort” case before the New York’s Appellate Division, First Department.

• Secured and won a rarely granted interlocutory appeal of a summary judgment ruling to a Georgia appellate court on behalf of a publicly traded national trucking company. The Supreme Court of Georgia then denied certiorari as to the dismissal of Cozen O’Connor’s clients.

• Won a motion to dismiss and an anti-SLAPP motion, as well as an award of attorneys' fees, in a defamation case in California federal court in which we represented a climate scientist who had been asked to provide feedback on the notion of "geoengineering" in connection with a documentary on the subject.

• Won summary judgment on behalf of the estate of a composer and one of the authors of a world-renowned musical. On summary judgment, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims that the decedent breached an alleged agreement entitling plaintiff to produce a 50th anniversary revival production. The court granted our motion and dismissed the complaint, including as plaintiffs’ claims for damages in excess of $250 million.

• Won the dismissal on summary judgement of claims brought by the New York Attorney General against the CEO of a consumer product manufacturer

• Obtained a defense win in a week-long trial for a regional law firm sued for professional malpractice.

• Defended a pro bono client in cancellation of removal proceedings in immigration court. The judge awarded the client the relief requested, and no leave to appeal was given.