Kannon Shanmugam of Williams & Connolly and E. Joshua Rosenkranz of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe have had more than their share of high-profile wins over the years. They both did it again this week, knocking out a billion-dollar judgment that had stood out as a bright spot for prosecutors in the wake of the financial crisis.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday reversed a ruling by prominent U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who had held that Bank of America Corp.’s Countrywide Financial unit duped Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about the quality of thousands of risky mortgages. Rakoff’s decision put BofA, represented by Shanmugam, on the hook for $1.27 billion.
