Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young has a broad commercial litigation practice, representing companies and individuals in proceedings in federal and state courts, as well as before various arbitral tribunals. Her practice includes complex disputes involving claims of breach of contract, fraud, business torts, employment issues, and securities fraud as well as the defense of law firms against allegations of legal malpractice.

Prior to joining Friedman Kaplan in 2023, Carolyn was a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP where she handled a range of matters, including securities and shareholder litigation, class action disputes, commercial litigation, and government and internal investigations.

Representative Matters

• Representation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as Receiver for Signature Bank and Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. in various civil litigations in which plaintiffs asserted breach of contract, tort, and statutory claims arising from alleged conduct at Signature before its closure by the New York Department of Financial Services in 2023. Representations include securing the complete dismissal of a complaint brought by a development company alleging that the bank fraudulently or negligently induced it to borrow money at usurious rates and to lend to an entity that later defaulted on its loan, and the defense of claims brought by former employees alleging they were promised but not paid certain bonus and stock-related compensation.
• Following a multi-day, expedited AAA arbitration, obtained a complete victory granting our client, a lender for a New York city high-rise construction project, relief under a binding agreement with the former property owner.
• Representation of the co-owner of a commercial real estate development in Brooklyn and one of its individual members in a dispute with the other co-owner related to the multimillion-dollar financing of the development. Secured the complete dismissal of a complaint filed against the co-owner’s member.
• Secured a sizeable and confidential arbitration award following a multi-day AAA arbitration trial for a former executive of an investment company pursuing claims relating to unpaid equity compensation.
• Representation of a major law firm in defense of a New Jersey federal court action alleging malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims stemming from estate planning advice.
• Representation of a medical lab in various breach of contract actions in New Jersey and New York federal and state courts relating to contracts for medical testing services, and pursuing related judgment collection efforts.
• Representation of a client in a business dispute involving allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of a non-compete agreement, and trade secret violations that culminated in a seven-day arbitration hearing.

Outside the Office

Carolyn is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2024 class of Pathfinders.