Stella Cernak

Stella Cernak is an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Stella is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and White Collar Defense and Investigations and Trials Practice Groups.

Stella’s practice focuses primarily on white collar defense, internal investigations, and complex commercial litigation. Stella has represented a range of clients—including Fortune 500 technology companies and clients in the real estate and banking/finance industries—in numerous federal and New York State cases, administrative proceedings, and federal and state regulatory investigations.

Stella has experience managing teams and advising clients in connection with complex, high-stakes legal matters, including investigations and enforcement actions brought by the SEC and the Department of Justice and high-profile federal lawsuits. Stella has significant discovery experience and has worked extensively with expert and fact witnesses. Stella has also played a key role on a number of trial teams.

Representative Engagements Include:

• Representing S&P Global in purported federal class action alleging unfair competition and violation of federal antitrust laws pertaining to the use of CUSIP identifiers.
• Represented Amazon.com in multi-site ergonomic safety investigation brought by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Justice.
• Represented major Fortune 500 technology company in a putative federal class action lawsuit and related regulatory investigations alleging violations of federal and state laws in connection with the use of data analytics technologies.
• Represented multinational bank in Department of Justice and state regulatory investigations relating to alleged violations of the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions laws, which were resolved without enforcement action.
• Secured jury verdict for Fortune 250 company in connection with federal trial related to an alleged “Ponzi” scheme.
• Successfully represented Lynn Tilton and her company Patriarch Partners at trial in the largest individual administrative enforcement action ever brought by the SEC.
• Represented one of the world’s largest oil companies in its successful defense against an attempted confirmation of an $18 billion sham foreign arbitration award in federal court.

Stella maintains an active pro bono practice. Stella was a member of the Gibson Dunn team that drafted an amicus brief for constitutional law scholars in the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, addressing the constitutionality of the State of Mississippi’s enactment of the Gestational Age Act. She successfully drafted a habeas petition that resulted in the release of a client from detention on bond and has helped clients obtain asylum. Stella has served as a firm liaison to Crisis Text Line. Stella served on the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music from July 2018 through July 2021.

Stella has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America as “One to Watch.”

From 2022 to 2023, Stella served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jennifer H. Rearden in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Stella earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, in December 2014 from the University of Michigan Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Journalism, magna cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2009. While in law school, Stella served on the selections committee for the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, where she published a Note that applied international law as a method of handling intra-military gender-based crimes.

Stella is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the Southern District of New York.

Capabilities

• Litigation
• Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Consumer Protection
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Tech and Innovation
• Trials
• White Collar Defense and Investigations

Credentials

Education:

• University of Michigan - 2014 Juris Doctor
• University of Massachusetts - 2009 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Southern District of New York, Hon. Jennifer H. Rearden, 2022 - 2023