Walter A. Saurack

Partner

  • Walter A. Saurack
  • Phone: +1 212 404 8703

    Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    22 Vanderbilt
    335 Madison Avenue, 23rd Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4669
    USA

Walter Saurack is a seasoned trial attorney who has spent more than three decades helping financial institutions, real estate companies, and consumer enterprises navigate high-stakes civil litigation and regulatory challenges nationwide. His practice spans a broad range of complex commercial disputes—including securities, banking, ERISA, employment, insurance, consumer, and real estate matters—and he brings proven results at both the trial and appellate levels.

Mr. Saurack's financial services clients include regional and multinational bulge-bracket investment banks, broker-dealers, and private equity firms.  A formidable presence in the courtroom and before FINRA, Walter is a first call for clients facing high-stakes allegations.   From unraveling complex RICO and Ponzi scheme claims to aggressively litigating employee raiding and restrictive covenants, he provides a sophisticated defense against the industry’s most serious legal threats.  He also represents clients at every stage of SEC and FINRA inquiries, ensuring that regulatory scrutiny doesn't turn into a reputational or criminal crisis.

In the gaming industry, Mr. Saurack defends companies across the country before JAMS, NAM, and the AAA, as well as in state and federal courts. His gaming practice encompasses both class actions and mass arbitrations, where he brings a depth of experience that allows him to successfully manage complex, multi-party proceedings efficiently and effectively.

Areas of Practice

  • Litigation and Dispute Resolution
  • White Collar
  • Insurance and Professional Liability
  • Labor and Employment Law
  • Gaming

Representative Matters

    Financial Services Litigation

  • Tried a month-long credit default obligation securities fraud claim before FINRA on behalf of a broker-dealer against a bulge bracket international bank.
  • Represented a broker-dealer before FINRA in a claim involving the alleged raid of more than $1.5 billion in assets under management.

  • Obtained multi-million dollar summary judgment award and attorneys’ fees and costs on behalf of private equity fund plaintiff in a dispute over a post-closing clawback provision in an asset purchase agreement.

  • Represented an investment bank in a breach-of-contract action arising from the failure to offer a bookrunning position on certain offerings, in violation of a right of first refusal provision.

  • Defended a broker-dealer in an Illinois federal court challenge to an arbitration award.

  • Dismissed fraudulent inducement claims against client investment bank in seven figure fee dispute.

  • Prosecuted an eight-figure fee dispute in the Southern District of New York between an investment bank and a public company.

  • Represented broker-dealer in Ponzi scheme fraud litigations.

  • Defended a private equity fund in a Delaware fraudulent inducement and breach of contract action.

    • Consumer/Gaming Industry Litigation

  • Defended multiple gaming clients nationwide in dozens of individual and mass arbitrations before NAM, the AAA and JAMS, as well as in class action proceedings in courts across Utah, Alabama, Oregon, New York, California, New Jersey, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Massachusetts and Tennessee, involving claims under RICO, privacy statutes, gambling loss recovery acts, and consumer fraud laws.

  • Argued and won a precedent setting motion to dismiss a $25 million gambling loss recovery statute claim in Tennessee Circuit Court.

    • Real Estate and Corporate Litigation

  • Obtained dismissal of $250 million qui tam tax fraud case related to real estate projects on behalf of real estate developer and co-executives.

  • Represented real estate developer and executives in the Southern District of New York in defense of $100 million RICO claims related to real estate projects.

  • Defended a board of directors in a suit challenging a board election. The court denied the plaintiffs' preliminary injunction application and dismissed the complaint in its entirety, upholding the propriety of an annual meeting held pursuant to an emergency COVID amendment to N.Y. Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Section 603(a).

  • Represented plaintiff convenience store operator against private equity fund in RICO suit related to $60 million dollar pension fund liability.

  • Successfully obtained default judgment on counterclaims, dismissal of adversary’s complaint and attorneys’ fees on behalf of publishing company following a trial on spoliation in the Southern District of New York.

Admissions

  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Education

  • Notre Dame Law School, J.D.
  • Dartmouth College, B.A., cum laude

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2020-present
  • Satterlee Stephens LLP, 1998-2020

Professional Activities

  • Federal Bar Council
    -Member 
  • FINRA arbitrator and qualified chairperson
  • AAA trained mediator
  • New York State Bar Association
    - Committee on Arbitration and ADR
    - Employment and Labor Relations Committee
  • New York City Bar Association
    - Commercial Law & Uniform State Laws Committee, 2012-2014

Board Memberships

  • Pershing Ventures
    - Advisory Board

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Pro Bono Volunteer, Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens
    - Empire State Counsel Award for Pro Bono Service, 2013
  • Volunteer, The Sharing Shelf, White Plains, New York

  • Volunteer, Part of the Solution at Our Lady of Mercy, Bronx, New York

Media Hits

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Arbitration of Securities Claims in the U.S. - An Open Discussion," Securities Class Action Services, Webinar, December 11, 2025
  • Guest Lecturer, "Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mass Arbitration," New York Law School, April 1, 2025
  • Speaker, "TARIFFS, TRADE and SUPPLY CHAINS: Navigating the Shifting Landscape Under the Trump Administration and Beyond," Duane Morris LLP and Association of Corporate Counsel, Webinar, May 21, 2025
  • Speaker, "Practical Impacts of Recent FTC Updates," Association of Corporate Counsel, September 12, 2024
  • Speaker, "TO COMPETE OR NOT TO COMPETE: Restrictive Covenants and the FTC's Proposed Non-Compete Ban," Association of Corporate Counsel, September 13, 2023
  • Panelist, "Where's My Merchandise? Using Contracts and Government Relations to Ameliorate Supply Chain Issues," Association of Corporate Counsel Westchester-Southern Connecticut Chapter CLE, March 31, 2022
  • Panelist, "TRAPS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION: Ethical, Legal and Practical Considerations for Lawyers When Communicating with the Media and Public," Association of Corporate Counsel, May 12, 2021

Media Hits