Robert K. Kry

Robert Kry’s practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation. He represents clients before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and other federal and state courts. His practice covers a broad array of subject matters, including arbitral award and judgment enforcement, sovereign immunity, constitutional law, business litigation, and securities fraud.

Mr. Kry is a founding partner of MoloLamken, which he joined after several years in the Supreme Court and appeals practice of another prominent firm. Before that, Mr. Kry served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court and to Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Legal 500 describes Mr. Kry as a “great writer” and an “incredibly quick and deep thinker” with an “impressive command of the law.” Benchmark Litigation calls him a Litigation Star and notes his “steady ascent in profile.” Chambers and Partners says he “has a mind like a supercomputer” and “knows everything there is to know about the recognition of foreign judgments and awards.” Lawdragon named him one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America. He has been featured in prestigious publications including the New York Times and the National Law Journal.

Representative Matters

• Obtained enforcement of an International Chamber of Commerce arbitral award against Iraq’s port administrator and its parent agency and government (Archirodon Construction (Overseas) Co. Ltd. v. General Company for Ports of Iraq, No. 22-1571, 2024 WL 341066 (D.D.C. Jan. 30, 2024))
• Obtained reversal in part of a dismissal of a securities fraud class action against Biogen over misleading statements concerning clinical trial results for its Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm (Shash v. Biogen, Inc., 84 F.4th 1 (1st Cir. 2023))
• Obtained a jury verdict for the plaintiff class in a securities fraud trial over a founder’s concealment of his role in an oil transport company (Gruber v. Gilbertson, No. 1:16-cv-09727 (S.D.N.Y. 2022))
• Overturned a judgment against Moldova’s national gas utility holding that the company was an alter ego of the state (Gater Assets Ltd. v. AO Moldovagaz, 2 F.4th 42 (2d Cir. 2021))
• Represented a patent owner in the Supreme Court in a challenge to the appointment of administrative patent judges (United States v. Arthrex, Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1970 (2021))
• Represent investor advocates in a challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s restrictions on shareholder proposals (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility v. SEC, No. 1:21-cv-01620 (D.D.C. filed June 15, 2021))
• Obtained enforcement of a Stockholm Chamber of Commerce arbitral award against Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company and summary judgment on fraud and trade secret claims (OJSC Ukrnafta v. Carpatsky Petroleum Corp., 957 F.3d 487 (5th Cir. 2020))
• Overturned dismissal of gross negligence and punitive damages claims against an RMBS sponsor (Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co., as Trustee for the MSAC 2007-NC4 Trust v. Morgan Stanley Mortg. Capital Holdings LLC, 169 A.D.3d 217 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2019))
• Obtained enforcement of an ICSID arbitral award against the Kyrgyz Republic for a Turkish construction company (Sistem Mühendislik Inşaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret, A.Ş. v. Kyrgyz Republic, 741 F. App'x 832 (2d Cir. 2018))
• Obtained enforcement of a Permanent Court of Arbitration award against the Republic of Ghana for an English energy company (Balkan Energy Ltd. v. Republic of Ghana, 302 F. Supp. 3d 144 (D.D.C. 2018))
• Represented a foreign sovereign in a Supreme Court case over the seizure of ancient Persian artifacts from museums to satisfy default judgments (Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 138 S. Ct. 816 (2018))
• Obtained reversal of a judgment dismissing securities fraud claims against Alibaba Group arising out of its IPO (Christine Asia Co. v. Ma, 718 F. App’x 20 (2d Cir. 2017))
• Overturned a judgment enforcing a foreign investor’s arbitral award against the Lao Government (Thai-Lao Lignite (Thailand) Co. v. Gov't of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 864 F.3d 172 (2d Cir. 2017))
• Represented a global pharmaceutical company in a fraud suit over a $2.3 billion corporate acquisition in Mexico (Representaciones e Investigaciones Médicas, S.A. de C.V. v. Espinosa, No. 655112/2016 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed Sept. 27, 2016))
• Represented a foreign central bank in a separation of powers challenge to a statute directing the outcome of a specific pending case (Bank Markazi v. Peterson, 136 S. Ct. 1310 (2016))
• Represented a foreign biotechnology company in a 13-day merits hearing in a confidential arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (2016)
• Represented a Chicago taxi medallion financing company in litigation against a bank over an $80 million credit facility (Transit Funding Assocs. LLC v. Capital One Equip. Fin. Corp., No. 652346/2015 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed June 30, 2015))
• Appeal of an order denying comity to German law in cross-border insolvency proceedings (Jaffe v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., 737 F.3d 14 (4th Cir. 2013))
• Obtained dismissal of Supreme Court review of a constitutional challenge to standing under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (First Am. Fin. Corp. v. Edwards, 132 S. Ct. 2536 (2012))
• Defense on appeal of the denial of an injunction against foreclosure in a commercial property dispute (Broadway 500 West Monroe Mezz II LLC v. Transwestern Mezzanine Realty Partners II, LLC, 80 A.D.3d 483 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2011))
• Obtained Supreme Court review and reversal of an adverse judgment in service-station franchise litigation under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (Mac’s Shell Serv., Inc. v. Shell Oil Prods. Co., 130 S. Ct. 1251 (2010))
• Obtained Supreme Court review and reversal of a decision setting aside a provision of a New England wholesale energy market settlement (NRG Power Mktg., LLC v. Maine Pub. Utils. Comm’n, 130 S. Ct. 693 (2010))
• Defense in the Supreme Court of a constitutional challenge to the entity created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to oversee audits of public companies (Free Enter. Fund v. Pub. Co. Accounting Oversight Bd., 130 S. Ct. 3138 (2010))
• Appeal of a dismissal of a commercial suit on jurisdictional grounds (CP Solutions PTE, Ltd. v. General Electric Co., 553 F.3d 156 (2d Cir. 2009))
• Appeal of a copyright infringement judgment against a Remote Storage Digital Video Recorder (Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008))
• Appeal of a billion-dollar securities fraud verdict (Morgan Stanley & Co. v. Coleman (Parent) Holdings Inc., 955 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. App. 2007))

Publications

• International Fraud and Asset Tracing, Chambers and Partners (2023) (with Steven F. Molo & Megan Cunniff Church)

• Immediate Appeals in Foreign Sovereign Litigation, Transnational Litigation Blog (Aug. 24, 2022)

• Jam v. IFC: Secondary Liability in Transnational Disputes, Transnational Litigation Blog (Apr. 5, 2022) (with Lisa W. Bohl)

• Beware the Undesirable Default Rule in International Arbitration Agreements, NYSBA J. (Feb. 4, 2021)
• Welcome Shores for Arbitral Awards?, Disps. Y.B. 2018 (May 17, 2018)
• Asset Discovery Against Foreign Sovereigns After NML, NYSBA J. (Sept. 2014)
• Navigating Overseas Discovery: Beware the Dangers of Foreign Law, Nat’l L.J. (May 20, 2014) (with Eric R. Nitz)
• Local Jurisdiction over Foreign Companies, Executive Counsel (Feb./Mar. 2012) (with Martin V. Totaro)
• Keeping the Company’s Nose Clean After Matrixx, Executive Counsel (June/July 2011)
• Confrontation at a Crossroads, 6 Charleston L. Rev. 49 (2011)
• Mac’s Shell and the Future of Constructive Termination, 30 Franchise L.J. 67 (2010)
• Forfeiture and Cross-Examination, 13 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 577 (2009)
• Confrontation Under the Marian Statutes, 72 Brook. L. Rev. 493 (2007)
• Case Note, Once in Doubt, 110 Yale L.J. 725 (2001)
• Case Note, The Copyright Law, 111 Yale L.J. 761 (2001)
• Op-ed, Real Monopolists, Investor’s Bus. Daily (June 9, 2000)
• The “Watchman for Truth”: Professional Licensing and the First Amendment, 23 Seattle U. L. Rev. 885 (2000)

Presentations

• Worldwide Developments in Enforcement, TL4 FIRE: Sovereign & States Disputes and Enforcement Conference, Feb. 7, 2024
• A Preview of the 2023 Term of the United States Supreme Court and Its Potential Impact on Investors, Council of Institutional Investors Webinar, Sept. 21, 2023
• The Long Arm of U.S. Law: Hot Topics at the Supreme Court for International Litigation, ABA International Law Section Annual Conference, May 4, 2023
• Will SCOTUS Take a Second Arthrex Challenge?, IPWatchdog, Apr. 18, 2023
• Litigating International Law as Soft Law in U.S. Courts, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Mar. 30, 2023

• Investors and SCOTUS: West Virginia v. EPA and a Preview of the 2022-2023 Term with Robert K. Kry, Council of Institutional Investors Podcast, Sept. 8, 2022

• American Discovery for Foreign Disputes, San Francisco Bar Association, Aug. 4, 2022

• An Inside Look: Arthrex Supreme Court Panel, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Oct. 7, 2021

• Preview for Investors of the 2021-2022 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court with Robert K. Kry, Council of Institutional Investors Podcast, Sept. 27, 2021  

• The Supreme Court’s Decision in Arthrex – Hear from the Experts, AIPLA Rapid Response Webinar, July 7, 2021

• IP at the Supreme Court: United States v. Arthrex, Inc., American University Washington College of Law, Mar. 1, 2021
• The U.S. Presidential Election and Social Media, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Feb. 25, 2021
• The 2020-2021 SCOTUS Term with Robert K. Kry, Council of Institutional Investors Podcast, Oct. 5, 2020
• Preview of the 2019-2020 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court, Council of Institutional Investors Podcast, Jan. 15, 2020
• Artificial Intelligence and Electronic Discovery in U.S. Litigation, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Apr. 4, 2019
• Recent Developments in Sovereign Immunity and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Against Foreign Sovereigns, Commercial Litigators’ Forum New York Committee, Sept. 25, 2018
• Practical Strategies in the Arbitration of International Disputes Involving State‐Owned Entities, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Apr. 3, 2018
• Sovereign Immunity and Civil Terrorism Claims in U.S. Courts, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Feb. 28, 2018
• Buyer Beware of Chinese Companies, Council of Institutional Investors, Feb. 1, 2018
• Procedural Obstacles to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in U.S. Courts, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Mar. 2, 2017
• Recent Developments in Securities Class Action Litigation, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Mar. 9, 2016
• Jurisdiction over Foreign Companies in United States Courts, Union Internationale des Avocats Winter Seminar, Feb. 25, 2015
• The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act - What’s Next?, Knowledge Group, Oct. 22, 2014
• Fundamentals of Copyright Law in the Data Era 2014, PLI, July 14, 2014
• What Does Aereo’s Supreme Court Death Sentence Mean for Internet Startups?, Congressional Internet Caucus, June 27, 2014
• Aereo, Fordham Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference, Apr. 25, 2014
• Copyright Policy and the Future of Television, University of Colorado, May 13, 2014
• Execution of Judgments Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, D.C. Bar, Mar. 31, 2014

News & Appearances