Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky llp

Keara A. Bergin

Partner                                                                           

 

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kbergin@dpklaw.com

Phone: (212) 943-9000 x 113

Fax: (212) 943-4325                                   

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Keara Bergin is a trial lawyer who represents companies, private credit funds, private equity sponsors, and other financial institutions in high-stakes commercial disputes. Her cases frequently arise from post-transaction disputes, financing transactions, distressed investments, and conflicts involving portfolio companies, where the outcome can determine the value of an investment, recovery on a loan, or reputational risk in the market.

Keara has litigated matters through trial verdict, arbitration award, and appellate review, including petitions before the Supreme Court of the United States. She regularly handles matters involving breach of contract, fraud, post-acquisition conflicts, investor disputes, and claims involving former executives or counterparties. The matters she handles commonly involve $10 million to $200 million in dispute. 

Clients also rely on Keara for strategic counseling before disputes escalate into litigation. She assesses potential claims, evaluates litigation risk in connection with major transactions, and develops strategies to preserve leverage in disputes with counterparties. Her courtroom experience informs how she identifies the structural issues most likely to determine the outcome of a case—whether through negotiation, motion practice, or trial.

Keara also conducts internal investigations for Fortune 500 companies, boards of directors, and board committees, particularly involving corporate governance and employment issues. As part of an exclusively litigation-focused firm, she represents clients independent of any transaction-practice constraints. 

Keara has been recognized by The Legal 500 (City Elite Guide: New York Commercial Litigation), The National Law Journal as an Elite Boutique Trailblazer, and Super Lawyers (Business Litigation and Securities Litigation).

She began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

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Representative matters:

• Petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for certiorari on the “manifest disregard” standard governing judicial review of arbitration awards.​

• Won and enforced an arbitration award for a development-stage U.S. life sciences company in a dispute with a global pharmaceutical company.

• Prosecuted contract and fraud claims on behalf of a private credit fund through jury trial against multiple defendants.

• Tried claims between a private credit lender and borrower through final arbitration award.

• Defended claims by multiple borrowers in successive bench trials that threatened the full value of a distressed lender’s investment in a portfolio company, ultimately resolving them favorably in settlements.

• Secured dismissal of multiple claims arising from a terminated business relationship against financial services clients.

• Defeated “bad actor” guarantee claims in a private credit dispute on summary judgment.

• Won dismissal of False Claims Act qui tam claims against a private equity client.

• Defended media companies in private antitrust cases and represented entertainment firms and defense contractors in DOJ, FTC, and state AG antitrust reviews. 

• Successfully opposed multiple 28 U.S.C. §1782 discovery applications.

• Led internal investigations concerning director and officer oversight issues under Delaware law for financial services companies.

• Obtained significant financial recoveries for pro bono clients in civil rights and employment matters.