Ted Wells | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-04-28)April 28, 1950 (age 74) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) Harvard University (MBA,JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Scooter Libby defense Deflategate investigation |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) |
Theodore Von Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American trial lawyer and defense attorney. He is a partner at the New York law firm ofPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he is co-chair of its litigation department.[1] For his practice inwhite-collar criminal cases, he has been considered one of the most prominent litigators in the United States.[2][3]
After graduating from theCollege of the Holy Cross, where he was a classmate of Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas, Wells earned degrees fromHarvard Business School andHarvard Law School. He worked in private practice for the law firms ofPaul Hastings andLowenstein Sandler before joining Paul Weiss, during which time he became known for his representation of public and political figures, includingDick Cheney aideScooter Libby, labor officialRaymond Donovan, U.S. Secretary of AgricultureMike Espy, financiersMichael Milken andFrank Quattrone, along with governorsEliot Spitzer andDavid Paterson.[4]
In 2010, Wells became one of twelve fellows of theHarvard Corporation, the primary governing board ofHarvard University.[5] He was previously a chairman of theNAACP.[6] In 2020, Wells was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Wells was born inWashington, D.C., on April 28, 1950, and grew up in arowhouse.[7] His mother, who was known as "Ma Wells", was a mail clerk at theU.S. Department of the Navy and his father was a taxi-driver. His parents separated when he was young; he was raised by his mother. Wells attendedCalvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., where he played football as acenter.[8][9] He performed well academically and received multiple athletic scholarships to college.[10]
Wells was offered scholarships to play football byMorgan State University,Hampton University,North Carolina A&T State University, theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Boston University,Haverford College, andPennsylvania State University. After deciding to focus more on academics, he chose to attend theCollege of the Holy Cross instead, retracting his initial commitment to Pittsburgh. Along with running-backEd Jenkins, Wells was convinced byTom Boisture, the head coach of Holy Cross.[11]
At Holy Cross, Wells was mentored byJohn E. Brooks, the college's president, andEdward Bennett Williams. He became the head of theBlack Student Union and graduated in 1972. Wells attended Holy Cross at the same time as future Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas.[10] Both participated in a walkout based on their beliefs of unfairracially motivated practices on the part of the college.[12] In his senior year, Wells was named a Fenwick Scholar, one of the college's highest honors.[13] Hedual enrolled atHarvard Business School andHarvard Law School afterward, obtaining both aMaster of Business Administration (M.B.A.) andJuris Doctor (J.D.) in 1976. At Harvard Law School, he was an editor of theHarvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review.[14]
From August 1976 to August 1977, Wells was alaw clerk for JudgeJohn Joseph Gibbons of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was Gibbons' second black clerk after Arthur Martin, a fellow classmate at Holy Cross. Gibbons had met Wells when Wells was an undergraduate in 1969, and Gibbons became his close friend and mentor.[15] During his time as a clerk, Wells metSamuel Alito, then a clerk for JudgeLeonard I. Garth. Wells described Alito as "one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever met."[16]
After clerking at the Third Circuit, Wells moved toCalifornia to join the law firm ofPaul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker inLos Angeles, where he stayed briefly for ten days.[16] He decided to leave theWest Coast shortly afterwards and joinedLowenstein Sandler inRoseland, New Jersey.[17] In addition to becoming well known in New Jersey, Wells' representation of U.S. Secretary of LaborRaymond Donovan while at Lowenstein Sandler gave him national attention as a prominentdefense attorney.[16] He stayed at the firm for over 20 years before moving to thewhite-shoe firm ofPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.[1]
Wells was selected by theNational Law Journal as one of America's best white-collar defense attorneys.[18] He was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and serves as a fellow at theHarvard Corporation.[19]
In 2019, Wells representedExxonMobil inPeople of the State of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corp., a suit alleging that the company misled the company's investors about management of risks posed byclimate change.[20]
Wells representedLewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr.,[18] who was convicted on March 6, 2007, in theCIA leak grand jury investigation forperjury,obstruction of justice, and lying to theFBI. Wells filed an appeal of Libby's convictions,[21] but dropped the appeal in December 2007 after President Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence.[22]
Some of Wells' more notable clients includeMichael Espy, SenatorRobert Torricelli,[18] and CongressmanFloyd Flake.[23] He represented former New York GovernorEliot Spitzer against allegations stemming from his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.[24]
In 2008 Wells won a $364.2 million verdict forCitigroup in a trial againstParmalat. Parmalat had been asking for $2 billion in damages. The jury found that Citi was not liable, and gave Citi the highest verdict award permissible.[25]
Wells also has represented several major corporations duringclass action lawsuits includingMerck,Philip Morris, andJohnson and Johnson.
In November 2013, theNational Football League hired Wells to prepare a report on a bullying incident with the Miami Dolphins involvingRichie Incognito.[26] The report, released on February 14, 2014, made headlines for its finding of "a pattern of harassment".[27]
Wells also served as the national Treasurer to DemocratBill Bradley's presidential campaign.
In 2015, Ted Wells was again hired by the NFL, this time to investigate the New England Patriots' alleged "Deflategate" infractions. His report concluded that it was "more probable than not" thatTom Brady was "generally aware" of tampering with NFL game footballs during the 2015 AFC Championship Game. Ted Wells's independence and impartiality has been called into question in the wake of the report because of his extensive prior business relations with the NFL, his use of a scientific consultancy with a reputation for questionable client-serving results,[28] and because of his track-record of success exculpating high-profile clients and corporations during public scandals.[29] Eventually, Judge Richard Berman overturned Tom Brady's suspension in the Deflategate saga that had been based on Wells's report; however theSecond Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it in 2016.
Wells married his high school girlfriend,Nina Mitchell, in 1971.[30] He and his wife reside inLivingston, New Jersey.[31][32] He has two children: Teresa and Philip.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), State ofNew Jersey, backed up by theInternet Archive as of December 31, 2007. Accessed February 24, 2011. "Secretary Wells and her husband, Ted Wells, Esq. reside in Livingston, NJ and have two grown children, Teresa and Phillip."