Christopher N. LaVigne

Partner | New York

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+1 212 848 9882
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+1 212 848 9822

Christopher is a partner in the litigation and arbitration team and is the Regional Division Leader for the US Dispute Resolution Division.

He is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer with a proven track record of navigating individuals and companies through high-stakes legal and business issues. Chris regularly handles complex litigation before federal and state trial courts, appellate courts, and arbitral bodies, as well as investigations involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory and prosecutorial agencies.

Chris represents and advises numerous digital asset companies, including some of the biggest digital asset exchanges in the world. He is top ranked for crypto-asset disputes in Chambers FinTech USA Guide. One source says "Christopher is a leading light, and provides a very strategic and high level of service. He is phenomenal."  Another states "Christopher is a strategic litigator, with very thoughtful attunement to client service."   He has represented companies and individuals in a variety of civil and commercial disputes, including securities class actions, contract disputes, and personal and business tort actions. He also served as in-house counsel at a non-profit company, where he earned major court victories, negotiated multi-million dollar technology contracts, navigated and prevented litigation in thorny employee and HR situations, and advised on press strategy. Chris' trial victory for cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, that centered around a former employee’s claims of wrongful termination, has been recognized as one of the Daily Journal’s “Top Verdicts of 2024.”

Chris represents entrepreneurs and individuals in the media and entertainment industries regarding personal and commercial disputes, and advises on the nuanced business issues faced by these individuals. He has represented company executives, boards, and individual board members facing or contemplating litigation and advised them regarding litigation risks of business decisions. He has also represented and advised law firms and lawyers facing professional liability lawsuits, fee disputes, sanctions hearings, and other matters.

Additionally, Chris has represented financial industry professionals - including corporate executives, investment bankers, traders, brokers, investment advisers, compliance officers and back-office personnel - accused of securities, commodities or banking violations in civil actions and in proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of the Inspector General, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the New York Department of Financial Services, and other regulatory bodies. He has represented these professionals and other individuals facing criminal investigations and prosecutions brought by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities in the United States and foreign venues.

Recent recognition

2026 Chambers FinTech recognition badge for Chris LaVigne
2025 Chambers FinTech Christopher LaVigne Ranked
2025 Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer Badge

Experience

Banking and finance Charities and non-profit Commercial litigation Crisis management Crypto and digital assets Family businesses Founders High net worth individuals
International arbitration Leaders and senior executives Private companies Professional advisors Public companies Sports, talent and entertainment White collar defense and investigations

Track record

Secured dismissal of claims

Represented crypto exchange Binance in high profile Anti-Terrorism Act actions, and secured dismissal of claims on behalf of 535 victims tied to 64 alleged terrorist attacks worldwide after courts in the Southern District of New York and Middle District of Alabama found that Binance did not culpably associate themselves with any terrorist organization or specific attack.  

Secured order compelling arbitration

Secured an order compelling arbitration of proposed class actions against Binance, with a federal court holding that investors’ claims, including RICO, conversion, and state consumer law claims were subject to Binance’s arbitration clause despite plaintiffs’ attempts to plead around the terms of use.

Complete defense victory after month long jury trial

Secured defense verdict for digital asset exchange Kraken after a month-long jury trial, defeating plaintiff's whistleblower claims against the company and securing verdicts that plaintiff misappropriated trade secrets from the company and breached his confidentiality obligations and duty of good faith and fair dealing to the company. Kraken stated “We're pleased with the outcome and thankful to testimony from happy Kraken employees and advocacy from our counsel at Withers.” For more information on the trial, the verdict, and Withers' and the client's reaction, please read more here.

Crypto fraud dispute

Secured jurisdiction in the US over a long-running cross border commodities fraud dispute involving a top digital asset exchange and secured a ruling that a former customer breached the arbitration agreement in the exchange's binding terms of service by threatening to and actually suing the exchange in the UK.

Financial fraud claims

Defeated financial fraud claims asserted by a former employee against a top digital asset exchange related to the exchange's allocation of company shares, and secured a judgment against the plaintiff for the costs of litigation.

SEC civil lawsuit

Defeated claims of securities fraud, violations of the Commodities Exchange Act, and common-law fraud, among others, against one of the top digital asset exchanges in the world related to the exchange's decision to halt trading of a digital asset in light of an SEC civil lawsuit alleging the issuer of the asset conducted an unregistered securities offering.

Hotly-contested cryptocurrency lawsuit

Secured a precedent-setting decision that the physical address associated with our client's business – one of the top digital asset exchanges in the world – may qualify as a trade secret and a former employee may be liable under the Defend Trade Secrets Act for their public disclosure of the company’s address. 

Mueller investigation

Represented key figure in the Mueller investigation in connection with DOJ criminal proceedings and Congressional investigations, and secured complete dismissal of Democratic National Committee's lawsuit alleging that he conspired to hack DNC emails regarding the 2016 US presidential election.

Talks

  • 'Decrypting the White House Crypto Report: What’s Next for U.S. Rulemaking?' L Suite Crypto event - September 9, 2025, moderator
  • 'The crypto client: relationship management and dispute resolution,' GAR Live: Technology Disputes - February 20, 2025, speaker
  • 'When Can a Crypto Exchange Be Found Negligent for Failing to Prevent Fraud of a Customer/Shareholder,' ThoughtLeaders4 FIRE - June 9, 2023, speaker
  • 'Crisis Management: From a Press Hit Piece to Regulatory Inquiries to High Profile Litigation - What to Do When Crisis Hits,' TechGC Fullstack GC Conference - May 19, 2023, speaker

Insight

10 December 2025 | Article

Sixth Circuit restores privilege protections in In re FirstEnergy Corp. mandamus decision

31 July 2025 | Article

Navigating HMRC's incoming crypto-asset reporting framework going live 1 January 2026

26 February 2025 | Firm news

Withers’ victory for Kraken honored among the Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts of 2024

27 November 2024 | Article

Global investigations: Representing individuals in investigative interviews in the UK and US

26 November 2024 | Article

Employment update: Recent decisions and agency actions

4 April 2024 | Article

Withers secures defense victory for Kraken following month-long trial
crypto

3 October 2023 | Article

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried will be a tale of two realities

stock market graph

16 March 2023 | Article

Silicon Valley Bank collapse: Investigations and lawsuit

13 March 2023 | Article

Are cryptocurrencies securities? 5 things to consider

12 March 2023 | Article

Silicon Valley Bank collapse: What you need to know

24 November 2022 | Article

How can UK or US courts protect your business from a ransomware or cyber-attack?

18 November 2022 | Article

FTX collapse – 5 ways in which investors can seek recourse

11 April 2022 | Article

2022 – The year of regulation of digital assets

18 January 2022 | Podcast

Mindfulness, green finance and sustainable investment

13 January 2022 | Article

Finding calm in the storm: dealing with a professional crisis can be life changing

18 August 2021 | Article

Stories of success: Mike Culhane of Pepper Group
Picture of multiple lights

1 April 2021 | Article

A digital art gold rush? – the regulators are watching

External publications

Admissions

  • State of New York, 2010

  • Southern District of New York, 2010

  • Eastern District of New York, 2017

  • Second Circuit Court of Appeals, 2019

Education

  • Fordham University School of Law, JD

  • SUNY Geneseo, BA Political Science and Government

Languages

  • English

Memberships

  • Federal Bar Council

  • Young Lawyers Committee of the New York Courts' Historical Society

  • Board Member, Fordham Law Alumni Association


Federal Clerkship

  • Law Clerk, Honorable Vincent L. Briccetti, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Key dates

  • Year joined: 2020

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