People

Nathaniel J. Palmer

A partner at Reid Collins & Tsai LLP. Nate represents plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation, and regularly appears in federal and state courts across the nation in cases involving financial fraud, securities matters, professional/fiduciary liability, and cross-border financial litigation.

Nate is known for developing innovative legal theories and strategies that produce results for his clients.  For instance, he developed the legal theories that led to a $300 million recovery for Renren, Inc. shareholders and multiple nine-figure judgments against Credit Suisse.  Nate also has broad experience handling cross-border matters, having worked on cases such as Stanford International Bank, Suntech Power Holdings, American Pegasus SPC, and Stewardship Credit Arbitrage Fund.

Benchmark Litigation recently named Nate to its 40 & Under Hot List, which recognizes leading litigation attorneys under 40 years of age.  For the last three years, Texas Monthly has named him a “Rising Star” in its Super Lawyers edition, a distinction reserved for the top 2.5% of Texas attorneys who are under 40 years of age. 

Nate received his J.D., with Highest Honors, from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review. While at UT, he was named Vice Chancellor of the 2008 class, having achieved the second highest grade point average in his class through his second year, and was elected to the Order of the Coif upon graduation. Nate earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Wheaton College in Illinois.

Notable Representations:

  • Represented Renren, Inc. minority shareholders in procuring a groundbreaking $300 million+ recovery – one of the largest cash settlements of a derivative action in history – from China-based insiders who attempted to pilfer the company’s billion-dollar investment portfolio. Overcoming major legal hurdles to obtain jurisdiction over foreign defendants and establish rare derivative standing under Cayman law, this precedent-setting case now provides significant protections for investors from cross-border fraud, misconduct, and wrongdoing by enabling them to hold foreign entities and related individual actors accountable in U.S. courts.
  • Represented a hedge fund client against Credit Suisse, obtaining fraud verdicts in both a 2014 jury trial and a 2015 bench trial. The action arises from alleged fraudulent inducement. Clients accuse Credit Suisse of conspiring with a CBRE appraiser to inflate the value of a Las Vegas real estate development project, inducing them to invest in a syndicated loan. After over a decade of litigation, including trial victories, and multiple subsequent wins on multiple issues in multiple appeals – before both the Texas Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court – Nate and the Reid Collins trial team have prevailed over each of Credit Suisse’s efforts to avoid responsibility for its conduct and a $64.7 million fraud judgment from the trial court remains intact. The matter remains ongoing – on appeal.
  • Representation of the GTAT Litigation Trust, the successor to GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a former publicly traded company, in litigation against its former officers and directors in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire related to a failed $1 billion contract with Apple Inc. to manufacture sapphire display screens for the iPhone. The District Court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the $1 billion lawsuit in a lengthy reported decision.
  • Representation of Monkton Insurance Services, Ltd.’s joint official liquidators in pursuing fraudulent transfer claims under U.S. and Cayman law.
  • Representation of American Pegasus SPC’s joint liquidators in pursuing breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfer claims under U.S. and Cayman law against a former portfolio manager.
  • Representation of Stewardship Credit Arbitrage Fund LLC, Steward Credit Arbitrage Fund Ltd.’s joint official liquidators, and various hedge funds in pursuing professional malpractice and fraudulent transfer claims arising out of a failed $40 million loan.
  • Representation of investors in pursuing breach of contract and securities fraud claims arising out of the purchase of convertible notes.
  • Nate has also represented investors in pursuing breach of contract and securities fraud claims arising out of the purchase of convertible notes.