| Ted Wells | |
| Birth Date: | 28 April 1950 |
| Birth Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Lawyer |
| Known For: | Scooter Libby defense Deflategate investigation |
| Education: | College of the Holy Cross (BA) Harvard University (MBA, JD) |
| Awards: | American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) |
| Party: | Democratic |
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 of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he is co-chair of its litigation department.[1] For his practice in white-collar criminal cases, he has been considered one of the most prominent litigators in the United States.[2]
After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross, where he was a classmate of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Wells attended Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. He worked in private practice for the law firms of Paul Hastings and Lowenstein Sandler before joining Paul Weiss, during which time he became known for his representation of public and political figures, including Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby, labor official Raymond Donovan, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, financiers Michael Milken and Frank Quattrone, along with governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.
In 2010, Wells became one of twelve fellows of the Harvard Corporation, the primary governing board of Harvard University.[3] He was previously a chairman of the NAACP.[4] In 2020, Wells was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Wells was born in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 1950, and grew up in a rowhouse.[5] His mother, who was known as "Ma Wells", was a mail clerk at the U.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 attended Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., where he played football as a center.[6] [7] He performed well academically and received multiple athletic scholarships to college.[8]
Wells was offered scholarships to play football by Morgan State University, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Boston University, Haverford College, and Pennsylvania State University. After deciding to focus more on academics, he chose to attend the College of the Holy Cross instead, retracting his initial commitment to Pittsburgh. Along with running-back Ed Jenkins, Wells was convinced by Tom Boisture, the head coach of Holy Cross.
At Holy Cross, Wells was mentored by John E. Brooks, the college's president, and Edward Bennett Williams. He became the head of the Black Student Union and graduated in 1972. Wells attended Holy Cross at the same time as future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Both participated in a walkout based on their beliefs of unfair racially motivated practices on the part of the college.[9] In his senior year, Wells was named a Fenwick Scholar, one of the college's highest honors. He dual enrolled at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School afterward, obtaining both a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) and Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1976. At Harvard Law School, he was an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review.
From August 1976 to August 1977, Wells was a law clerk for Judge John Joseph Gibbons of the United 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.[10] During his time as a clerk, Wells met Samuel Alito, then a clerk for Judge Leonard I. Garth. Wells described Alito as "one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever met."[11]
After clerking at the Third Circuit, Wells moved to California to join the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Los Angeles, where he stayed briefly for ten days. He decided to leave the West Coast shortly afterwards and joined Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, New Jersey.[12] In addition to becoming well-known in New Jersey, Wells' representation of U.S. Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan while at Lowenstein Sandler gave him national attention as a prominent defense attorney. He stayed at the firm for over 20 years before moving to the white-shoe firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Wells was selected by the National Law Journal as one of America's best white-collar defense attorneys. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and serves as a fellow at the Harvard Corporation.[13]
In 2019, Wells represented ExxonMobil in People 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 by climate change.[14]
Wells represented Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr.,[15] who was convicted on March 6, 2007, in the CIA leak grand jury investigation for perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to the FBI. Wells filed an appeal of Libby's convictions,[16] but dropped the appeal in December 2007 after President Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence.[17]
Some of Wells' more notable clients include Michael Espy, Senator Robert Torricelli,[15] and Congressman Floyd Flake.[18] He represented former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer against allegations stemming from his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.[19]
In 2008 Wells won a $364.2 million verdict for Citigroup in a trial against Parmalat. 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.[20]
Wells also has represented several major corporations during class action lawsuits including Merck, Philip Morris, and Johnson and Johnson.
In November 2013, the National Football League hired Wells to prepare a report on a bullying incident with the Miami Dolphins involving Richie Incognito.[21] The report, released on February 14, 2014, made headlines for its finding of "a pattern of harassment".[22]
Wells also served as the national Treasurer to Democrat Bill 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" that Tom 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,[23] and because of his track-record of success exculpating high-profile clients and corporations during public scandals.[24] Eventually, Judge Richard Berman overturned Tom Brady's suspension in the Deflategate saga that had been based on Wells's report; however the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it in 2016.
Wells married his high school girlfriend, Nina Mitchell, in 1971.[25] He and his wife reside in Livingston, New Jersey.[26] [27] He has two children: Teresa and Philip.