Mackenna White

Mackenna is a seasoned litigator with experience defending clients in defamation and freedom of speech disputes in federal and state courts as well as resolving disputes in arbitration and mediation. She has been at the forefront of the litigation of New York’s amended anti-SLAPP statute, statements of public concern, and defining the scope of statements of opinion. She represents journalists, filmmakers, playwrights, civil protesters, nonprofit entities, and individuals conducting pre-publication review, navigating publication risks, and protecting news gathering activities, such as obtaining access to public records and defending against subpoenas for privileged information. Ms. White maintains an active pro bono practice. She works in connection with the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund and National Women Law Center’s Legal Network for Gender Equity to counsel and represent women in defamation suits stemming from public allegations of sexual misconduct.

Mackenna has also represented clients in a broad array of complex commercial and white-collar litigation matters, domestically and abroad, and represented clients facing investigations by the DOJ, SEC, CFTC and FINRA. For nearly a decade, Ms. White served as counsel to the SIPA trustee to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities estate to trace and recover assets across the globe. Ms. White previously interned at Nagashima, Ohno and Tsunematsu, a prominent Japanese law firm in Tokyo, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in the Hague.