Ted Wells
Theodore V. "Ted" Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American lawyer who works in the field of criminal law. A litigation partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wells has been selected by the National Law Journal as one of America's best white-collar defense attorneys on numerous occasions. Wells received his B.A. from College of the Holy Cross, his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He and his wife, former Secretary of State of New Jersey Nina Mitchell Wells, reside in  Livingston, New Jersey. Wells attended Holy Cross at the same time as Clarence Thomas, now a Supreme Court justice. Both participated in a walkout based on their beliefs of unfair racially motivated practices on the part of the college. The two were part of the same organization for African-American students at Holy Cross. 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. Wells represented Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr., 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, but dropped the appeal in December 2007 after President Bush commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence. Some of Wells' more notable clients include Michael Espy, Senator Robert Torricelli, and Congressman Floyd Flake. He represented former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer against allegations stemming from his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring. 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. 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. The report, released on February 14, 2014, made headlines for its finding of "a pattern of harassment". 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, and because of his track-record of success exculpating high-profile clients and corporations  during public scandals. 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.