Richard W. Fields, the founding partner of Fields Han Cunniff, is an innovative lawyer whose creative approach to the practice of law has earned him the reputation as a pioneer in settling complex large scale litigation and the creation of the modern litigation finance market. His strong ability to solve problems by bringing in different perspectives has been key to his long track record of success.
Mr. Fields was previously a partner at major Washington, D.C.-based law firms, addressing complex litigation and dispute resolution, with a focus on representing Fortune 500 companies in large insurance coverage disputes. After training at Arnold and Porter, Mr. Fields was a partner at what was then Howrey & Simon (1989-1994), Swidler Berlin (1994-1999) and Dickstein Shapiro (2003-2008).
Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Fields has recovered billions of dollars for numerous Fortune 500 clients and in 2006, he was named a “Leading Lawyer” by Lawdragon magazine. Mr. Fields has litigation experience in disputes involving insurance coverage, products liability, professional negligence, securities fraud, pollution, asbestos, and mass torts. He has represented hundreds of Fortune 500 companies in the oil, gas, electric, chemical, banking, and manufacturing industries. Mr. Fields has resolved many of the largest claims ever presented to London market insurers, leading to his recognition as an authority on the resolution of insurance and reinsurance disputes. For over a decade, Mr. Fields has also represented victims of terrorism in numerous cases.
As a premier litigator working as a fund manager from 2008-2015, Richard managed $600 million in private and public litigation funds. As the founder and CEO of Juridica Asset Management Limited (“JAML”), Mr. Fields launched the first publicly-traded fund for complex lawsuits involving business-to-business disputes on the London Stock Exchange. A savvy financier, Mr. Fields invested over $100 million in antitrust opt-out cases that collectively generated over $1.0 billion in settlements. He also invested in and managed a successful portfolio of intellectual property, breach of contract, fraud, and other large-scale commercial cases.
Recently, Mr. Fields led the development of one of the largest single portfolios of patents relating to the application of technology to professional sports. He is also a co-inventor and patent holder for a patent covering the use of a wearable broadcasting system on the playing field. In addition to his experience as a litigator and fund manager, Mr. Fields has raised over $1.0 billion in capital for various start-ups and early-stage companies, including two biotech companies on whose boards he served for several years.
Mr. Fields is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University, B.A. (1977), and received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Indiana University (1982). He is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the McKinney School of Law at Indiana University, the Audit Committee of Human Rights Watch and previously served as co-chair of the New York Committee of Human Rights Watch and on the Advisory Board of the Rand Corporation’s Institute for Civil Justice.
For over thirty years, Martin Cunniff has been involved in all types of high-stakes litigation. This experience includes “on his feet” courtroom experience in dozens of trials, arbitrations and regulatory hearings. His varied litigation experience allows him to handle complex legal and economic analysis and his courtroom experience helps him present those arguments in a persuasive and understandable manner.
Mr. Cunniff has practiced in both large national firms and high-powered litigation boutiques. He served as chair of commercial litigation for the then-largest litigation firm in the world supervising a group that conducted over 400 trials with a 92% win rate. He was a member of the top-rated unfair trade and competition practice in the world and served as chair of antitrust for a national law firm. He started his career at Howery & Simon (later Howrey LLP) and was there for twenty-two years (1989-2011), then moved to Arent Fox (2011-2016), Innovista Law (2016-2018) and RuyakCherian (2018-2020).
Much of Mr. Cunniff’s litigation experience has been as lead counsel in high-exposure cases involving complex economic analysis and large damage exposure. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in hundreds of cases involving various types of business and consumer litigation. Some of his notable cases include the BCS Antitrust case which helped force a college playoff system, hearings before the Copyright Royalty Board to set statutory rates for digital streaming services, the largest gold mining fraud ever, the largest credit ratings cliff case, high-profile international arbitration under the NAFTA treaty, environmental litigation before the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and several class actions for homeless citizens in the District of Columbia (one of which inspired a character in a John Grisham novel). He also helped move thirty inmates from death row to life imprisonment in Maryland.
Throughout his career, Mr. Cunniff has followed a “focus on damages” approach to litigation. Many of the cases he has litigated involved the use of complex economic or financial models to prove damages. He is the co-editor of Calculating and Proving Damages (Law Journal Press) which is a leading treatise on damages. This treatise is unique because it is the product of collaboration between testifying experts and litigators, each bringing their perspective to damages. He also served on the board of Capital Economics for many years which was an economic and financial consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. with over eighty economists and financial professionals.
Mr. Cunniff has extensive experience in teaching trial advocacy. For ten years, he was chair of training at an international litigation firm and supervised a staff that produced 300 programs a year worldwide. He and his team won numerous national awards for innovation in training including the American Society of Training and Development’s “BEST” award. He developed one of the first attorney competency models which was featured in a book published by the ABA. He has also taught expert witnesses in various programs including at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA and with the AICPA.
Mr. Cunniff is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland. He graduated from the University of Florida Law School with high honors. He has been selected to SuperLawyers (D.C.) six times.
Edward Han has more than 35 years of experience litigating patent infringement, patent licensing, securities fraud, and antitrust cases, and other complex commercial disputes. He has extensive trial experience, including jury trials, bench trials, and arbitration hearings. Ed’s cases have involved the medical device, communications, mining, and other industries.
Prior to joining Fields Han Cunniff, Ed was a partner in the Intellectual Property group at Arnold & Porter LLP. Before that, he was a partner in the Global Litigation practice at Howrey LLP, where he served as a member of the Executive Committee and the Hiring Partner. Ed began his legal career as a litigator at Shearman & Sterling. He obtained his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Ed holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to and during law school, Ed worked as a consultant at econometric forecasting firms.
Connor Hees supports the partners on practically all of FHC’s matters. In addition to assisting with researching and presenting new case opportunities, he assists with litigating ongoing cases. These cases include suits under the Helms-Burton Act, multidistrict litigation against Juul, and a case against the fourth-largest distributor of pharmaceuticals in the United States. Connor is also familiar with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) as well as other issues facing the firm’s tribal government clients.
Prior to joining the firm, Connor graduated from Emory Law School and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina. At Emory, Connor served as the Executive Notes & Comments Editor of the Emory Law Review and a Student Attorney in the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, and interned with Southern Environmental Law Center. He then worked as a volunteer law clerk and full-time law clerk at the North Carolina Court of Appeals before re-joining Fields Han Cunniff in January 2023.
Connor has a strong intellectual curiosity and a robust research skill set that he developed as a debater and a debate coach for several years. Connor pairs these skills with his genuine interest in working with others to resolve complex problems. Outside of work, Connor enjoys perfecting his three-point shot, emulating dishes seen in cooking shows, and reading new books.
Anna Kovalevska is an associate at Fields Han & Cunniff PLLC. Prior to joining FHC, Anna worked as a staff attorney at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, where she specialized in public interest litigation, federal regulatory enforcement matters, and Title IX litigation in education. Most notably, Anna was part of the legal team that successfully represented writer E. Jean Carroll in her sexual assault and defamation suits against Donald Trump. She served as one of the firm’s eDiscovery experts with advanced training in Relativity and related software.
Anna also worked at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York. As part of the Financial Litigation Unit, Anna managed a docket of foreclosure cases involving liabilities owed to the IRS, HUD and SBA. She completed a fellowship at CUNY Hunter College’s Office of Legal Affairs and worked on diversity and Title IX compliance matters. During law school, she interned for the New York State Attorney General, Charities Bureau, and the Honorable Alexander M. Tisch of the New York County Supreme Court.
Anna volunteered for the Sexual Harassment Working Group, a worker collective launched by former New York State legislative employees. Prior to attending law school, Anna was a nonprofit fundraiser for Legal Services NYC and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
Anna received her B.A., cum laude, from CUNY Hunter College. She received her J.D. from New York Law School, where she was a member of the Trial Competition Team and a writer at the Center for New York City Law. She recently completed the Duke Law School Bolch Judicial Institute Advanced MDL Certificate Program.