Diana Schaffner

Diana E. Schaffner is a counsel in the firm’s litigation practice. Ms. Schaffner’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and business disputes involving a variety of issues on behalf of clients in the insurance, financial services and energy industries. She also counsels clients on regulatory matters and provides representation in government investigations and enforcement actions. A member of the firm’s cybersecurity and data privacy practice, Ms. Schaffner advises on related compliance matters and litigation.

Prior to joining Akin Gump, Ms. Schaffner was a litigation associate at another international law firm, where her practice included all aspects of civil litigation at the trial and appellate levels, regulatory investigations involving state and federal authorities, and arbitration proceedings.

Ms. Schaffner previously served as a law clerk for Judge Jenny Rivera of the New York State Court of Appeals.Ms. Schaffner received her J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif from Fordham University School of Law and her B.A., with honors, from Vassar College. At Vassar, Ms. Schaffner was awarded the Virginia Swinburne Brownell Prize for excellence in History. Before law school, she was a Fulbright scholar in Yemen and Oman.

Representative Work:

• Ms. Schaffner’s recent engagements include:
  • defending a global talent agency against intellectual property-related claims brought by a client in state and federal court
  • conducting an investigation of alleged sanctions violations at a global financial institution, including examination of potential misconduct of bank employees
  • defending a national drug store chain against claims of a former chief executive following the executive’s termination, including claims concerning the executive’s alleged preemptive rights
  • representing a consumer lending company and its principals in a series of class actions and arbitrations alleging that the company and individuals were not properly licensed and violated usury caps under California lending laws
  • clients on a pro bono basis, including recently a defendant in a death penalty case in Delaware and families in termination of parental rights cases.
  • assisting with drafting privacy and cybersecurity terms and conditions on behalf of a global transportation company in connection with its proposed operation of autonomous vehicle pilot programs in the U.S.
  • defending an energy services firm in a contract dispute arising out of the sale of pipeline infrastructure
  • conducting data breach investigations and remediation involving the release of consumers’ personally identifiable information
  • counseling a startup concerning cybersecurity and privacy compliance needs
  • representing insurance companies in contract, coverage and bad faith litigation
  • defending companies in consumer class actions

Education:

• J.D., Fordham University School of Law,magna cum laude, 2012
• B.A., Vassar College, with honors, 2007

Clerkships:

• New York Court of Appeals