Gillian Groarke Burns 

General Counsel – New York
T.+1 212 504 5696
gillian.burns@cwt.com
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281 V-CARD

Gillian serves as Cadwalader’s General Counsel.  In that role, Gillian regularly advises the Firm and its lawyers on ethical issues, professional responsibility, conflicts of interest and risk management. 

Gillian has spent her career at Cadwalader.  As Special Counsel, resident in New York, she has represented clients in complex commercial and securities litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and regulatory matters. The Legal 500 US reported that clients praise Gillian for her “consistent, strong, thoughtful and timely work product.” 

Gillian was named a Client Services All-Star by the BTI Consulting Group, which selects lawyers who “deliver outstanding legal skills” based on hundreds of in-depth, independent interviews with legal corporate counsel at the world’s leading organizations.  She has been recognized for her legal abilities by the New York Metro Edition of SuperLawyers. She won a Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing as co-author of “Assessing A Judicial Solution To Abusive Merger Litigation,” published by Law360.  

Gillian has served on the Professional Responsibility Committee for the New York City Bar Association.  She chaired the Firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative for many years. Gillian has served on the faculty for Fordham Law School’s Law Firm Management Program for a number of years. 

She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University and her J.D., cum laude, from Fordham Law School. At Fordham, Gillian was chairperson of Fordham’s nationally ranked Dispute Resolution Society and a staff member of the International Law Journal.  During law school, she interned for Judge Richard Wesley of the United States Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit. 

Gillian Groarke Burns 

Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • New York

Education

  • Fordham University School of Law
    J.D., 2006, cum laude
  • Duke University
    B.A., 2003, magna cum laude