About Deborah A. Skakel
Debbie Skakel maintains an active litigation and counseling practice in which she couples the street smarts of a business lawyer with the skills of a litigator.
Debbie has significant experience in state and federal courts and arbitration tribunals throughout the country. Business clients have turned to Debbie for more than 25 years when they need a strategically aggressive litigator who will prevail at trial, while providing sound and pragmatic business advice throughout the matter. In addition, Debbie is nationally recognized for her work on behalf of clients in the alcohol beverage industry, and frequently asked to speak on matters affecting that highly regulated industry.
Outside the Firm
An avid fan of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, the New York Yankees, the New York Rangers, and the New England Patriots, Debbie manages our New York Office’s Softball Team. She and her husband (who is also a litigator) live in Harlem and have three grown children.
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Experience
- Representing a European company in a multibillion-dollar money laundering case.
- Represented wine and spirits wholesalers across the country in cross-border shipping cases, including those in the Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits as well as the groundbreaking SCOTUS Granholm case.
- Represented the U.S. distributor of a brand of cycling apparel in a partnership dispute.
- Representing alcohol beverage distributors in a Sherman Act preemption action challenging several pricing statutes.
- Represented a fine and rare wine auction company in a multimillion-dollar counterfeit wine case.
- Represented America’s oldest, continuously operating real estate company in a lengthy arbitration in which control of the management of several iconic buildings in New York City was at stake.
- Represented a U.S. company in its successful lawsuit against Yassar Arafat and the PLO regarding the issuance of a telecommunications franchise in the West Bank and Gaza.
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
News & Views
Case / Cases & Deals
Blank Rome Secures Second Major Court Victory for Mackinac Island Ferry CompaniesMarch 3, 2026
Honor / Honors & Awards
Blank Rome Recognized as a 2024 Best Law Firm for Women and Diversity by SeramountJune 3, 2024
Events & Webinars / Webinar
Litigation and Employment Law Issues for In-House CounselDecember 5–7, 2023
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Recognitions
- 2022, listed in Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Expert Guides
- 2014–2025, New York “Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation, listed in Super Lawyers
- 2020, Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award, by the City Bar Justice Center
- 2014, New York Center for Law and Justice Access to Justice Award
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Memberships
- New York City Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
Professional Activities
Debbie is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York Women’s Bar Association, and the Association for the Bar of the City of New York, where she provides pro bono services for the City Bar Justice Center’s Elder Law and Cancer Advocacy Project by preparing life planning documents for the elderly and cancer survivors.
Debbie is a member of the firm’s Lateral Recruiting Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and the New York Office Recruiting Committee, and assists in the firm’s General Counsel’s office.
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court - Western District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court - Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Education
- Syracuse University, BA, magna cum laude
- Cornell Law School, JD
A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.