Fenwick & West Sued for $525 Million Over Alleged Role in FTX Fraud

Fenwick & West served as FTX’s principal outside legal counsel during the exchange’s rise. After FTX collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, revelations emerged that customer funds had been diverted to Alameda Research as part of a fraud. The litigation has consequently expanded beyond the exchange’s executives to its professional advisers, examining whether the law firm helped build and conceal the structure used to commingle funds.

On May 13, 2026, 20 victims from five countries or jurisdictions sued Fenwick & West and six individual defendants in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking $525 million in damages. In a separate class action filed in 2023, the firm agreed on May 22 to pay $54 million to settle, subject to approval by a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida.