Experienced Legal Counsel for Complex Matters
The Law Office of William Coudert Rand provides sophisticated legal representation in commercial litigation, employment law, securities disputes, and intellectual property from the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
A Tradition of
Legal Excellence
The Law Office of William Coudert Rand is a general practice firm located in Midtown Manhattan, New York. Since its founding in 2001, the firm has built a distinguished reputation for delivering strategic, results-oriented counsel across a range of sophisticated legal matters.
The firm specializes in Commercial Law, Employment Law, Securities Litigation, SEC Defense Cases, and Intellectual Property Law—offering the depth of experience and personal attention that only a focused practice can provide.
Practice Areas
Commercial Law
Breach-of-contract claims, business torts, partnership disputes, UCC matters, construction law, RICO, letters of credit, and judgment enforcement.
Employment Law
FLSA overtime and minimum wage actions, wrongful discharge, workplace discrimination, non-compete disputes, and tip recovery.
Securities Litigation
Securities arbitrations, SEC/FINRA/NYSE investigations, class and derivative actions, stockholder disputes, and fraud claims.
Intellectual Property
Trademark and copyright protection, trade secrets, licensing agreements, DMCA disputes, and domain name litigation.
- Commercial, Securities & Employment Litigation
- Securities Arbitrations
- SEC, FINRA & NYSE Investigations
- AAA & ICC Commercial Arbitrations
- Appraisal Rights Actions
- Class & Derivative Actions
- Breach of Commercial Contracts
- FLSA Overtime & Minimum Wage Actions
- Letters of Credit
- Construction
- Trademark Infringement
- Tort & Products Liability
- Defamation
- RICO
- Wrongful Discharge
- Discrimination
- Appeals
- Collections
- Divorce
William Coudert Rand, Esq.
A Harvard-educated litigator with decades of experience at premier firms including Brown & Wood, Jones Day, and Paul Hastings—and over 100 FLSA actions prosecuted since founding his own practice.
Education
- Harvard College, B.A. Economics (with honors), 1987
- Analyst, Prudential Securities, 1987–1989
- Fordham Law School, J.D., 1992
- Judicial Clerk (Summer 1990), Hon. John F. Keenan, U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y.
Bar Admissions
- New York State Bar
- Southern & Eastern Districts of New York
- Second & Third Circuit Courts of Appeals
Service & Recognition
- Volunteer Mediator, U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. (2011–2016; 14 mediations)
- Pro Bono Attorney, S.D.N.Y.
- Pro Bono Appellate Program, N.Y. County D.A.’s Office (placard, Dec. 1994)
- Member, Securities Litigation Committee, NYSBA
- Former Member, NYSBA Council on Judicial Administration & Task Force on Court Restructuring
Professional Background
William C. Rand founded the Law Office of William Coudert Rand on May 1, 2001. After graduating from Harvard College with honors in economics in 1987, Mr. Rand worked for two years as an analyst at Prudential Securities before completing his J.D. at Fordham Law School in 1992. At Fordham, he competed in the Mulligan and Wormser moot court competitions and published a Note in the Fordham Urban Law Journal analyzing the effect of fraudulent conveyance law on leveraged buy-outs.
Mr. Rand commenced his legal career at Brown & Wood, where he spent three years in the litigation department working predominantly on securities class actions, RICO, and accountant liability. He helped Arthur Andersen successfully defend a RICO action brought by the British Government related to DeLorean’s car manufacturing operations in Northern Ireland and effectively defended class actions against broker-dealers related to their practices regarding margin loans and free credit balances.
Mr. Rand next followed Brown & Wood’s head of litigation, E. Michael Bradley, to Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, where he continued his securities practice. He defended Nextel Communications, Inc. from a class action alleging misrepresentation of its technology’s capabilities and defended Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber from a securities class action alleging accounting misrepresentations related to revenue recognition. Mr. Rand also defended products liability cases involving Tylenol and Camel cigarettes.
Mr. Rand joined Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP on December 15, 1997. At Paul Hastings he defended a securities class action brought against American Bank Note Holographics, Inc. alleging accounting fraud, defended Xpedite Systems, Inc. from an investor action alleging improper transfer of securities, and defended independent directors against suits alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. He also defended an SEC insider trading action, defended an NASD proceeding, defended Mike Tyson from a class action complaint related to his ear biting incident, and prosecuted and defended numerous actions involving trade secrets and restrictive covenants.
On May 1, 2001, Mr. Rand left Paul Hastings to found his own practice, where he has litigated employment termination actions, FLSA overtime and minimum wage collective actions, state wage and consumer class actions, securities arbitrations, securities class and derivative actions, appraisal rights actions, negligence actions, and an assortment of other complex commercial matters.
Mr. Rand has prosecuted in excess of one hundred FLSA cases and has secured settlements on behalf of thousands of workers, including hand delivery couriers, home health aides, tax preparers, office cleaners, and drivers.
Mr. Rand has been appointed lead class counsel in numerous overtime cases that settled on a class-wide basis, recovering millions for child care workers, cable installers, office cleaners, water meter installers, home health aides, servers, and tour bus employees.
Mr. Rand has served as lead counsel in securities fraud class actions, derivative actions, and consumer fraud class actions, securing favorable settlements for investors and consumers. He also has extensive experience challenging inadequate class action settlements to protect class members’ rights.
Settlement Challenges
Publications
- “Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998,” Paul Hastings Financial Services Report, Spring 1999
- “The Role of the Judge as Protector in Class Action Settlements,” N.Y. Law Journal, September 24, 2002
- “New York’s Common Interest Privilege is Weakened by the Courts,” N.Y. Law Journal, February 22, 1999
- Note on Fraudulent Conveyance Law & Leveraged Buy-Outs, Fordham Urban Law Journal
Volunteer & Pro Bono Work
- Volunteer Mediator, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (September 2011–2016; completed 14 mediations)
- Pro Bono Attorney, Southern District of New York
- Appellate Pro Bono Program, N.Y. County District Attorney’s Office (placard awarded December 1994 for exceptional contributions)
Employment Law
Unpaid Wages & Overtime
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Laws, non-exempt employees are entitled to minimum wages for all hours worked and overtime compensation at rates not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours exceeding forty per workweek.
Despite these protections, employers often try to avoid paying properly—frequently by misclassifying employees as "exempt." If you believe you are owed wages or were denied overtime premium pay, we want to hear from you.
Tip Recovery
If you work as a tipped employee—server, waiter, bartender, or busboy—your employer may be illegally withholding your owed wages. Under the FLSA, employers are not permitted to retain any portion of your tips.
New York Department of Labor regulations govern tip-pooling arrangements and require employers to maintain records of tip pools and shares. If you believe you are owed tips, please contact us.
Contact Us
Office Location
New York, NY 10017
Directions
Our office is conveniently located at 501 Fifth Avenue at the corner of 42nd Street in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, steps from Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park.