Temidayo Aganga-Williams

Temidayo Aganga-Williams is an experienced litigator bringing strong government credentials to his representation of clients facing complex government enforcement actions, internal investigations, congressional oversight, and high-stakes civil litigation.

Most recently, Temidayo served as Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Before that, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

As Senior Investigative Counsel, Temidayo was responsible for investigating the facts, circumstances, and causes of the attack and issues relating to the peaceful transfer of power. In that role, he conducted depositions and interviews of dozens of witnesses, including senior advisors to former President Trump, provided legal and strategic guidance on novel congressional investigation issues, coordinated the presentation of evidence for nationally televised hearings, and contributed to the Select Committee’s final report.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, Temidayo investigated, prosecuted, and tried complex and sensitive cases across a wide spectrum of subject matters. He was a member of the Business and Securities Fraud section, in which he investigated and prosecuted white collar cases, including bank fraud, tax fraud, mail and wire fraud, and Bank Secrecy Act violations. He was also a member of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering section, in which he investigated and prosecuted money laundering and narcotics trafficking organizations, organized criminal conduct, and racketeering operations throughout the United States and internationally.

Temidayo has briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received the U.S. Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his extraordinary contributions. He also received the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations’ Investigative Group of the Year Award.

Temidayo was named one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon and has also been recognized as a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal, which awards the region’s most promising and accomplished lawyers 40 and younger.

His insights on the latest legal developments are regularly sought out by prominent media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, NBC News, BBC News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Politico, and Law360.

Prior to his years in public service, Temidayo was a litigation associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He also clerked for the Honorable Dora L. Irizarry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Representative Matters

• Representation of numerous individuals and entities in financial fraud investigations conducted by the DOJ and SEC.
• Representation of former executive of a multinational company in connection with a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by the DOJ and the SEC.
• Representation of former CEO of a multinational technology company in connection with a securities and accounting fraud investigation by the DOJ.
• Representation of private equity fund in connection with misrepresentations made during pre-closing diligence to the fund by portfolio company.
• Representation of UMB Bank as Trustee under a Contingent Value Rights (“CVR”) Agreement in a lawsuit against Bristol Myers Squib (“BMS”) seeking $6.4 billion on account of BMS’s breach of a diligent efforts clause and failure to pay out holders of CVRs that were issued in connection with BMS’s acquisition of Celgene.
• Representation of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Celsius Network LLC in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, acting as the fiduciary for 1.7 million account users that used the Celsius platform before its bankruptcy filing.
• Representation of the U.S. estate of Nortel, a multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer, in an unprecedented seven-week, cross-border trial (conducted simultaneously in Ontario and Delaware) concerning the allocation of $7.5 billion from the global liquidation of the assets of the Nortel Networks group of companies.
• Representation of Vale S.A., a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining, in a construction arbitration proceeding in Rio de Janeiro arising out claims relating to a mining project in West Africa.
• Representation of Citigroup in connection with investigations involving financial benchmarks, including LIBOR and foreign exchange trading (FX), conducted by the DOJ, CFTC, SEC, and other regulators around the world.

Public Interest Work

Temidayo maintains an active public interest practice, including a focus on furthering pro-democracy efforts. He has authored numerous amicus briefs, including an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. United States, which argued against immunity from criminal prosecution for former President Donald Trump. Temidayo has spoken on these topics at numerous institutions, including Columbia University, Furman University, and the National Press Club (the world's leading professional organization for journalists).

Education and Community Involvement

Temidayo earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. in political science and philosophy from Furman University.

Temidayo also leads Selendy Gay’s diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts, as well as the firm’s recruiting program.