Temidayo Aganga-Williams

Temidayo Aganga-Williams is an experienced litigator who represents clients in high-stakes commercial disputes, regulatory and enforcement matters, and internal investigations across a range of industries.

He regularly advises institutional and individual clients facing sensitive, multifaceted challenges involving existential financial risk, reputational harm, and potential criminal or regulatory exposure.

Temidayo is ranked by Chambers and Partners as a leading lawyer in “White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.” He has been recognized as a “Notable LGBTQIA+ Leader” by Crain’s New York Business and among the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” and "500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers" by Lawdragon. He was also named to Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under” list (2024-2026), the New York Law Journal’s “Rising Stars” list, and Law360’s 2025 “Rising Stars” list, each of which recognizes the most promising and accomplished lawyers 40 and younger.

Prior to joining Selendy Gay, 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 an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Temidayo investigated, prosecuted, and tried complex and sensitive cases across a wide spectrum of subject matters and was a member of the Business and Securities Fraud section. 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’s insights on the latest legal developments are regularly sought out by prominent media outlets, including CNN, MS Now (formerly 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 worked at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he represented institutions and individuals in complex commercial litigation and investigations and proceedings involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and state attorneys general.

Temidayo also clerked for the Honorable Dora L. Irizarry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Representative Matters

Commercial litigation:

• Private equity fund in a complex post-acquisition dispute spanning multiple forums and involving alleged material misrepresentations by the seller during pre-closing due diligence.
• Global investment firm that acquires and manages intellectual property across music, film, and media in a post-acquisition contractual dispute concerning indemnification rights.
• Financial services company in a contract dispute against a major financial institution concerning insured deposit account agreements. 
• Trustee under a contingent value rights (CVR) agreement in $6.4 billion lawsuit against a global pharmaceutical company for breach of a diligent-efforts clause and failure to pay CVR holders in connection with the acquisition of another pharmaceutical company.
• Brazilian multinational metals and mining corporation in a construction arbitration in Rio de Janeiro arising out of claims relating to a mining project in West Africa.

Government enforcement and internal investigations:

• Former CEO and founder of a multinational technology company in connection with a multi-billion-dollar securities and accounting fraud prosecution by the DOJ and SEC.
• Former senior executive of a media company in connection with a multi-million-dollar wire fraud investigation by the DOJ.
• Former chief legal officer and senior executive of a multinational company in connection with a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecution by the DOJ and the SEC.
• Former CEO of a financial technology company and one of the largest Paycheck Protection Program lenders during COVID-19 against alleged violations of the False Claims Act.
• Financial services company in connection with DOJ and SEC inquiries concerning an approximately $200 million distressed-debt investment.
• Individual in a federal criminal matter involving allegations of a multi-year conspiracy to defraud multiple major financial institutions.
• Global financial institution in connection with investigations involving financial benchmarks, including LIBOR and foreign exchange trading (FX), conducted by the DOJ, the SEC, the CFTC, and other regulators around the world.
• Private, K-12 educational institution in connection with a highly sensitive internal investigation and risk assessment.
• Private, higher education institution concerning a Title VI claim.

Bankruptcy litigation:

• The Litigation Oversight Committee to Genesis Global Holdco, LLC in two lawsuits against Genesis’s parent Digital Currency Group and its founder and affiliated entities and individuals, on behalf of creditors who are owed crypto assets worth approximately $2.2 billion.
• 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.
• 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.

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 President 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).

Temidayo has represented New York Governor Kathy Hochul and executive state agencies and their commissioners concerning the State’s interest in supporting New York City in providing shelter as part of the case captioned Callahan v. Carey. He also represented Simon Wiesenthal Center in securing a ruling preserving future claims against UBS and Credit Suisse relating to newly discovered Nazi-linked assets and accounts.

Temidayo is also a board member of Access Justice Brooklyn, where he supports the organization’s mission to expand access to civil legal services for underserved communities.

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 heads Selendy Gay’s Community and Culture Committee and leads the firm’s recruiting program.