Biography | Elizabeth Byrnes-Mandelbaum

Elizabeth Byrnes-Mandelbaum

Associate

lbyrnesmandelbaum@pbwt.com

New York, NY 212.336.2298

Elizabeth Byrnes-Mandelbaum

Associate

lbyrnesmandelbaum@pbwt.com

New York, NY 212.336.2298

Elizabeth Byrnes-Mandelbaum is an Associate in the firm's Litigation Department. She serves on the Litigation Committee and the Civil Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association.

New York University School of Law (J.D., 2024)
- Editor, Review of Law and Social Change
- Co-Chair, Public Interest Law Student Association
Duke University (B.A., cum laude, 2019)

New York City Bar Association's Litigation Committee and Civil Rights Committee

Firm Highlights

Firm Lawyers Honored for Pro Bono Work by New York County Lawyers Association

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) recognized three firm attorneys for achievements in connection with their pro bono work. Shelley Attadgie was recognized for her work related to the State Central Registry (SCR) Project. Ms. Attadgie represented a client in connection with a petition to amend and seal a report entered against them in the SCR by the Administration for Children's Services. Ms. Attadgie prepared the client for his hearing testimony before an Administrative Law Judge, drafted and collected supporting evidence, cross-examined the Agency’s witness, and assisted the client with his direct testimony. Following the two-day hearing, the finding of maltreatment was amended to unfounded and sealed, removing a significant barrier that had impacted the client...

You Win Some and Lose Some: Judge Liman Decides Competing Motions to Compel

On September 4, 2026, District Judge Lewis J. Liman (S.D.N.Y.) granted in part and denied in part Plaintiff Lashify, Inc.’s (“Lashify”) motion to compel discovery and denied Defendants Qingdao Network Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a UCoolMe and Vivicute Limited’s (“UCoolMe”) motion to compel. Lashify, Inc. v. Qingdao Network Tech. Co., Ltd., No. 25-cv-4183 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 4, 2026). Lashify’s Motion to Compel Lashify moved to compel UCoolMe to provide responses to discovery requests relating to: (i) product samples and raw materials; (ii) manufacturing; (iii) employees and supply chain; (iv) marketing; and (v) finances. Id. at *2. The Court found that each of those topics were relevant under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and that UCoolMe did not sufficiently respond to discovery requests related to...

Thomas Kurland to Speak on Social Media Mass Torts at ACI’s 2026 Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference

On Wednesday, December 2, Partner Thomas Kurland will speak on a panel titled "The New Mental Health Mass Tort: Product Design, Warnings, and Causation Lessons from the Social Media Litigation" at the American Conference Institute's Drug & Medical Device Litigation conference. Mr. Kurland will join Manuel F. Cachán (Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP), TaCara Harris (Partner, King & Spalding), and Jobina Jones-McDonnell (VP and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation and Risk, Keenova) to discuss the growing field of social media mass tort litigation and how it relates to—and may end up impacting—more mature mass torts involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. To learn more, please click here.

The Billion-Dollar Interview: How the Wrong Hiring Process Can Create Personal Liability for Founders

The right talent can make or break a startup, and effective founders build recruiting processes to land exceptional people. But a process built to win talent can, if run the wrong way, expose a founder to personal liability to the competitor they are hiring from. A recent lawsuit by Apple shows how. Tang Tan spent 24 years at Apple, rising to vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. After co-founding startup io Products and selling the company to OpenAI, he was tasked with building OpenAI’s hardware team. He turned to the engineers he knew best: Apple’s. Tan’s interviews were hands-on. Candidates explained their contributions and engineering decisions and brought physical components from Apple to illustrate their work at...

Can Subchapter V’s Increased Debt Limit Save In-Court Business Reorganizations?

Chapter 11 is intended to enable businesses to reorganize while continuing normal operations under the control of existing management. The primary goal of chapter 11 is for companies to reorganize rather than liquidate to the benefit of owners, employees, suppliers, customers and others relying on the businesses’ ongoing survival. But the process has become expensive. Some would-be chapter 11 debtors opt out of the court process altogether, instead seeking out-of-court options, including consensual debt restructurings and liability management exercises (or “LMEs”). These debtors seek to renegotiate their debts to make shifts within their capital structure without the expense of a bankruptcy filing. When companies do file chapter 11, they often do so with prepackaged or pre-negotiated plans of reorganization, which...

New York Restricts “Pay or Stay” Agreements Under the Trapped at Work Act

New York employers will soon face new restrictions on agreements requiring employees to repay certain amounts if their employment ends before a specified period of time. New York’s Trapped at Work Act (the “Act”) generally prohibits employers from requiring employees or prospective employees, as a condition of employment, to enter into so-called “pay or stay” agreements, subject to exceptions for certain educational expenses, bonuses, relocation assistance, and other incentive payments. Originally enacted in December 2025 and amended in February 2026, the Act left some uncertainty as to whether its effective date would be December 19, 2026 or February 13, 2027. On October 22, 2026, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued guidance confirming that the Act will take effect...

Andrew Haddad to Speak on American Bar Association Webinar

On Thursday, November 12, Counsel Andrew Haddad will speak on an American Bar Association webinar titled "United Against Fakes: The Counterfeit Drug Problem." Mr. Haddad will join Laura Manschreck (Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP) and Erin McDermott (Principal, Charles River Associates) to explore the rise of counterfeit life sciences products and its impact on manufacturers and discuss the latest enforcement and litigation trends. To learn more, please click here.

Firm Attorneys Honored for Pro Bono Work by Sanctuary for Families

On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Partner Lauren Schorr Potter and Associates Folasade Famakinwa, Jillian Horowitz, and Tiffany Li were honored by Sanctuary for Families with the 2026 Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award for achievements in connection with their pro bono work. Ms. Potter, Ms. Famakinwa, and Ms. Li were recognized for their work successfully representing a survivor of sexual abuse as a victim witness in a high-profile federal criminal trial that received significant public attention. The team guided the client through an intense period of preparation, including numerous meetings and testimony preparation, coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and support on trial days. Sanctuary for Families celebrated “not only the team’s legal advocacy, but also the extraordinary care, commitment,...

Delaware Bankruptcy Court Crafts Test Concerning Post-Confirmation “Related-To” Jurisdiction

The filing of a bankruptcy case creates an estate consisting of the debtor’s legal and equitable property. The estate will continue until the debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization or liquidation goes effective. It will then terminate, and the property will either revest in the reorganized debtor or be transferred to another entity such as a post-confirmation liquidation trust. Now and then, bankruptcy judges face this issue: after plan confirmation, when can a liquidation trustee assert state law claims in a lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court? In terms of a bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the question can be articulated this way: when can a bankruptcy court have post-confirmation related-to jurisdiction over such claims under 28 U.S.C. section 1334?[i] A bankruptcy judge...

Delaware Bankruptcy Court Crafts Test Concerning Post-Confirmation 'Related-To' Jurisdiction

The filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case creates an estate consisting of the debtor’s legal and equitable property. The estate will continue until the debtor’s confirmed plan of reorganization or liquidation goes effective. It will then terminate, and the property will either revest in the reorganized debtor or be transferred to another entity such as a post-confirmation liquidation trust. Now and then, bankruptcy judges face this issue: after plan confirmation, when can a liquidation trustee assert state law claims in a lawsuit filed in the bankruptcy court? In terms of a bankruptcy court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the question is this: when can a bankruptcy court have post-confirmation related-to jurisdiction over such claims under 28 U.S.C. section 1334? (Related-to jurisdiction is part...

Firm Lawyers Honored for Pro Bono Work by New York County Lawyers Association

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) recognized three firm attorneys for achievements in connection with their pro bono work. Shelley Attadgie was recognized for her work related to the State Central Registry (SCR) Project. Ms. Attadgie represented a client in connection with a petition to amend and seal a report entered against them in the SCR by the Administration for Children's Services. Ms. Attadgie prepared the client for his hearing testimony before an Administrative Law Judge, drafted and collected supporting evidence, cross-examined the Agency’s witness, and assisted the client with his direct testimony. Following the two-day hearing, the finding of maltreatment was amended to unfounded and sealed, removing a significant barrier that had impacted the client...

You Win Some and Lose Some: Judge Liman Decides Competing Motions to Compel

On September 4, 2026, District Judge Lewis J. Liman (S.D.N.Y.) granted in part and denied in part Plaintiff Lashify, Inc.’s (“Lashify”) motion to compel discovery and denied Defendants Qingdao Network Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a UCoolMe and Vivicute Limited’s (“UCoolMe”) motion to compel. Lashify, Inc. v. Qingdao Network Tech. Co., Ltd., No. 25-cv-4183 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 4, 2026). Lashify’s Motion to Compel Lashify moved to compel UCoolMe to provide responses to discovery requests relating to: (i) product samples and raw materials; (ii) manufacturing; (iii) employees and supply chain; (iv) marketing; and (v) finances. Id. at *2. The Court found that each of those topics were relevant under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) and that UCoolMe did not sufficiently respond to discovery requests related to...

Thomas Kurland to Speak on Social Media Mass Torts at ACI’s 2026 Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference

On Wednesday, December 2, Partner Thomas Kurland will speak on a panel titled "The New Mental Health Mass Tort: Product Design, Warnings, and Causation Lessons from the Social Media Litigation" at the American Conference Institute's Drug & Medical Device Litigation conference. Mr. Kurland will join Manuel F. Cachán (Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP), TaCara Harris (Partner, King & Spalding), and Jobina Jones-McDonnell (VP and Assistant General Counsel, Litigation and Risk, Keenova) to discuss the growing field of social media mass tort litigation and how it relates to—and may end up impacting—more mature mass torts involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. To learn more, please click here.

The Billion-Dollar Interview: How the Wrong Hiring Process Can Create Personal Liability for Founders

The right talent can make or break a startup, and effective founders build recruiting processes to land exceptional people. But a process built to win talent can, if run the wrong way, expose a founder to personal liability to the competitor they are hiring from. A recent lawsuit by Apple shows how. Tang Tan spent 24 years at Apple, rising to vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch. After co-founding startup io Products and selling the company to OpenAI, he was tasked with building OpenAI’s hardware team. He turned to the engineers he knew best: Apple’s. Tan’s interviews were hands-on. Candidates explained their contributions and engineering decisions and brought physical components from Apple to illustrate their work at...

Can Subchapter V’s Increased Debt Limit Save In-Court Business Reorganizations?

Chapter 11 is intended to enable businesses to reorganize while continuing normal operations under the control of existing management. The primary goal of chapter 11 is for companies to reorganize rather than liquidate to the benefit of owners, employees, suppliers, customers and others relying on the businesses’ ongoing survival. But the process has become expensive. Some would-be chapter 11 debtors opt out of the court process altogether, instead seeking out-of-court options, including consensual debt restructurings and liability management exercises (or “LMEs”). These debtors seek to renegotiate their debts to make shifts within their capital structure without the expense of a bankruptcy filing. When companies do file chapter 11, they often do so with prepackaged or pre-negotiated plans of reorganization, which...

New York Restricts “Pay or Stay” Agreements Under the Trapped at Work Act

New York employers will soon face new restrictions on agreements requiring employees to repay certain amounts if their employment ends before a specified period of time. New York’s Trapped at Work Act (the “Act”) generally prohibits employers from requiring employees or prospective employees, as a condition of employment, to enter into so-called “pay or stay” agreements, subject to exceptions for certain educational expenses, bonuses, relocation assistance, and other incentive payments. Originally enacted in December 2025 and amended in February 2026, the Act left some uncertainty as to whether its effective date would be December 19, 2026 or February 13, 2027. On October 22, 2026, the New York State Department of Labor (“NYSDOL”) issued guidance confirming that the Act will take effect...