Peter Santos

Peter Santos is an experienced business lawyer who previously co-chaired the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. For more than twenty years, his focus has been on representing companies, with several hundred to tens of thousands of employees, in various business-related matters.

After thirteen years in private practice in Pennsylvania, Mr. Santos relocated to North Carolina in 2001. He opened and managed the Charlotte office of a major Pittsburgh law firm and joined Nexsen Pruet in 2004.   In 2011, he began dividing his time between Charlotte and a second home in London.  A significant portion of Mr. Santos’ work involves matters outside of the Carolina’s but he is well versed in the issues facing businesses in those locales as well.

His typical clients are multi-national companies.  Mr. Santos and his team regularly advise clients on commercial sales and financing arrangements, equipment leasing programs, the negotiation of sales and commercial agreements, and the resolution of disputes in these areas.

Mr. Santos advises several regular clients on matters related to commercial transactions, secured financing, leasing, bankruptcy and related business litigation and claims.  For several years Mr. Santos represented a large urban county in all of its bankruptcy matters.  His bankruptcy practice has included adversary proceedings involving creditor priority issues, involuntary bankruptcy filings, and the appointment of trustees to preserve assets.

For nearly ten years Mr. Santos managed the nationwide mass tort litigation defense of a multi-national company.  In this capacity he supervised dozens of lawyers handling nearly a thousand claims across more than twenty-five states.  Some of these cases were pending in what are often viewed as the most difficult jurisdictions in the country and many of these claims were brought by very experienced law firms.  Mr. Santos and his team of lawyers successfully defended these claims by developing innovative strategies and applying business management techniques to the defense of this mass litigation.  In this way the client received efficiencies in the management of the day to day tasks associated with litigation such as the production of documents, the preparation of witnesses and the coordination of discovery responses, which led to significant savings for the client.  The end result was a successful track record of resolving tens of thousands of claims quickly and efficiently.  The team continues to serve as counsel for several companies in toxic tort litigation pending in North and South Carolina. 

Mr. Santos has lectured at legal conferences on issues related to commercial law.  In the 1990’s he was an early instructor on using the Internet in the practice of law for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

Mr. Santos received his undergraduate degree in political science from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law, where he served on the Law Review, the Appellate Moot Court Team and where he received the Order of the Barristers.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel and various bar and other professional associations.   

• Obtained a Preliminary Injunction prohibiting competitor from hacking into his client's computer system in a "bet the company" case.
• Successfully managed the reduction of over twenty thousand toxic tort claims.
• Successfully defended a nearly $2 million preference action in a well known bankruptcy case. This included vacating a default judgment that had been entered prior to Mr. Santos’ retention.
• Represented a savings and loan institution in series of lender liability claims that resulted in the dismissal of all claims. The dismissal was affirmed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
• Negotiated the resolution at various stages both before and after trial of more than fifty commercial disputes ranging in size from several hundred thousand dollars to many millions of dollars.
• Handled the resolution of disputes filed before various arbitration tribunals including the AAA and the ICC.
• Served as lead bankruptcy counsel for a metropolitan county with a population in excess of one million.
• Admitted pro hac vice in more than 20 different jurisdictions.
• Opened and Managed the Charlotte office of a 130 lawyer firm.

• "Technology allows national firm to field offices in smaller markets"
  Nexsen Pruet attorney Peter Santos shares insight with South Carolina Lawyers weekly about how technology is impacting litigation and practice of law.
• Nexsen Pruet Moves into New Space in Charlotte
  The firm’s new offices will be located on the 15th floor of the Carillon Building. That’s on the corner of Trade and Poplar Streets.
• "Nexsen Pruet makes uptown office move"
  The Friday, April 23rd edition of the Charlotte Business Journal features an article entitled "Nexsen Pruet makes uptown office move."

• International Law Update
  Appeals court says international contract requires litigation in England.
• The Carolinas Insurance Litigation Review
  This issue of the Carolinas Insurance Litigation Review includes:

  - "Challenging Policyholder Claims for Bad Faith and Punitive Damages" for North Carolina

  - "Combating Policyholder Bad Faith and Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Claims" for South Carolina