Portrait of Catherine Blackwood

Catherine Blackwood

Of Counsel

New York

cblackwood@sterling-ghold.com

New York

Practice areas

Education

  • M.I.L.R., Cornell ILR School (1993)
  • J.D., SUNY Buffalo Law School (1996)

Certifications

  • Certified Mediator, AAA Commercial Panel
  • Series 7 & 63 — FINRA

Languages

  • English

Catherine Blackwood is Of Counsel in the employment practice, advising management on employment discrimination claims, executive separations, non-compete enforcement, and labor relations. She counsels boards and compensation committees on executive pay governance.

Bar Admissions

  • New York (1997)

Notable Matters

  • Defended Fortune 100 client in multi-district antitrust class action
  • Advised SPAC on $1.1B de-SPAC merger and PIPE financing

Cases

  • Coastal Holdings v. Vanguard Capital, 2023 WL 1184422 (Del. Ch.)

Clerkship

  • Hon. Sandra K. Whitfield, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Professional

  • New York State Bar Association
    • Commercial & Federal Litigation Section — Executive Committee
  • Federal Bar Council

Community

  • Legal Aid Society — Pro Bono Volunteer
  • New York Super Lawyers – Employment & Labor (2023)

Articles

  • "After Twitter v. Musk: Drafting MAE Clauses That Hold Up", Harvard Bus. L. Rev. (2024)
  • "The Quiet Revolution in Section 220 Books-and-Records Demands", Del. J. Corp. L. (2023)

Presentations

  • Panelist, "Cross-Border Deal Risk in 2024", PLI Annual M&A Institute

Interviews

  • Quoted in The Wall Street Journal on activist investor settlement trends (2023)
Authored by Catherine Blackwood

Recent insights

Dec 10, 2025
8 min read

FTC Non-Compete Rule: Status, Impact, and What Employers Must Do Now

The FTC's sweeping non-compete rule has produced conflicting court decisions. We analyze the current legal landscape and what employers should do while the litigation unfolds.