Commercial Litigation

Select experience includes:

  • Successfully represented an executive of an apparel company wrongfully sued in federal court for over $5 million by a disgruntled distributor and failed business partner. Counterclaimed for over $7 million for tortious interference with business relations. Uncovered evidence during discovery that the distributor had acknowledged that its primary allegations were baseless. Settled for a nominal sum.

  • As lead U.S. counsel, won dismissal of copyright claims on summary judgment for a foreign software company against a multibillion-dollar U.S. software company in federal court. The multijurisdictional litigation involved critical issues of technology law, including accusations of copyright infringement and breach of licensing contracts, and issues regarding propriety of benchmarking and reverse engineering. The case has influenced which parts of software are copyrightable under U.S. law and which portions of technology licenses are enforceable under U.K. and EU law, and has influenced the legal treatment of programming languages and other constructed languages.

  • Assisted victims of the massive Advance Entertainment Ponzi scheme both to navigate the criminal proceedings (to recover funds and to help incarcerate the wrongdoer), and also to resolve multi-million dollar civil proceedings among various investors. After protracted litigation of the civil suits, we settled the cases on extremely favorable terms after filing an appellate brief arguing that the plaintiffs’ theories of the case were legally baseless.

  • Represented an art collector in a case concerning the identification of, provenance of and rights to allegedly-stolen 14th Century artwork. Worked with a major auction house, a prominent museum director, and the FBI Art Crime Team to resolve the dispute.

  • Successfully defended a film production company against a former Olympic athlete in several federal and state trial and appellate courts regarding film revenue rights.

  • Represented a major-party presidential candidate in connection with a primary-related challenge.

  • Represent a major financial services company in a series of New York-based litigations concerning payment-processing procedures.

  • Litigated to judgment in federal court a dispute with a sales and administration entity on behalf of a major insurance company. Won damages and attorneys’ fees in post-judgment settlement order.

  • Represented a financier in litigation and appeal to recover $1.5 million on a note. Negotiated a settlement that granted the client all the money that was owed to him, including interest, despite attempts from the defendant to delay judgment and prove that the money was unrecoverable.

  • Served as lead counsel in a matter concerning the validity and terms of end-user license agreements.

  • Lead trial and appellate counsel in a successful action concerning the rights of an artist vis-a-vis a gallery owner and other parties.