Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends:
As the second quarter of 2023 ends, we are pleased to share with you that our firm has opened an office in Greenwich, Connecticut to serve clients in the Connecticut state and federal courts. We would be most grateful for any introductions to attorneys seeking mutual referral relationships and potential clients in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Ever since COVID-19, the trend of financial companies and private equity firms opening satellite and home offices in Fairfield County (and other states) has accelerated. Financial firms continue to relocate from Manhattan to capitalize on lower taxes, commercial rent, and operating costs. The return-to-office in New York City has seen only 50% of employees return to the office compared to a weekly average before the pandemic, according to Kastle Systems. Our entry into Connecticut serves to diversify our business streams and clientele.
Given the continued economic challenges in New York City, we are especially pleased to share with you highlights for Levin-Epstein & Associates, P.C. in the second quarter of 2023. We fortunately had a very busy second quarter and some of our achievements were recognized in the legal press. The New York Law Journal published a feature article about our obtainment of a favorable decision in the Southern District of New York where the Court permitted the effectuation of service of process via iMessage and WhatsApp rather than traditional means. Our defense practice of claims brought under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) achieved several complete dismissals and nuisance value settlements for so-called ADA website cases alleging website non-compliance for the visually impaired. As our firm set precedent in ADA website discrimination cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2022, the decision we obtained in Harty v. W. Point Realty, Inc., 28 F.4th 435 (2d Cir. 2022) has been cited 76 times by other courts across the country.
In other practice areas, the stagnant economy has caused an increase in bankruptcy, judgment enforcement, and breach of contract cases. The firm’s judgment enforcement practice monetized a judgment that the firm had obtained in federal court, which demonstrates our firm’s capacity to handle a federal court case from inception through judgment and monetization. Our firm has recently been retained to litigate a breach of escrow agreement as bad deals struck during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic are increasingly coming to light.
To the extent that you or any of your colleagues have cases where a contingency arrangement makes financial sense, please contact us to assess the potential for a mutually productive collaborative relationship regarding referral arrangements with participation fees for commercial contingency cases and plaintiffs’-side employment cases.
We want to thank you for contributing to our continued success. You know us, you know our experience, and you know the quality of our work. We would be most grateful to be retained in these areas, among others:
- litigation before trial or appellate courts or administrative bodies, especially matters involving real estate, partnership disputes, and creditors' rights;
- litigation avoidance - the crucial effort to negotiate agreements to resolve disputes before they cross the threshold of the courthouse;
- domestic and international arbitration and mediations;
- bankruptcy litigation and creditors' rights work, including avoidance actions, preference actions, discharge and dischargeability actions;
- employment litigation in all aspects of employment law, including issues involving restrictive covenants and trade secrets, wage-and-hour issues, Fair Labor Standards Act issues, and breach of contract issues;
- business divorce litigation, including contested stock valuations, derivative actions and other disputes between owners of closely held business corporations;
- counseling and strategic planning that defy easy categorization, requiring a deep understanding of the pertinent legal issues and also of the business (and sometimes personal) considerations that must be taken into account to reach a favorable outcome; and
- representing investors, restauranteurs, restaurant management companies, and chefs in New York City's hospitality sector.
With heartfelt good wishes for a healthy, happy and productive year, we remain,
Sincerely yours,
