Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends:
During these unprecedented, challenging times with the terrorist attacks in Israel and antisemitism in the United States affecting our personal and business lives, we want to convey our prayers and good wishes for your health and well-being.
As the third quarter of 2023 ends, we are pleased to share that the New York Post (https://nypost.com/2023/09/02/nyc-woke-job-ad-broke-the-law-rejected-editor-claims/) featured our firm’s reverse-discrimination lawsuit challenging a facially discriminatory employment advertisement. Following the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision, in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard and SFFA v. University of North Carolina, which held that “race-conscious” decisions are not permitted in higher education, legal experts have predicated a rise in reverse discrimination lawsuits. Our firm represents plaintiffs and defendants in conventional discrimination and reverse discrimination cases and has seen an increase in consultation for reverse-discrimination cases.
In the third quarter, our firm experienced the effect of what economists have called a “rolling recession.” A “rolling recession” generally means that some industries are contracting whereas others expand. While the cliché that a rising tide lifts all boats used to hold true when the stock market fared well and buoyed the economy, the post-COVID economy has upended the cliché given that the stock market has generally performed well while certain industries have not. The high costs of capital and double-digit interest rates for lines of credit are challenging businesses. Consequently, our firm has seen an increase in judgment enforcement, bankruptcies, and breach of contract cases.
According to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, personal and business bankruptcy filing filings rose 10 percent in the twelve-month period compared with the previous year. The firm represents creditor constituents in several high-profile corporate bankruptcies, such as Celsius Network, Coin Cloud, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, and several out-of-court restructurings. Our judgment enforcement practice recently assisted a client monetize a judgment in Monaco and we have monetized several judgments in New York. To the extent that you have questions about our judgment enforcement strategy or our templates, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Given the economic challenges over the last quarter, we are especially pleased to share with you some highlights for Levin-Epstein & Associates, P.C. in the third quarter of 2023. The firm obtained a financial recovery of over half-a-million-dollars for plaintiffs in a Fair Labor Standards Act federal lawsuit wherein the defendants had commenced a strategic bankruptcy, which demonstrates our firm’s capacity to litigate FLSA claims in federal and bankruptcy forums. Our commercial contingency practice successfully resolved several plaintiffs’-side commercial contingency breach of contract cases.
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,
