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Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
HeadquartersParamount Plaza
New York City
No. of offices8
No. of attorneys349
Major practice areasprimarily litigation
Key peopleMarc Elliot Kasowitz, founding and managing partner[1]
Date founded1993
FounderMarc E. Kasowitz
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitehttp://www.kasowitz.com/

Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman is a national law firm headquartered in New York. The firm focuses on litigation as well as intellectual property, corporate law, family law, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, and employment law.[2]

History

The firm was founded as Kasowitz, Hoff, Benson & Torres in 1993 when Marc Kasowitz left Mayer Brown with 18 other lawyers and two profitable clients: chemical maker Celanese and real estate developer Jack Parker Corporation.[3] David M. Friedman was added as a named partner in May 1995,[4] and Bruce Hoff, Jr. was removed as a named partner in November 1995 [5] after he departed to join Altheimer & Gray in Chicago.[6][7]

In January 2006, the firm filed a defamation lawsuit on behalf of Donald Trump against the author and publisher of the book TrumpNation, Timothy O'Brien and Time Warner Books, respectively.[8][9][10] [11][12] In January 2008, the firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of Missy Lapine, known as the "Sneaky Chef", against Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld.[13][14][15] In May 2013, the firm poached two partners from Jenner & Block to establish a Los Angeles, CA office.[16] In 2014, the firm was ranked 119th largest in the United States by attorney headcount.[17] Following the resolution of several large cases, including long-running litigation involving MBIA Inc., and a decline in gross revenue, the firm laid off approximately 30 employees at various levels.[18] Affected individuals were offered three months of severance pay but told to leave immediately, with their email accounts and phone lines deactivated during the termination meetings.[19]

Reception

Many peers describe the firm as "aggressive" while others note it sometimes inflates legal achievements.[20]

The U.S. News - Best Lawyers rankings placed the firm in the top tier nationally for two practice areas: bankruptcy law and real estate litigation.[21]

The Vault in 2013 ranked the firm #6 for "Best Summer Program," #24 for "Overall Satisfaction," and #1 for "Most Fun Summer Program."[22]

Chambers USA, which sells extended profiles to attorneys and law firms, characterized the firm as "renowned for its exceptional performance in complex commercial litigation".[23] In 2013, it ranked Kasowitz as among the leading firms in general commercial litigation, bankruptcy/restructuring, insurance: dispute resolution: policyholder, and Securities: Institutional Plaintiffs. Additionally, Kasowitz’s insurance recovery practice group received the Chambers USA 2011 Award for Excellence.[23]

The Legal 500, which sells extended profiles to attorneys and law firms, in 2012 described the firm as "excellent across the board" and ranked it highly in the areas of Finance: Corporate Restructuring; Insurance: Advice to Policyholders; Litigation: Trade Secrets; and Real Estate. The publication also highlighted 15 individual Kasowitz attorneys, three of whom were recognized as "Leading Lawyers" and two as "Leading Trial Lawyers".[24]

Lawsuits as PR tools and whistleblower targeting

The firm has been repeatedly accused of treating lawsuits as public relations tools, using them either to distract press attention from impending negative disclosures, as in its representation of Fairfax, or to attract attention for an imminent commercial event, as in its representation of Missy Lapine.[25][26][27] Commentators have raised concerns about the impact of these practices on speech.[25] In each instance, the firm has asserted timing was coincidental and that it has not targeted speech alone but broader conspiracies.

Use of private investigators

The firm has been accused of inappropriately using private investigators in cases.

  • In March 2006, investigators hired by the firm were videotaped repeatedly removing trash from the home of a financial analyst in Edison, New Jersey.[28]
  • Another analyst reported that investigators repeatedly followed his wife as she left their home. When confronted by police, the investigators claimed to be working for insurance fraud investigators before admitting their association with the firm. In response to questions from the New York Post, attorney Mitchell Schrage sent written replies on "Mitchell Schrage & Associates" letterhead though he was in fact employed by Kasowitz.[28]
  • Four employees of Gradient Analytics, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based hedge fund, reported repeated calls from investigators hired by Kasowitz threatening them with "professional disaster" for producing analysis critical of a Kasowitz client.[28] Kasowitz, in a lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed, alleged the Gradient Analytics employees were part of a conspiracy to drive down the Kasowitz client's stock price.
  • In October 2006, William Gahan, a portfolio manager at Institutional Credit Partners (ICP), shared concerns about a company's accounting practices with a member of its board of directors. Days later, Gahan received a copy of a lawsuit Kasowitz had filed which Gahan viewed as an attempt to intimidate him. Thereafter, ICP employees "noticed cars lurking outside their building and following them home." After reporting the incidents, the FBI confirmed the investigators were employed by Kasowitz, which the firm disputes.[29]
  • In March 2006, Kasowitz attorney Michael Bowe was contacted by a purported private investigator from Montana named Michael Lair who claimed to possess damaging information related to one of the firm's adversaries. The firm paid the individual $6,000 of which $5,000 was for "travel expenses" yet received nothing.[30][31] In February 2007, Lair plead guilty to fraud.[32]
  • In a July 2011 motion related to its long-running lawsuit with Biovail, SAC Capital alleged that the firm had hired investigators to pose as representatives of a fictitious hedge fund called "Blackwood Group Capital Partners" and bait an analyst, John Gwynn of Morgan Keegan, into making damaging statements. Rutgers Law School Professor John Leubsdorf filed an expert opinion stating that Kasowitz violated New Jersey legal-ethics rules by contacting Gwynn after a lawsuit had been filed.[33]

Intelligence Options LLC

In December 2001, the firm formed a limited liability company named "KBTF Consulting and Investigations" in New York. In October 2004, the entity's name was changed to "KBTF Group." Then, in January 2014, the entity's name was changed a third time to "Intelligence Options."[34]

Intelligence Options LLC is a registered private investigator in New York and, in June 2013, registered to conduct business in Florida.[35][36] Correspondence related to the entity is signed by James Holohan, whose name has arisen in previous Kasowitz incidents involving private investigators.[37] Holohan is a licensed private investigator in the state of Florida.[38]

Cold offers

In September 2013, reports emerged from former summer associates indicating the firm commonly extended "cold offers." [39] A cold offer is an employment offer made with the understanding it will not be accepted. Extending cold offers allows a firm to inflate its offer rate while allowing former summer associates to assert they had received an offer in subsequent recruiting. The NALP considers the practice unethical and fraudulent.[40] The firm declined to comment on the reports.[39]

Greg Berry

In August 2011, Greg Berry, a former associate at the firm, filed a lawsuit against the firm alleging negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract and wrongful termination and demanding $77 million in damages. According to the complaint, Berry had attempted to utilize his engineering background to improve processes he considered inefficient but was rebuffed by his managers. He believed the rejection was because the increased efficiency would negatively impact billable hours. Subsequently, Berry alleges he was assigned exclusively to large document review projects which overwhelmed him to the point that he had to decline a project from a colleague, which lead to him being reprimanded. His severance offer included two months pay and continued email, phone and secretarial access, but was allegedly rescinded when Berry asked to negotiate.[41] On January 13, 2012, the lawsuit was dismissed.[42]

Personell

Marc Kasowitz, in a June 2010 interview, stated “It may not sound credible, but it's true. We have virtually no attrition." [43] However, a comparison between the 2010 and 2014 attorney lists indicates that only 108 of 302 attorneys have been retained, suggesting a minimum attrition rate of approximately 15%, placing it far outside the 2-3% attrition levels seen by companies among Forbes 100 Best Companies to Work for [44] but competitive with similarly-sized law firms.[45]

All Titles Partner Associate Staff Attorney Special Counsel Of Counsel
New York 254 67 132 37 13 3
San Francisco 19 7 11 0 1 0
Atlanta 9 3 6 0 0 0
Miami 9 6 3 0 0 0
Houston 11 3 6 0 2 0
All Offices 302 86 158 37 16 3

Personell as of May 2014.[46]

All Titles Partner Associate Staff Attorney Special Counsel Of Counsel Senior Counsel Counsel
New York 288 77 143 47 16 3 2 0
San Francisco 15 8 7 0 0 0 0 0
Silicon Valley 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 0
Atlanta 12 4 6 0 2 0 0 0
Miami 7 3 4 0 0 0 0 0
Houston 8 2 6 0 0 0 0 0
Los Angeles 9 5 4 0 0 0 0 0
Washington, DC 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Silicon Valley, Atlanta 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 0
All Offices 349 103 174 47 19 3 2 1

Notable alumni

Staff as of February 2010.[49]

References

  1. ^ Kasowitz's firm bio
  2. ^ Practice areas
  3. ^ "Fast Rise to the Top" (PDF). The American Lawyer. Incisive Media. August 2004. p. 11. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  4. ^ PROFILES/EXECUTIVE MOVES | Crain's New York Business
  5. ^ Entity Information
  6. ^ William Bruce Hoff Jr.: Lawyer, model ship builder, dies - Chicago Tribune
  7. ^ Crain's Chicago Business : Subscription Center
  8. ^ "Trump Sues Writer and Book Publisher". The New York Times. 25 January 2006.
  9. ^ Trump v. O'Brien (Superior Court of New Jersey,Appellate Division 7 September 2011), Text.
  10. ^ Lewis, Michael (6 February 2006). "The Art of Offending Donald Trump". Bloomberg.
  11. ^ Goodman, Peter (15 July 2009). "Trump Suit Claiming Defamation Is Dismissed". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Trump v. O'Brien (Superior Court of New Jersey,Appellate Division 7 September 2011), Text.
  13. ^ Lapine v. Seinfeld (United States District Court, Southern District of New York 7 January 2008), Text.
  14. ^ Lee, Jennifer (8 January 2008). "A Closer Look at the Seinfeld Food Fight". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Lapine v. Seinfeld (United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 28 April 2010), Text.
  16. ^ June, Daniel, "Kasowitz Benson Poaches Two Partners, Sets Them Up in New LA Office"
  17. ^ Simpson, Jake, "Law360 Reveals 400 Largest US Law Firms"
  18. ^ Simmons, Christine (21 February 2014). "Kasowitz Layoffs Tied to End of Credit Crisis Cases". New York Law Journal.
  19. ^ Lat, David (10 February 2014). "Nationwide Layoff Watch: Casualties At Kasowitz Benson". Above the Law.
  20. ^ "Kasowitz Holds Power Close As He Grows Firm, Lures Business" (PDF). New York Law Journal. 13 September 2010. p. 2. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP - Rankings". BEST LAW FIRMS. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  22. ^ Vault:Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP
  23. ^ a b "Litigation: New York". Chambers USA. Chambers and Parners. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  24. ^ . The Legal 500 http://www.legal500.com/firms/52188/53178. Retrieved 8 March 2013. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ^ a b How financial lawsuits muzzle free speech | The Great Debate
  26. ^ [1]
  27. ^ Fairfax: Insurance giant's crusade against big hedge funds - March 19, 2007
  28. ^ a b c Trash Stalkers – Biovail’S Private Eyes Shadowed Stock Analysts | New York Post
  29. ^ The inside story of a Wall Street battle royal (cont.) - March 19, 2007
  30. ^ PI Arrested on Charges of Defrauding Top Litigation Firms | New York Law Journal
  31. ^ [2]
  32. ^ Investigator Pleads Guilty to Fraud Against Firms | New York Law Journal
  33. ^ Cohen’s SAC Capital Seeks to Disqualify Law Firm Kasowitz in Fairfax Suit - Bloomberg
  34. ^ Entity Information
  35. ^ Licensee List
  36. ^ http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2013%5C0619%5C48518340.Tif&documentNumber=M13000003837
  37. ^ http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2014%5C0121%5C55008841.Tif&documentNumber=M13000003837
  38. ^ https://licensing.freshfromflorida.com/access/individual.aspx?TYPE=INDIVIDUAL&CATEGORY=&COUNTY=00&LICENSE=C%202800248&STATUS=IND_DETAIL
  39. ^ a b A Rescinded Offer Is Better Than A Cold Offer, Right? « Above the Law: A Legal Web Site – News, Commentary, and Opinions on Law Firms, Lawyers, Law Schools, Law Suits, Judges ...
  40. ^ NALP - The Association for Legal Career Professionals | Interpretations
  41. ^ http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Berry.pdf
  42. ^ https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/calendar/appsmots/2013/January/2013_01_22_dec.pdf
  43. ^ http://www.kasowitz.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Innovative%20Managing%20Partner-%20Kasowitz%27s%20Marc%20Kasowitz.pdf
  44. ^ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2012: Turnover - from FORTUNE
  45. ^ Why are lawyers such terrible managers? - Fortune Management
  46. ^ Attorney Search | Attorneys | Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP
  47. ^ Senator Joseph Lieberman Joins Kasowitz | News | Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP
  48. ^ Iggy licato | LinkedIn
  49. ^ Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP | Attorney Search Results
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