Rivkin Radler has a multidisciplinary team of attorneys across multiple practice groups representing a diverse media-related client base including:
- Print Media Clients
- Books, comics, religious pamphlets and other print publishers, authors, artists, etc.
- Online Media Clients
- Internet content and service providers, online business entities, etc.
- Entertainment Media Clients
- Cable companies, radio entertainers, sports figures, documentary film producers, etc.
- Other Industry-Specific Clients
- Patient portal and point-of-care advertising, advertising agencies, travel companies, etc.
Our attorneys handle a wide range of cutting-edge, complex, media-related litigation against both media and non-media parties including claims for false light, defamation, libel, slander, copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, trade dress infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, violation of right of publicity, cybersquatting under the Lanham Act and Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, and violations of the First Amendment. Beyond litigation, we provide a broad spectrum of non-litigation services to our media clients, such as copyright and trademark, website terms of use, policies and contracts.
Our international advisory attorneys represent both domestic and international clients in the start-up and expansion of businesses across international lines. Our attorneys (i) assist foreign clients entering the US market with the selection of appropriate business entities and ownership structures, (often with multiple levels of protection), (ii) provide advice on the ensuing tax implications, and (iii) help navigate local laws, including employment and trademark laws. Our attorneys assist domestic clients with overseas expansion, including working with international counsel to achieve optimal outcomes for our clients.
Rivkin Radler has extensive experience handling title-related issues and litigation. We have represented the interests of each of the title insurers and their insureds in the New York metropolitan area in disputes and litigation involving a wide variety of issues, including matters involving allegedly forged deeds and mortgages, recording and priority issues, adverse possession, boundary disputes, and title insurance coverage issues.
The attorneys in our appellate group have extensive proficiency in both representing clients who wish to explore further appellate remedies, as well as those who are opposing such relief. We are well-versed in the rules governing this highly specialized practice and regularly provide consultations to determine the viability of further appellate possibilities, both procedurally and substantively.
Our team of appellate experts is routinely called on to prepare post-trial motions and memoranda of law after a verdict or decision. These efforts have proven successful over the years and have saved clients a substantial amount of time and money as a successful outcome of a post-trial motion may facilitate a favorable settlement and obviate the need for further litigation. We also assess whether a determination may be appealed and the viability of such an appeal. Our attorneys have considerable experience in drafting powerful, persuasive briefs and in presenting effective oral arguments before appellate courts.
Rivkin Radler’s appellate attorneys are often called upon to assist during trial in order to shape potential appellate issues and to ensure the proper preservation of the record necessary to litigate those issues on appeal. They also monitor trials in order to increase tactical advantage and to minimize the impact of negative rulings.
Rivkin Radler provides legal representation to the boards of numerous condominium and cooperative associations. The group counsels boards, managing agents and owners of unsold shares and blocks of condominium units in all aspects of condominium and cooperative law. Services include dispute resolution, interpreting by-laws, proprietary leases and condominium declarations, and redrafting outdated corporate documents to bring them into compliance with current law.
The group assists condominium boards in resolving a wide variety of issues from the collection of unpaid common charges to quality of life issues. The group enforces rules and litigates, when necessary, against residential and commercial unit owners, lenders and defaulting sponsors. The group is particularly adept at resolving unit owner arrears through practical and cost-effective strategies that have achieved positive results for the law firm’s condominium clients. The group’s vast experience litigating construction defect claims and sponsor control issues has been invaluable to boards of newly constructed buildings and conversion projects alike.
Our attorneys represent individuals and organizations under criminal investigation or facing criminal charges for a variety of alleged fraudulent activities occurring in a range of industry settings. We have particular experience in matters involving medical providers and organizations operating within the health care industry. Some of the matters on which we can offer assistance include:
- Health Care Fraud
- Securities Fraud
- Bank Fraud
- Mortgage Fraud
- Conspiracy
- Money Laundering
- Anti-Kickback
- Mail & Wire Fraud
- False Statements
- False Claims/Qui Tam Litigation
- FCPA Violations
- RICO Violations
- HIPAA Violations
- Prescription Drug Marketing Act
- Bribery
- Forgery
- Identity Theft
- Drug/Device Misbranding or Adulteration
We are well-equipped to assist clients in all stages of white collar criminal litigation, including responding to subpoenas and advising clients who are witnesses, subjects, or targets in grand jury investigations. Our attorneys include former state and federal prosecutors who have substantial experience handling complex criminal matters, and working alongside local and national government agencies. This brings an insider’s understanding of the issues and considerations propelling investigations and prosecutions.
While we are seasoned trial litigators, we also understand the importance and value of developing strategic options aimed at favorably resolving criminal proceedings without formal criminal charges.
We offer an experienced hand in guiding clients through the indictment and plea bargaining process, and when needed, representing them at trial, on appeal, and in any related proceedings. For example, we can handle all phases of federal and state civil False Claims Act litigation, which, in the health care context, frequently can accompany criminal proceedings arising from the same series of events. Assistance that our attorneys can provide includes pre-litigation efforts aimed at the government’s intervention decision, motion practice to dismiss non-intervened whistleblower actions, and where necessary, FCA discovery and trial work. We counsel clients regarding strategies for minimizing FCA risk and dealing with whistleblowers within their organizations.
We are also well-qualified to counsel organizations regarding potential criminal liability, to perform internal investigations in response to allegations of criminal misconduct, and to evaluate a prospective decision to self-disclose misconduct to regulators. Where appropriate or necessary, our attorneys can also help frame and present arguments to government authorities aimed at demonstrating why a fair consideration of factors guiding prosecutorial discretion militates against bringing criminal charges. We can also monitor compliance with the terms of agreements resolving criminal liability, as well as design and help implement effective preventive measures and compliance programs that a company can adopt to avoid or mitigate potential liability. More on these services is discussed under Integrity Monitoring and Internal Investigations.
We are able to assist clients in performing regulatory due diligence for merger, acquisition and financing transactions, including the performance of comprehensive background investigations on transaction partners. Our knowledgeable attorneys can counsel clients across a broad range of industries regarding the potential civil and criminal implications and/or liabilities associated with a proposed business transaction.
Within the health care industry, we can apply our regulatory knowledge and investigative experience to assist acquiring companies, venture capital firms, lenders and underwriters in assessing the health care fraud and abuse risks of target companies. Understanding the transaction value of health care acquisitions is not possible without also understanding whether financial information about the target entity has been inflated or otherwise compromised by undetected compliance issues. We can look at issues such as licensure, certification, credentialing, coverage and reimbursement, billing and coding, marketing and financial relationships with physicians and other referral sources (anti-kickback and Stark law compliance) to evaluate a target’s compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, as well as the underlying integrity of revenue projections. After assessing a target’s regulatory risks, we then communicate that assessment to our clients for consideration in making transaction decisions. We are diligent, responsive, and comprehensive in our approach.
No organization can afford to close its eyes to allegations of misconduct without learning about the underlying facts so that appropriate remedial action may be taken. Handled successfully, internal investigations can be highly effective in limiting a company’s exposure to lawsuits, deterring regulatory intervention or formal charges, and mitigating potential penalties.
Our attorneys have the experience necessary to ensure the effective and ethical handling of internal investigations so that essential facts underlying misconduct allegations are uncovered in a timely fashion. Our attorneys have conducted many investigations and directed interviews of witnesses, ranging from low-level employees to senior executives. We understand the importance of carefully planning the investigation in light of the potential issues precipitating the inquiry, while maintaining sufficient flexibility to adjust the investigative plan where appropriate, such as when new information is discovered that suggests the need to expand, contract or refocus our efforts.
The internal investigation must embrace all relevant fact sources, including witness testimony, internal company memos and emails and any other relevant documentation. For example, in the health care context, we work with compliance professionals having extensive experience in the review of medical claims and billing documentation. After the investigation is completed, our findings are presented to senior management and/or to the Board of Directors, or a special committee of the board overseeing the internal investigation. Our report will include a comprehensive recitation of facts relating to the matters under investigation, a thorough analysis of applicable laws and regulations in light of those facts, and identification of any compliance or operational deficiencies uncovered. We will then work with our clients to implement any required remedial measures and offer our advice and counsel regarding any potential disclosures to government regulators.
