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Year End Roundup 2019

2019: A Milestone Year to Remember

2019 was a year to remember for Yankwitt LLP. We celebrated a milestone 10-year anniversary, achieved significant wins for our clients, expanded our practices with two new accomplished attorneys, and won several industry awards.

Some of this year’s case highlights include:

  • Obtained dismissal of six cases before trial for our defendant clients on motions to dismiss and summary judgment
  • Secured the withdrawal of three cases for our defendant clients as a result of our aggressive early discovery efforts
  • Negotiated more than $6 million in settlements for our plaintiff clients
    Settled more than two dozen cases on behalf of our defendant clients seeking damages in excess of $15 million for less than 5% of claimed damages
  • Prevailed in an appeal to the New York State Appellate Division that resulted in the complete dismissal of a case against our client (read about the case.)
  • In our newly expanded criminal practice, achieved dismissal of a pre-action discovery petition, secured the lifting of a temporary injunction, and resolved several criminal matters for reduced non-criminal charges

An Award-Winning Year

Yankwitt LLP is proud to have been recognized for its dedication to its clients, the legal profession and the broader Westchester community.

  • Yankwitt LLP was awarded 914 Inc’s Best of Business Award for the Best Law Firm in Westchester County
  • In addition to Russell Yankwitt and Kathy Marks being named to Super Lawyers for another year, this year Craig Cepler was added to the list as a Rising Star, and Russell was listed as a Top 25 for Westchester County, and Top 100 for Metro New York
  • Russell Yankwitt was named to Best Lawyers in America© in the area of Commercial Litigation
  • Russell Yankwitt was awarded the Gold Client Champion by Martindale-Hubbell and Lawyers.com for his numerous positive client reviews
  • Ben Allee, the firm’s newest partner and head of our White-Collar Criminal Defense practice, won the prestigious U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award
  • Cassandra Vogel was awarded Westchester County Business Journal’s Millennial Award

It is gratifying to be recognized by the legal industry and business community for our accomplishments, although it is the optimal results for our clients that we recognize as our greatest achievements.

Leading the Way with Thought Leadership

Yankwitt LLP attorneys have been writing more than briefs this year; they are publishing thought leadership articles in business and legal industry publications. This year, Russell Yankwitt and Dina Hamerman published two articles in a three-part series in the New York Law Journal, which explore proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules to reduce frivolous litigations and rein in escalating litigation costs. The third article will appear in the journal’s January 15, 2020 issue.

Article 1: “Controlling Litigation Costs: Automatic Trial Stays Pending Appeal of a Summary Judgment Denial

To alleviate the strain on both parties and overburdened trial courts, we propose amending the CPLR to encourage discretionary stays of the underlying trial while an appeal of a dispositive summary judgment motion is pending.

Article 2: “Balancing Litigation Costs: The Need for Automatic Discovery Stays

To control skyrocketing litigation costs, we propose amending the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to comport with the position taken by many state courts, including New York, to stay all discovery upon the filing of a dispositive motion to dismiss a complaint.

Other notable articles published this year include:

Westchester Lawyer also featured Michael Reed and Russell Yankwitt in its “Member Spotlight” in the July (article) and November (article) issues.

Yankwitt LLP Gives Back

Contributing to the community has always been a valued tenet of Yankwitt LLP, and 2019 exemplified that commitment as the firm made dedicated significant resources to three organizations: the Federal Bar Council, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

  • Federal Bar Council: In addition to sponsoring events throughout the year, board member Russell Yankwitt served as Chair of the organization’s Winter Bench & Bar Conference. The annual trip, which was held in Hawaii and hosted more than 200 attorneys and their families, is the bar’s single largest event of the year.
  • Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV): Yankwitt LLP made a significant impact on LSHV’s Equal Access to Justice annual dinner. Board member Russell Yankwitt co-hosted the sold-out event, which raised a record $550,000.
  • Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Yankwitt LLP sponsored the 2019 Light The Night walk in October. The firm’s team, “Yankwitt Tough” raised more than $10,000 for an organization engaged in groundbreaking research and providing support to patients with blood cancers and their families.

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Happy Holidays! We look forward to working with you in 2020!