Professional Service Firms

Overview

Professional services firms – including law firms, accounting firms, investment banks, architecture firms and engineering firms – face a unique and increasingly challenging business landscape. These firms sell their knowledge and expertise, and service their clients’ expectations of them have grown exponentially.

Tannenbaum Helpern understands the challenges that professional services firms face, and brings its wealth of experience to bear in representing them in litigation, government investigations, employment matters, and bankruptcy matters.

Our services for professional services firms include:

• Defending firms and individual attorneys against legal malpractice claims and serving as expert witnesses in legal malpractice cases.
• Representing firms in government investigations.
• Counseling firms on human resources and employment law issues, and representing parties in partnership disputes.
• Representing firms in connection with their retention and fee applications in bankruptcy cases (where the firm is representing the debtor or official committee), and in connection with fee objections and disgorgement claims.
• Defending firms against preference and fraudulent transfer “clawback” claims in bankruptcy cases.
  

Malpractice

Law firms are not immune to lawsuits from dissatisfied clients, former employees, regulatory agencies and governmental agencies. Any claim against a law firm, regardless of its merit, has the potential to cause embarrassment and injury to the firm’s carefully cultivated reputation. Although legal malpractice claims demand a vigorous defense, we understand the drain that such litigation can have on the firm’s productivity, profitability and overall focus and morale. We are particularly adept at juggling these competing interests – to be your zealous advocate while being sensitive to the toll that such litigation can take. Tannenbaum Helpern takes great pride that some of the most respected lawyers in New York – leaders of the Bar – have chosen us to defend them against legal malpractice claims.

Our experience on the defense side, uniquely positions us to handle a select number of cases on the Plaintiff’s side, representing clients in litigation against law firms, brokers and other professionals

Tannenbaum Helpern litigators have the skill set and experience to provide clients with the representation that complex legal malpractice defense demands. We understand complex business and financial transactions. Tannenbaum Helpern handles the type of complex real estate, financial and litigation issues that are the subject of the legal malpractice claims that our clients face.

Few, if any, law firms possess Tannenbaum Helpern’s depth of experience and reputation for excellence in New York State Commercial Division litigation, New York's specialized court for handling sophisticated business disputes. Tannenbaum Helpern partners have chaired the New York State Bar's Committee on the Commercial Division for the past ten years. One of our partners serves on the New York County Commercial Division Advisory Group and another has been appointed by New York's Chief Judge to serve on his select statewide Commercial Division Advisory Council.

Government Investigations

Tannenbaum Helpern’s Governmental and Regulatory Investigations Practice has broad experience representing professional services firms and other entities before federal and state prosecutorial and regulatory agencies in connection with government investigations and enforcement actions. This practice is chaired by Ralph Siciliano, who held senior posts with the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We are intimately familiar with the investigative process of governmental agencies and have the expertise to guide our clients, whether they are witnesses or targets of such investigations.

Employment and Human Resources

Tannenbaum Helpern’s employment lawyers possess the legal acumen and business insight necessary to provide comprehensive and practical advice to professional services firms in their role as employers. When handling such matters, we make it our priority to ensure the smooth operation of their businesses and to minimize their financial exposure in the face of day-to-day employment-related decisions. We advise clients on strategic compliance with the vast array of employment laws and regulations they are subject to, and provide daily counsel on issues such as pre-employment inquiries, unlawful interview questions, disability accommodations, drug testing, background checks, harassment investigations, social media, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

We handle all forms of employment dispute resolution, including matters before federal and state courts and agencies. Tannenbaum Helpern employment attorneys regularly assist clients subject to audits by agencies such as the U.S. and New York State Departments of Labor and regularly conduct workplace investigations, including the investigation of harassment and workplace misconduct, without undue disruption to our client.

Bankruptcy

Tannenbaum Helpern represents accounting firms and other professional services firms in all types of bankruptcy matters, including professional retention and fee applications, fee disputes and requests for fee disgorgements, and preference and fraudulent transfer “clawback” actions. We have decades of experience in representing professional services firms in these matters, and we understand the unique issues and potential problems that may arise for our clients. Tannenbaum Helpern attorneys have established good working relationships with the parties that are often on the other side of these matters, such as the Office of the United States Trustee, counsel for official committees of unsecured creditors, and private bankruptcy trustees.

Representative Experience

• Represented a large NY law firm in the successful defense of various attorney malpractice claims brought by a former client who alleged that the law firm had failed to adequately represent the client’s interest with respect to a transfer of intellectual property.
• Represented a major international law firm in defense of a litigation filed by the opposing party in a corporate transaction
• Represented a prominent partnership in obtaining a dismissal of charges of sexual harassment filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Represented a large client service business that had been accused by a former employee of discrimination on the basis of his religious beliefs.
• Represented a broker-dealer firm and its principal and owner in an investigation and enforcement action brought by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority.
• Helped a hedge fund recover damages for attorney malpractice.