In the News Archive
- May 28, 2021
Adam Kaufmann was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on one of the assistant attorneys general working with Manhattan prosecutors on the probe into the former president.
Wall Street Journal - May 26, 2021
Adam S. Kaufmann, who served as chief of the office's investigative division, said that "it really suggests they've reached a point in their investigation where the district attorney believes there's evidence of a crime. You don't empanel a special grand jury unless you think you have a viable case."
CNN - May 26, 2021
Adam Kaufmann, who served 18 years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, appeared on MSNBC's The Last Word to discuss why witnesses are granted immunity when testifying before a grand jury in New York and what to expect of the grand jury in the criminal probe of Donald Trump.
MSNBC - May 20, 2021
John Moscow was quoted in Bloomberg on the recent announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James that her civil probe of asset valuations by Trump and his real estate company now had a criminal component, and was being coordinated with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Bloomberg - May 10, 2021
Gul “is a prisoner of war — a war that has been over for many years,” attorney Tara Plochocki argued Monday in court for his legal team, comprising people from human rights group Reprieve and the Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss law firm. “If the rule of law means anything, [he] must be released.”
The Washington Post - April 28, 2021
John Moscow, who headed the DA office’s complex crimes unit under Vance’s predecessor, said Trump’s lawyers will take aim at every aspect of a prosecution, asking even whether unauthorized persons attended grand jury sessions.
Trump lawyers may invoke the five-year statute of limitations on conduct that occurred before 2016, saying some acts can’t be prosecuted, Moscow said. The DA could respond that Trump’s absence from New York during his presidency extended the period under scrutiny to 2012 -- a back-and-forth that will chew up more courtroom time.
Bloomberg - April 28, 2021
John Moscow, a former top assistant to Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who competed with Giuliani for big cases and headlines in the 1980s, said the latter’s former positions more likely raised the bar for the prosecutors who sought the warrant and the judge who signed it.
“This is a search warrant for the home of the former mayor of New York City, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, and they’re saying there’s now probable cause to believe there’s evidence of a crime, that evidence exists, and it’s at his home,” said Moscow, who’s now in private practice.
Bloomberg - April 21, 2021The legal basis for indefinite detention at Guantánamo is to prevent combatants from returning to the battlefield. But what if their old battlefield is no more?The New York Times
- April 18, 2021
Eric Lewis was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article on the shifting culture of American gymnastics in the wake of abuse allegations and criminal charges.
The Wall Street Journal - April 5, 2021
Back in 2009, Eric Lewis warned In These Times readers that closing Gitmo was not enough — that if the United States wants to reaffirm the rule of law, it must ensure that all of its prisoners are given due process.
In These Times - March 25, 2021
For "any kind of foreign litigation or arbitration ... that involves transactions in U.S. dollars, there's at least a possibility that there's going to be information in the U.S. and that tends to be attractive," said Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC partner A. Katherine Toomey.
Law360 - March 18, 2021
Eric Lewis appeared on Corporate Counsel Business Journal's daily podcast, In House Warrior, to discuss extradition, OFAC sanctions, and what to expect from the Biden administration.
Corporate Counsel Business JournalIn House Warrior podcast - March 17, 2021
“When I made this public records request in 2014, I never imagined that the state would spend the next seven years fighting to prevent these records from being released to the public,” Toomey wrote in an email. “Transparency is a key principle of good governance and the rule of law. The state should not be operating in secret and refusing to disclose vital information to the public.”
The Indiana Lawyer - March 2, 2021
The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered the Department of Correction to pay more than $500,000 in legal fees in a fight over one of the state's deepest, darkest secrets.
It all comes back to the convoluted legal fight that started in 2014 with a public records request from A. Katherine Toomey, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represents groups opposing the death penalty.
Indianapolis Star - February 26, 2021
Justices divided 2-2 in a case brought by a Washington, D.C., attorney against the Indiana Department of Correction over Indiana’s “secrecy statute” that prohibits disclosure of the state’s lethal injection drugs and who supplies them.
With Justice Geoffrey Slaughter not participating, the remaining justices split in an order issued Thursday. By rule, the lack of a majority affirms the rulings of Marion Circuit Judge Sheryl Lynch, ordering DOC to disclose the records, awarding $538,000 in attorney fees to Washington attorney Katherine Toomey and granting other relief.
The Indiana Lawyer - February 23, 2021
Eric Lewis, a Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC partner, told Law360 that the Civil Division is likely the branch of the DOJ most in need of a morale boost.
"It's overwhelmingly staffed by career people who have really suffered through the last four years, and they've lost a lot of good people too," he said. "These are people who just want to do their job and not impose any ideology."
Law360 - February 23, 2021
A Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday it is “exceedingly suspicious” that there are minimal emails discussing the decision to force the NYPD’s first female three-star chief into retirement.
New York Daily News - February 22, 2021
John Moscow was quoted in a Bloomberg article on the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to block a subpoena by the Manhattan District Attorney for Donald Trump's tax returns and other financial records.
“Now they have the evidence that the accounting firm and the corporation have,” said John Moscow, a former chief prosecutor for serious economic crimes at the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “At this point, Trump’s position has to be that he didn’t do anything wrong, because if he did, they’d find it.”
Bloomberg - February 16, 2021
A lawyer for Mohamed Soltan, a US citizen who has filed a lawsuit alleging torture in Egyptian custody, said that plain-clothes officers raided the homes of six family members Sunday, detaining two cousins.
"Now the Egyptian regime is arresting his relatives to try to intimidate him into silence. Such tactics have no place in the international community," said Eric Lewis, a lawyer for Soltan.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) - February 16, 2021
"Now the Egyptian regime is arresting his relatives to try to intimidate him into silence," said Soltan's lawyer Eric Lewis. "Such tactics have no place in the international community. Egypt cannot seek the benefits of membership in that community while denigrating human rights and behaving with impunity and lawlessness."
CNN - February 10, 2021Líder Legal
- February 3, 2021
Mark Mandel and Hope Comisky have left Troutman Pepper in search of something smaller after last year's merger created a 1,200-lawyer firm.
Law.com Daily Report - February 3, 2021Idealex Press
- January 27, 2021
Adam Kaufmann was quoted in an analytical piece on Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s investigation into Trump and his organization.
Financial Times - January 26, 2021
LBKM partner Cristián Francos has been appointed as Senior Vice Chair of the IBA’s Business Crime Committee.
- January 20, 2021
Partner Mark Leimkuhler recently spoke with Insurance Business about the new administration's approach to climate change and the implications for the insurance industry.
Insurance Business - January 19, 2021
Partner Mark Leimkuhler recently spoke with Law360 about the incoming Biden administration's potential effect on property and liability insurers, predicting that the new regime's expected focus on climate change, civil rights enforcement and other areas could lead to an uptick in claims across a wide range of policies.
Law360 - January 2021
Cristián Francos been recognized as a Global Leader in Who’s Who Legal: Investigations 2021. Who’s Who Legal is one of the world’s leading directories of legal practitioners.
- January 12, 2021
Law360's Aebra Coe interviewed leaders at three law firms, including LBKM's Eric Lewis, on the changing ways that associates can demonstrate their value and engage with those in power in a pandemic-era work environment.
Law360 - January 9, 2021
Manuel Varela was interviewed by Iberian Lawyer on the events surrounding the assault on the Capitol and potential legal consequences for Trump.
Iberian Lawyer - January 6, 2021
Eric Lewis was quoted in Law360 on President-elect Joe Biden's selection of Merrick Garland as the next attorney general.
Law360 - January 4, 2021
A British judge rejected the US' request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying that Assange would be at greater risk of suicide in the American prison system. Eric Lewis told the British court that Assange, if extradited, would face a "best-case scenario" of 20 years in prison.
Ars Technica - December 23, 2020
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on a ruling by Spain's Constitutional Court holding that the imprisonment of Nervis Villalobos, a former Venezuelan official, was unconstitutional. Partner Manuel Varela represented Mr. Villalobos in the appeal.
El Mundo - December 17, 2020
Adam Kaufmann appeared on WNYC's "Trump, Inc." podcast to discuss what the Manhattan DA's investigation could mean for Trump.
WNYC Studios - December 8, 2020
- December 8, 2020
The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators is comprised of academics and litigation professionals committed to vigorously pursuing their clients’ interest while aspiring to the highest ethical standards in criminal and civil actions in cases of economic crime. Fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful research, to experienced individuals who have litigated cases related to economic crimes.
- November 18, 2020
A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer argued Monday that the United States can kill its own citizens without judicial review when litigation would reveal state secrets.
ABA Journal - November 17, 2020
"What the government seeks to do in this case represents a radical expansion of the concept of a 'state secret'," explained Tara Plochocki, a partner at Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC, representing Abdul Kareem. "The privilege has never been invoked to permit the government to bypass the Constitution in favour of summary execution, and we hope that the Court will not permit the government to do so here."
Middle East Monitor - November 16, 2020
Kareem’s attorney, Tara Jordan Plochocki, argued the government was radically expanding sovereignty, domestically and abroad, allowed under state-secrets privilege.
“Whether that’s in a parking lot in the United States or abroad in Syria, the government has claimed — for the first time ever in this case — that it has unfettered and unreviewable discretion to kill US citizens at will,” Plochocki said.
Courthouse News Service - November 5, 2020
Even before all the votes are in, the Trump campaign is contesting them in several states. Some may wonder if this is Bush v. Gore all over again. But it’s a much different scenario. That race hinged on a few hundred votes in a few counties in just Florida.
Jeffrey Robinson was on the Gore legal team back then. He talks to KCRW about how the current challenges might proceed.
KCRW: Press Play with Madeleine Brand - October 2020
Two Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss professionals have been recognized as Global Leaders in Who’s Who Legal: Asset Recovery 2020. Who’s Who Legal is one of the world’s leading directories of legal practitioners.
- October 9, 2020
How will reopening efforts and the protracted nature of COVID-19 affect international commercial contracts that are governed by New York law?
Law360 - September 30, 2020
Erika Levin has been appointed by the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada ("CAM-CCBC") to be included in its list of arbitrators. CAM-CCBC was the first arbitral institution in Brazil and is one of the largest and most significant arbitral centers in the region, focused on large and complex commercial disputes.
- September 29, 2020
Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that three of its lawyers have been named to the 2020 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.
- September 15, 2020
The Times of London reported on the extradition hearing of Julian Assange, quoting senior partner Eric Lewis' expert testimony.
The Times of London - September 15, 2020
Bloomberg reported on the extradition hearing of Julian Assange, quoting senior partner Eric Lewis' expert testimony.
Bloomberg - September 14, 2020
Senior Partner Eric Lewis was quoted in AP on the extradition hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
AP - August 26, 2020Law360
- July 17, 2020The Washington Post
- July 10, 2020Law360