Areas of Practice

Arbitration & Mediation

Breakups: business and professional
      Fiduciary obligations
      Lateral lawyer acquisitions
      and departures

Commercial litigation
      Breach of contract
      Business torts
      Fraud

Employment law
      Employment discrimination
      Hiring and termination

Legal ethics: professional
responsibility

Women's rights
      Equal pay
      Sexual harassment

Areas of Practice> Legal Ethics: Professional Responsibility

Geri excels at separating and understanding the tangled strands in complex cases.
Geri counsels lawyers faced with ethical dilemmas — conflicts, disqualifications, sanctions. Such cases arise when lawyers move from one firm to another or break up a firm, or are the subject of malicious prosecutions.  She is experienced in handling investigations, hearings and appellate review of attorney misconduct pursuant to the Code of Professional Responsibility, the Judiciary Law, the New York Rules of Court, and relevant legal and statutory provisions.

Representative Cases
Morrison v. Board of Law Examiners of State of N.C., 453 F.3d 190 (4th Cir. 2006). Amicus brief addressing unconstitutionality of restrictive Bar Admissions requirement on behalf of Association of Corporate Counsel defendants.

Sybil Shainwald v. Benedict P. Morelli & Associates, P.C. Hotly contested dispute between lawyer and law firm that spawned proceedings in arbitration and both state and federal courts. Obtained, after a nine-day hearing in 2006, an arbitration award in favor of lawyer (i) finding that law firm had breached the contract between them by wrongfully terminating her and awarded her substantial fees in pending cases, an accounting, an audit by an outside auditor at the law firm’s expense and all of the costs of the arbitration, and (ii) rejecting all of the law firm’s claims.  Award was confirmed by state Supreme Court (Index No. 604172/2004) and Appellate Division (49 A.D.3d 476 (1st Dep't 2008)). Also obtained sanctions in federal court and recommendation of contempt in state court against law firm for failure to comply court orders.

Jones Lang Wootton USA v. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, 243 A.D.2d 168, 674 N.Y.S.2d 280 (1st Dept 1998). Obtained, by motion, dismissal of malpractice claim against a law firm. 

Clapp v. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae, 286 A.D.2d 643, 730 N.Y.S.2d 429 (1st Dep't 2001). Obtained injunction against any further litigation by a former partner against a law firm.