Eric L. Lewis

The coronavirus pandemic has not only caused untold misery, it has forced the virtual shutdown of the global economy. Everyone hopes that this crisis will pass, but events have shown there is a false choice between mitigation and resumption of economic activity. Mitigation, with testing and social distancing, must be done to avoid wave after wave of disease, which will only lead to rolling cessations of economic activity. Given the economic dislocation occasioned by this global crisis and that it is likely to continue for at least a few more months, we can anticipate that many businesses will fail, and others will require time and help to restore financial health and operations. There is little doubt that innumerable global businesses will need the protection of an organized and coordinated insolvency and reorganization process as soon as this crisis is over. The time for them to begin planning is now.

In recent weeks, the world has been engulfed by the spread of COVID-19 as governments scramble to protect their citizens and avoid the collapse of public health systems and long-term damage to their economies. The wide-ranging efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 has created a tidal wave of ramifications for an international business community that is today more interconnected than ever, and led to high levels of uncertainty surrounding current and future contractual obligations. At a time when government policies fluctuate daily and courts and arbitration centers are becoming increasingly inaccessible to resolve active disputes, it is difficult for a party to seek or obtain interim measures or relief. From country to country and company to company, the responses have not been uniform: some commercial parties have continued to perform their obligations, while others have argued for wholesale abdication of their responsibilities, and still others are somewhere in between. Certain trends of government action and commercial response are emerging worldwide, no less so in the hyper-connected global businesses that are found in the Middle East.

In these tough times, when clients are looking to protect assets and increase revenue, it is more important than ever to ensure that their arbitral awards are collectible. A truly successful outcome requires the ability to enforce and monetize the award that was won in the arbitration. When faced with a recalcitrant award debtor, it is imperative to think strategically and work closely with counsel and experts to enforce and identify recoverable assets.

Eric Lewis focuses on three key areas: (1) the widening of the net from sanctioned individuals to their families; (2) the application of the evasion provisions to foreign persons; (3) the bringing of new classes within existing sanctions.

Escrito por Eric L. Lewis, Manuel S. Varela and Cristián Francos.

Authored by Eric L. Lewis, Manuel S. Varela and Cristían Francos.

La Ley (Suplemento Finanzas Para Abogados, Universidad del CEMA)

Escrito por Eric L. Lewis, Manuel S. Varela and Cristián Francos.

Authored by Eric L. Lewis, Manuel S. Varela and Cristián Francos.

Presented by Eric L. Lewis, Manuel S. Varela & Cristián Francos.

Presentation by Eric L. Lewis & A. Katherine Toomey.

Eric L. Lewis, address to the Commercial Bar Association of England and Wales (COMBAR).

Eric L. Lewis delivered address at the Commercial Bar Association of England and Wales (COMBAR)

'Looking forward from this improbable ninth week of shutdown, I believe that litigation is about to enter another sea change,' writes Eric Lewis, a senior partner at litigation boutique Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss.

Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that three of its lawyers have been named to the 2020 Washington, DC Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. 

The business of law is personal, and the human interaction cannot be fully replaced by technology, particularly for those that practice on an international scale. Lewis Baach senior partner Eric Lewis, who usually travels the globe to meet with clients, offers his personal take on how he and his firm are coping during the pandemic.

This article sets out the basic process for obtaining extradition to the United States and reviews certain recent cases that suggest that the United States is trying to leverage its political power to bring defendants to the United States either to fulfill political agendas or where the United States’ interest is tangential at best in view of the demonstrable interest of other countries.

Six LBKM professionals have been selected to the 2019 New York and Washington, DC Super Lawyers lists - an honor limited to 5 percent of the lawyers in each state. In addition, one LBKM professional has been selected to the 2019 New York Rising Stars list. 

Four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss professionals have been recognized as Global Leaders in Who’s Who Legal: Asset Recovery 2019. Who’s Who Legal is one of the world’s leading directories of legal practitioners.

Bolton may be guilty of serious errors of judgment and defects of character. But he refused to play Trump's game — and now he might be the country's most valuable savior

Eric Lewis was quoted in The Washington Post on the allegations in the whistleblower complaint recently filed against President Trump.

Law360 asked Eric Lewis and other law firm leaders about the most common career blunders they see new attorneys make.

Founding partner Eric Lewis was asked, as part of Law360's ongoing interview series, “What one trait is most important for a law firm partner?”

An amended complaint filed in Miami-Dade County alleges that Amicorp, an international trust services company, actively participated in a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud which victimized many Latin American families. 

Mr. Lewis reflecting on what he looks forward to each day in his job:  "One of the things I like about our firm and a firm our size is the continuity and trust of the people I work with, most of whom I've worked with for a long time. I think all of us buy into the concept we have here, which is being very public spirited, very flexible, very supportive, and trying to use our skills not only on commercial matters but also trying to do some good as well.”

Eric Lewis is quoted saying, “The ability to understand a case, price a case, look at a case honestly and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses becomes more important.”

Woodsford Litigation Funding, one of the leading global third party funders, has announced a funding facility agreement with Lewis Baach which ensures the firm can offer clients an expedited, one-stop arrangement for the financing of high value litigation and arbitration.

"The ability to understand a case, price a case and look at a case honestly — to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses — becomes more important," said Eric Lewis of  Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC. "I spend more time on strategy than I did 10 to 15 years ago. I spend more time talking to clients as cases go along."

Eric Lewis of Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss writes: Good lawyers don't get stuck in boxes. They are problem solvers who bring judgment and experience to their clients' issues, whoever those clients may be. They try to prevent economic interests from affecting their service to clients. They earn trust. Satisfaction in the law can be, and should be, measured in more than one way.

As the market continues to pound out a separation between the niche players and the global elites, major legal consumers are increasingly turning to boutique firms for some of their more challenging work. Between their dexterity, fee flexibility, and, depending on the size of the boutique, deeper resources, we are seeing a growing interest in boutiques and niche firms in the legal market.

For two years, stock traders and the attorneys who represent them said the law surrounding insider trading was a muddle, with no one knowing what exactly is or isn’t legal.
The U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 6 said it had ‘‘easily’’ settled the question (Salman v. United States, 2016 BL 404795, U.S., No. 15-628, 12/6/16).

‘‘Going forward, even remote tippees of inside information are at risk if the government can demonstrate that the defendant knew he was trading on inside information and the chain of disclosure is sufficiently close, even if no money changes hands.’’ Eric Lewis, Lewis Baach PLLC

Eric Lewis got a phone call from an old friend’s sister shortly after he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times in 2013 detailing his time playing under a high school football coach who was also a serial sexual predator.

That call ultimately led Lewis to take a turn this week as a journalist—a departure from his busy career as a prominent lawyer handling international fraud disputes, including representing Bernie Madoff’s investment firm in its liquidation—at his nearly 40-lawyer firm Lewis Baach in Washington, D.C.

The Appellate Division, First Department, recently affirmed the dismissal of various claims brought by New Greenwich Litigation Trustee, successor to the claims of two feeder funds in the Bernard Madoff affair, against various third-party fund administrators, accountants and auditors.

Mr. Lewis said that “there is no there there” on the allegations of any Saudi government role in the attacks, given the kingdom’s long history of being at war with Al Qaeda.

“The notion that senior Saudi officials or the Saudi government had an interest in supporting Sept. 11 and the attack on the World Trade Center is patently absurd,” he said.