In the News Archive
- October 13, 2022
Solomon Shinerock joins LBKM from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where he worked in the Major Economic Crimes Bureau. Before that, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York.
Law360 - October 12, 2022
A senior prosecutor who played a key role in New York’s investigations into former President Donald Trump has moved into private practice.
Solomon Shinerock, who left the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Sept. 30, joined litigation boutique Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss on Tuesday as a partner.
New York Law Journal - September 26, 2022
N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James has a solid case against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, but it could take years for the case to get to trial, former prosecutors say.
NBC News - August 2022
Who's Who Legal has recognized four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss lawyers as leading asset recovery practitioners in its 2022 guide.
- July 8, 2022The Daily Beast
- July 1, 2022
Chambers Litigation Support 2022, a guide to leading litigation professionals, has ranked Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss in its Global-Wide Asset Tracing & Recovery category.
- June 24, 2022
The United States complied with a federal court order and released a former Afghan militiaman from detention in Guantánamo Bay. Last year, Tara J. Plochocki, one of Mr. Haroon’s lawyers, described her client as “desperate to get home” to make sure his daughter gets an education. Ms. Plochocki credited State Department efforts “over the past two months” for arranging the transfer and said the decision in this case “shows that no one, not even the U.S. government, and not even in war, is above the law.”
The New York Times - June 19, 2022
As a Manhattan prosecutor, attorney John Moscow handled complicated white-collar criminal investigations. He's been following the public court filings in the AG's probe, and believes the lack of Trump documents is remarkable — and intentional.
Business Insider - June 14, 2022
The United States Supreme Court concluded in ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. that federal district courts cannot order discovery for use in a private foreign arbitration via 18 U.S.C. § 1782—a statute that permits litigants to seek discovery in federal court for “use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal.” The unanimous decision narrows a useful discovery tool by prohibiting parties in or contemplating private, foreign arbitration from obtaining discovery through federal courts for use in that arbitration.
- June 2022
Chambers and Partners has again ranked Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss as a leading law firm in the area of insurance.
- June 1, 2022
Mackenna White, a lawyer who counsels people as to the risks of publishing potentially contested accusations of sexual misconduct, said she worried that the online mockery of Ms. Heard would make some less likely to come forward.
“The absolute destruction of Amber Heard is going to have an impact,” Ms. White said. “If you’re someone who’s worried about what could happen if you speak out, this could have the same chilling effect that we’ve been trying to reverse all these years.”
The New York Times - May 31, 2022
Cristián Francos has again been recognized as a global leader in the field of investigations by Who’s Who Legal in its Investigations: 2022 guide.
- May 8, 2022
The mayor and McCray were so closely involved that they interviewed Jaffe’s replacement, Nilda Hofmann, months before Jaffe even realized she was being pushed out, Jaffe’s lawyer John Moscow said.
“Why the mayor is interviewing people, I don’t know. Why the mayor’s wife is interviewing three star chiefs is totally beyond me,” Moscow said.
New York Daily News - May 5, 2022Business Insider
- April 27, 2022
“Statements made in a civil deposition are admissible in a criminal proceeding against the person who made the statement. That’s why people can invoke their Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination at civil proceedings as well as criminal,” said Adam Kaufmann, a partner at the law firm of Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss who previously served as chief of the Manhattan DA’s investigative division.
The Daily Beast - April 18, 2022
Arthur Middlemiss and Cristián Francos secured the return of all funds seized by the U.S. Department of Justice from U.S. accounts maintained by two broker-dealers based in Uruguay and New Zealand, respectively, both of which operated in Argentina.
- April 12, 2022
The Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump seems doomed, but a little-known New York law is buying time for prosecutors to build a better case against him and convince the hesitant new DA to act—or wait until he’s replaced.
The Daily Beast - April 6, 2022Business Insider
- February 23, 2022Dan Abrams Live
- February 22, 2022
Prosecutors must "go and verify each statement of fact in the return," said John Moscow, who also prosecuted complex economic crimes during his 30 years at the Manhattan DA's office.
"You don't say the return is false until you can prove that its constituent parts, taken together, are false," said Moscow, who is now senior counsel with Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss. "And that takes time."
Business Insider - February 21, 2022
Waleed Nassar, a lawyer who worked on Egypt’s asset recovery efforts, said foreign banks regularly built personal relationships with wealthy customers in Egypt, who could then move money out of the country in a way that might have otherwise raised red flags. “You and I can’t go to a bank right now and get away with some of the most basic things that are atypical protocol-wise, but these guys can,” he said. “But for [the banks’] conduct, a lot of the money would have never have been able to be transferred outside of Egypt in the first place.”
OCCRP.org - February 14, 2022
“This is bad news for Trump,” said John Moscow. “He can’t say, ‘I had top-level accountants doing this work.”’
BloombergQuint - February 14, 2022
Adam Kaufmann, speaking to Fox5's Teresa Priolo, said, "It's a little bit like blood in the water, I would say. There has to be something hard and objective that says: 'This is a problem.' That gives an accountancy -- or perhaps a law firm, in certain situations -- the signal they need to take some kind of adverse action."
Fox 5 NY - February 1, 2022ABA Journal
- January 11, 2022
When I first began working on behalf of Guantanamo detainees in 2002, I would never have believed that twenty years after the first detainees arrived on January 11, 2002, there would still be 39 men at the prison, 28 of whom have never been charged with anything. Nearly 800 men have processed through the prison over the last 20 years, some there for a few years, many more for decades.
The Independent - December 10, 2021
On December 9, 2021, the Biden administration published the first-ever United States Strategy on Countering Corruption. This Strategy sets forth a “whole-of-government” approach to combating corruption in the United States and around the world. Individuals and entities should expect an increase in sanctions and scrutiny of activities that present high corruption-related risk. As such, companies and individuals should immediately review current business activities to ensure that they understand their exposure to corruption-related risk and have in place commensurate controls to deter and detect potential problems. A proactive approach to corruption risk now will provide material future benefits if the expected increase in regulatory and law enforcement scrutiny results in a corruption-related inquiry.
- December 1, 2021New engagements in the region include World Cup kick-off event in Qatar.
In recent weeks, LBKM’s Middle East practice group expanded its reach to help launch a large-scale, multi-day event in Qatar to kick off the World Cup 2022. As part of these efforts, LBKM’s Sports and Entertainment group led negotiations with various talent agencies and third parties, managing myriad legal and logistical issues to bring together such public figures as Trevor Noah of The Daily Show; Jalen Rose and David Jacoby of ESPN; and NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. The event served to promote cross-cultural understanding and demonstrate the ways in which sports and entertainment can be used to bridge cultural divides and effect social change.
- October 21, 2021
A federal judge has found that a former Afghan militant has been held unlawfully at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, the first time in 10 years that a detainee has won such a case against the U.S. government, his lawyers said.
Washington Post - October 20, 2021
A federal judge has ruled that the United States has no legal basis for holding an Afghan man at Guantánamo Bay.
New York Times - October 20, 2021US has no basis to detain Asadullah Haroon Gul, who was cleared for transfer last week, in a first such ruling in a decade
A US federal court has ruled that a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has been unlawfully kept there, several days after he was cleared to be transferred out of the military prison.
The US court granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus for Asadullah Haroon Gul, who has been detained without charge by the US since 2007. The decision marks the first time in a decade a Guantanamo detainee's imprisonment has been ruled unlawful.
Middle East Eye - October 13, 2021
- October 12, 2021
The founder and minority shareholder of Tocqueville Management Corp. sued his successor and six of the successor's relatives in Delaware's Chancery Court on Tuesday, saying he was "utterly betrayed" by the man he allegedly groomed to take over the wealth management firm.
Law360 - October 5, 2021
Adam Kaufmann joined Dan Abrams on NewsNation Now to discuss New York's ongoing investigation into the Trump Organization.
NewsNation Now - October 2021
The U.S. government’s surveillance capabilities and long-standing policies have sparked concern and reaction from the European Union (“EU”), and now, in response to a European court ruling, European partners are reaching out to their U.S. counterparts asking to amend existing contracts to strengthen or install protections concerning European data. How U.S. entities respond to such requests can determine whether their commercial relationships continue uninterrupted and potentially give them a leg up against the competition.
- September 30, 2021
Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC is pleased to announce that John Moscow has been named to the 2021 New York Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected to receive this honor. In addition, A. Mackenna White has been named to the 2021 New York Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor.
- September 21, 2021Lawyers say case raises questions about legality of US air strikes and an American citizen's right to due process
Bilal Abdul Kareem, an American journalist based in opposition-held northwestern Syria, is petitioning the US Supreme Court to review his case accusing the government of placing him on a "kill list", and alleging that he was consequently targeted five times by US strikes in 2016.
The petition is the latest development in a years-long legal battle between the United States government and Abdul Kareem, and calls on the Supreme Court to decide whether a lower court erred in its dismissal of his case.
"What our case is really about is: can the United States kill a US citizen without due process, on the basis that its desire to execute its own citizens is a state secret?" Tara Plochocki, legal counsel for Abdul Kareem, told Middle East Eye.
Middle East Eye - September 20, 2021
"The fact that they are having sealed proceedings is consistent with an ongoing grand jury investigation and suggests the district attorney may be considering further charges or defendants," said Adam Kaufmann, a former investigations division chief at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office who is currently a partner with the law firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss.
NPR - September 17, 2021
Weisselberg may now be questioning whether continued loyalty will be rewarded, said John Moscow, a former senior white-collar prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Though still at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg was removed as CFO following the indictment, and he no longer serves as treasurer and secretary for many of the company’s subsidiaries.
“That’s a big change in his life, and if other people at the company are being told not to talk to him because they might be called to testify, that’s a change too,” said Moscow. “If I’m representing someone in that office, I would have to advise my client that someone like him may flip and may be wearing a wire.”
Bloomberg - August 2021
Who's Who Legal recognized four Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss lawyers as leading asset recovery practitioners for 2021.
- August 4, 2021
A lawsuit that sought information about the drugs Indiana plans to use in lethal injections
and that motivated the Legislature to use a late-night session to keep the veil of secrecy
intact has come to a close, with the state paying more than $800,000 in legal fees and
disclosing that its supply of lethal injection drugs has long been expired.The Indiana Lawyer - July 29, 2021
“This case had many flaws,” said Angerame’s lawyer Anthony Capozzolo. “The clients had their reputations tarnished in a way that simply was not fair or just.
“We are thankful for this decision, and the clients are eager to move on with their lives.”
New York Post - July 28, 2021
In what defense attorneys characterized as a rare outcome for a government corruption indictment, a Manhattan judge dismissed charges that the New York Attorney General’s office brought against a former World Trade Center electric operations manager and two subcontractors.
[Judge] Wiley dismissed the full indictment based on testimony before a grand jury, which Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss partner Adam Kaufmann said is a not a common outcome for a bribery indictment filed by the AG. “Indictments don’t get tossed on grand jury minutes to begin with,” Kaufmann said. He added: “This was one of the most deeply flawed cases I have ever seen.”
New York Law Journal - July 6, 2021
Jack Gordon of LBKM, alongside Human Rights First and Reprieve US, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the petitioner in Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman al-Hela v. Biden in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The case's central question is whether the Constitution’s Due Process Clause extends to individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay. Mr. al Hela has been held at Guantanamo without charge or trial since 2004.
- July 2, 2021
"The most initial impact on Trump himself will be financial," Anthony Capozzolo, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office and a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, told Insider. "One of the biggest collateral effects of a company being indicted is its banking relationships and other business relationships because, immediately, all of those companies have obligations, especially banks that are highly regulated. They are obligated to not do business with companies breaking the law."
Business Insider - July 1, 2021
Former President Donald Trump's company and its Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were indicted on 15 criminal charges Thursday for allegedly evading about $900,000 in taxes with the help of the Trump Organization and its payroll corporation. Yamiche Alcindor reports with Adam Kaufmann, former prosecutor and chief of the investigative division in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
PBS News Hour - July 1, 2021
Adam Kaufmann appeared on ABC News Prime to discuss the Trump Organization indictment and what might be next in the prosecution.
ABC News - July 1, 2021Reuters
- June 1, 2021MSNBC
- 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