Kramer Levin

Kramer Levin
Name	Kramer Levin
Headquarters	New York City
Founded	1968
Founders	[unlinked per instruction]
Practice areas	Corporate, Litigation, Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Tax, Bankruptcy, Employment
Offices	New York, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C.
Attorneys	~250

Kramer Levin is a New York–based law firm known for corporate transactional work, complex litigation, intellectual property counseling, and real estate matters. The firm frequently represents technology companies, financial institutions, media organizations, and nonprofit entities in high-profile disputes and transactions. Its practices intersect with major legal developments in securities regulation, antitrust enforcement, bankruptcy proceedings, and privacy law.

History

Founded in 1968 during a period of expansion in New York City legal services, the firm grew alongside shifts in Wall Street finance, the rise of Silicon Valley technology markets, and changes to United States Bankruptcy Code. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the firm expanded into corporate finance, representing issuers and underwriters in Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 matters. In the 1990s and 2000s the firm developed litigation, intellectual property, and restructuring practices amid events such as the Dot-com bubble and the aftermath of the Global financial crisis of 2007–2008. The firm’s history includes involvement in major mergers and acquisitions, regulatory investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and precedent-setting federal court litigation in the Southern District of New York.

Practice Areas

The firm maintains practices in transactional law including Mergers and acquisitions, Private equity, Venture capital, and securities offerings under the Securities Act of 1933. Its litigation group handles matters in federal and state courts, including complex commercial disputes, intellectual property litigation involving United States Patent and Trademark Office proceedings, and antitrust cases under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The bankruptcy and restructuring practice represents debtors, creditors, and official committees in cases under the United States Bankruptcy Code, often appearing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Real estate practice covers acquisitions, development, leasing, and financing connected to projects in Manhattan and other urban markets. The firm’s labor and employment practice addresses disputes under statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and litigation in the National Labor Relations Board. The tax group advises on corporate tax planning and controversies involving the Internal Revenue Service. The intellectual property group handles patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters in forums including the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the federal Circuit Courts.

Notable Cases and Matters

Representations have included securities class actions and derivative suits arising from corporate governance disputes in companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. The firm has handled creditor and debtor representations in high-profile chapter 11 reorganizations that attracted oversight from judges in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. It has defended technology and media clients in copyright and trademark disputes before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and in proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In antitrust matters, the firm has represented clients in merger reviews with the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The firm has also participated in protracted employment litigation invoking the Fair Labor Standards Act and confidential arbitration under rules of the American Arbitration Association. Notable transactional work includes cross-border acquisitions involving counsel coordination with firms in London, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, and Frankfurt.

Offices and Locations

The firm’s primary office is located in New York City, centering operations in proximity to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and major financial institutions on Wall Street. Additional offices serve technology and policy clients in Silicon Valley and regulatory matters in Washington, D.C.. The firm’s geographic footprint supports cross-border transactional work and litigation coordination with courts and regulatory agencies across the United States and internationally, including engagements that touch on matters in European Union jurisdictions and Israel.

Attorneys and Leadership

The firm’s attorneys have backgrounds that include clerkships with judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and other federal benches. Leadership and partners have testified before the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on issues relating to bankruptcy reform and securities regulation, and have appeared before regulatory bodies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. The roster includes former federal prosecutors, former investment bankers, intellectual property litigators with experience in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and transactional lawyers with experience in cross-border merger and acquisition deals.

Pro Bono and Social Responsibility

The firm maintains pro bono programs supporting litigants in civil rights and immigration matters before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, asylum seekers appearing before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and tenants in housing matters in New York City administrative and judicial forums. It partners with nonprofit organizations such as legal aid societies and advocacy groups focused on access to justice and arts organizations, and has represented cultural institutions in disputes implicating copyright law and preservation issues. The firm also supports community organizations and participates in volunteer efforts coordinated with bar associations including the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Category:Law firms based in New York City