Affiliations
 

Practice Areas

The Law Office of Michael C. Rakower, P.C. represents individuals and companies in all forms of civil and criminal disputes.  Mr. Rakower’s civil practice focuses on commercial litigation and civil rights actions in federal and state courts.  His white-collar criminal defense practice focuses on the representation of individuals facing federal and state investigations.  The following is a sample of civil and criminal matters handled either exclusively by the Law Office or in connection with other major New York law firms:

Contractual Disputes
Commercial Litigation
Trusts & Estates
Malpractice
Police Misconduct
Employment
Corporate Monitoring and Compliance Design Services
Commercial Counseling
General Criminal Litigation
Government Contract Fraud
Health Care Fraud
Mail and Wire Fraud

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Contractual Disputes

  • Defended hedge fund in $1 million dispute concerning fraudulent sale of securities by rogue employee. The Law Office persuaded plaintiff to dismiss all claims against our client without the payment of any settlement fee.

  • Represented fashion industry business in contract dispute with high-end designer.

  • Represented entity providing institutional capital to hedge funds in FINRA arbitration concerning payment by spin-off of major Wall Street bank of advisory and performance fees.

  • Represented an attorney in a $2 million federal dispute arising out of the September 11th World Trade Center attacks.

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Commercial Litigation

  • Representation of real estate financier in multi-party actions in federal and state courts concerning $140 million real estate transaction tainted by alleged fraud.

  • Representated real estate developer in multiple state actions brought by claimants seeking tens of millions of dollars. The Law Office has successfully won reversals of judgments in the amounts of $8 million and $1.8 million which were obtained against the client prior to the Law Office’s involvement.

  • Representation of a limited partner of an insolvent hedge fund in a “clawback” dispute with the fund’s trustee concerning approximately $1.5 million.

  • Represented a United Nations vendor in a federal lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $125 million under the RICO Act, the Sherman Act, the Robinson-Patman Act, and various New York State laws. This action sought damages against a competitor for allegedly engaging in a bribery and bid-rigging scheme to obtain United Nations contracts. The action was sucessfully resolved through a confidential settlement.

  • Provided pre-litigation counseling for the benefit of the Iraqi Government in connection with its investigation into kickback schemes arising out of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program.

  • Obtained and enforced judgment in multiple jurisdictions on behalf of victimized U.S. subsidiary of Turkish conglomerate headquartered in Luxembourg.

  • Represented an online bank in a $10 million federal lawsuit seeking damages against a software developer for the sale of a defective product.

  • Represented a retailer of high-end eyewear in a commercial dispute with landlord.

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Trusts & Estates

  • Appellate representation of an individual in a high-profile will contest concerning an estate with an estimated value of $1 billion.

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Malpractice

  • Representation of hedge fund executive in suit involving gross negligence by global law firm.

  • Defended lawyer in $5 million attorney malpractice action. The Law Office settled the action for a “nuisance fee” of $950.

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Police Misconduct

  • Represented a former Israeli combat fighter and military command instructor in a multi-million dollar civil rights lawsuit against the New York City Police Department. The successful resolution of the action included a substantial settlement payment for the client, as well as sanctions against the City of New York for misconduct during the discovery phase of litigation.

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Employment

  • Represented custodian in a New York City school who blew the whistle on his supervisor for improper asbestos removal and then suffered retaliatory actions. The client was restored to his job with full back pay, and his story became the subject of favorable media coverage by The New York Times, WWOR-TV and NY1 News, among others.

  • Represented an indigent employee seeking damages for alleged racial discrimination in the workplace in federal appellate matter. As a result of his efforts, Mr. Rakower was invited to speak at the New York City Bar Association to advise fellow attorneys on employment discrimination matters.

  • Represented a former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce executive in a $12 million compensation dispute.

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Corporate Monitoring and Compliance Design Services

  • Assisted in the design, development, and implementation of an antitrust monitoring methodology for a Fortune 250 company in order to evaluate the company’s compliance with the business reform requirements of a major regulatory settlement with the New York State Attorney General.

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Commercial Counseling

  • Representation of Argentine financial services entity in matter arising out of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Our client provides financial services to the Argentine military and other members of the Argentine government.

  • Represented Wal-Mart employees during investigation of incident that led to the death of a fellow worker on “Black Friday”.

  • Counseled a manufacturer of innovative baby apparel on compliance with New York State and federal laws.

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General Criminal Litigation

  • Represented a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who violated his parole following a money-laundering conviction.

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Government Contract Fraud

  • Represented a senior executive at a non-profit foster care agency during a criminal investigation for falsifying records to maintain New York City contracts.

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Health Care Fraud

  • Represented individuals in a federal investigation of medical testing procedures at a publicly-traded company.

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Mail and Wire Fraud

  • Represented a retail brokerage manager in the federal “squawk box” investigation, which involved the unauthorized use of confidential proprietary information.

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