Blank Rome added a leading group of litigators in its Commercial Litigation practice group in New York, bolstering the firm’s national commercial and real estate litigation offerings. The group consists of nine attorneys whose practice areas focus on two broad areas as described below. They practiced at Akerman LLP before joining Blank Rome.

• Partners Craig Weiner, Lisa Coyle, and Reena Jain; of counsel Eamon O’Kelly; and associate Alexander Newman handle a wide range of litigation and corporate matters for clients who include large domestic and international corporations, high-net-worth individuals, celebrities, startups, private funds, and financial institutions. Experienced in navigating high-stakes litigation and crisis management situations, the team represents clients across a variety of industries before numerous venues, including state, federal district, and appellate courts as well as international forums for dispute resolution. They also have significant experience in business divorce, shareholder disputes, asset recovery, legal malpractice, defamation, and representation of victims of fraud.

• Partner Massimo F. D’Angelo, who will serve as co-chair of Blank Rome’s Real Estate industry team, and of counsel Robert Chester, Ofer Reger, and Gregory Wong focus their practices on real estate litigation and complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country as well as internationally. Their clients include multinational corporations, real estate companies, investment firms, developers, owners, condominiums and cooperative boards, and commercial tenants and landlords, as well as high-end fashion brands, celebrities, and entertainment and media conglomerates. Beyond real estate disputes, the team’s litigation experience spans civil cases, securities litigation, copyright validity, infringement, and white collar criminal matters. They also represent clients in complex commercial real estate acquisition, sale, leasing, and financial transactions.

“We are thrilled to welcome this accomplished and highly regarded group of litigators to Blank Rome and our national Commercial Litigation practice,” said Grant Palmer, Blank Rome’s Chair and Managing Partner. “This powerhouse group brings a diverse mix of deep litigation experience that will greatly benefit our clients, who are facing increasing disputes and challenges in the midst of economic uncertainty and need skilled practitioners to successfully and efficiently resolve their complex matters.”

Weiner and Coyle noted, “We were drawn to Blank Rome’s strong national platform and are excited to collaborate with our new colleagues across the country to provide clients with comprehensive and tailored support to achieve optimal results. We are also looking forward to reuniting with Blank Rome’s Chief Operating Officer Shonette Gaston, with whom we worked at a prior firm.”

“I am excited to have this outstanding group join our firm, further expanding our litigation capabilities and services across practices and industry teams,” said Evan Lechtman, Partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice group. “Their notable work on behalf of multinational and international corporations will complement the complex matters our strong bench of litigators undertake for clients as well as deepen the firm’s experience in high-stakes commercial, financial, fraud, business tort, employment, and intellectual property litigation.”

Blank Rome’s Steven Shoumer, Partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Real Estate practice group and industry team, stated, “Our national real estate team continues to add leading talent across key industries and markets, and I am eager to collaborate with Massimo and his talented team on advancing our capabilities as clients navigate the current challenges of today’s evolving real estate industry in a post-pandemic economy.”
 
“Blank Rome’s stellar reputation, national platform, and highly recognized real estate and litigation teams makes it the ideal firm to continue growing my diverse practice,” said D’Angelo. “I have always admired the firm’s attorneys and collegial nature, and our team looks forward to working across the firm’s offices and practices as we continue to strategically advance Blank Rome’s litigation and real estate capabilities.”

The group’s arrival continues the strategic expansion of Blank Rome’s nationally recognized litigation department, which includes more than 300 attorneys across the firm’s 14 offices and has welcomed prominent partners Germain D. Labat, Barak A. Bassman, David A. Moreno, Jr., Gregory J. Moore, and Basileios “Bill” Katris, as well as senior counsel Honorable Judith J. Gische and numerous other counsel and associates in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, and Chicago, since January 2022. The group also strengthens the firm’s leading Corporate, M&A, and Securities; Finance; Real Estate; and Intellectual Property practices and service offerings across a diverse range of industries.

About the Attorneys
PARTNERS

Lisa Coyle has more than 15 years of experience representing small to large domestic and international entrepreneurs, corporations, financial institutions, and foreign sovereigns in complex arbitration and litigation across a variety of forums. She handles earn-out, shareholder, and stock option disputes; breach of contract and fiduciary claims; business divorces; derivative actions; business torts and issues stemming from corporate transactions and federal securities; and harassment, retaliation, and anti-discrimination laws. Active in corporate governance matters, Lisa also guides boards through disputes between shareholders and directors and provides counsel on pre-litigation dispute resolution. Lisa earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, and her B.S. from Arizona State University.
 
Massimo F. D’Angelo is a nationally recognized real estate attorney and commercial litigator with extensive experience in high-stakes litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country as well as internationally. He represents high-end fashion brands, media conglomerates, multinational corporations, owners, developers, condominiums and cooperative boards, politicians, and celebrities on complex real estate disputes, civil cases, securities litigation, and white collar criminal matters. He also counsels his clients on general corporate governance, labor and employment issues, transactional matters, and lobbying efforts. He earned his J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Reena Jain focuses her practice on business, entertainment and media, and intellectual property litigation, representing a broad range of clients, including award-winning musicians, social media influencers, fashion retailers, and cannabis and spirits companies. Her experience includes breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, copyright, defamation and SLAPP, patent, right of publicity, trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition litigation. She also negotiates, drafts, and reviews contracts, including talent agency, artist management, and sponsorship agreements. She earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.S./B.A. from Michigan State University.

Craig Weiner guides clients through high-stakes litigation and contentious negotiations as well as helps facilitate joint ventures and strategic alliances. His practice includes complex financial and investment cases, prosecuting and defending defamation and legal and professional malpractice cases, high-stakes employment litigation, business divorces, fraud actions, and bankruptcy and reorganization. Additionally, Craig has extensive venture capital and private equity experience and works closely with foreign and domestic hedge funds, high-net-worth individuals, venture companies, government funds, and corporations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He earned his J.D. from Albany Law School and his B.S. from Lehigh University.

OF COUNSEL

Robert Chester focuses his practice on litigating real estate matters related to landlord-tenant, commercial lease, and governance disputes. His clients include cooperative and condominium boards as well as both commercial tenants and landlords. He has experience representing buyers, sellers, and investors in commercial real estate acquisition, sale, leasing, and finance transactions, including negotiating loan documents for acquisition, bridge, mezzanine,
preferred equity, and construction lending. He earned his J.D. from Florida State University College of Law and his B.A. from Oberlin College.

Eamon O’Kelly is an experienced litigator and adviser who focuses his practice on antitrust, trade regulation, and complex commercial litigation matters. He represents Fortune 100 companies and European and Asian multinationals. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Fordham University.

Ofer Reger focuses his practice on complex litigation in federal and state courts and private arbitrations, representing businesses and individual clients in a wide variety of industries including entertainment and media, technology, real estate, fitness, financial services, healthcare, politics, and consumer goods. He has represented several major recording artists, songwriters, and publishing and management companies in a variety of different disputes, and has defended class action suits presenting novel issues of copyright law. Ofer also has experience litigating antitrust, trade secret, international financial fraud, bankruptcy matters, and internal investigations. He earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan.

Gregory Wong focuses his practice on real estate litigation and commercial disputes. He regularly represents clients in complex cases in state and federal courts. Gregory also advises real estate companies, investment firms, and commercial tenants in connection with using, leasing, and operating commercial real estate. He has extensive experience drafting and negotiating commercial leases as well as construction access agreements. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his B.A. from Brooklyn College.

ASSOCIATE

Alexander Newman focuses his practice on commercial litigation in state and federal courts, representing clients ranging from individuals to large corporations at every stage of complex business disputes in litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He earned his J.D., cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and his B.A. from Cornell University.