News & Thought

Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP Expands China Corporate Advisory Practice  Benjamin Qiu Joins as Partner New York – Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP will expand its China Corporate Advisory Practice with the addition of Benjamin Qiu, who joined the firm as partner on September 5, 2023. Qiu will co-lead the practice with founding …

Partner Ilene Jaroslaw moderated a stellar presentation on professional responsibility at the 2023 ABA Annual Meeting in Denver earlier this month. Gabrielle Friedman, Andrea Moseley, Andrea Surratt, Jana Volante Walshak, and Jaroslaw presented an ethics CLE on a topic that was ripped from the headlines: “The Ethics of Simultaneous Representation: Navigating Pool Counsel Waters.” If …

EKL&J Partner Ilene Jaroslaw was interviewed by Law360 on what’s next for the as-yet unindicted co-conspirators in the January 6 insurrection and why attorney-conspirators’ communications with the former president are admissible at trial: “While attorney-client privilege broadly works to keep communications between lawyers and their clients private, the crime-fraud exception to that privilege ensures that …

After a bench trial spanning three months, EKLJ partner Mark Elliott secured a significant victory for trust beneficiaries in Nassau County Surrogate’s Court in a case pertaining to fiduciary duty and executive compensation. The court ordered that the trustee be removed and pay significant damages to the trust at issue. The trust’s assets primarily consist …

In a stunning reduction from a federal Sentencing Guidelines range of 70 to 87 months’ imprisonment, Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP partner Ilene Jaroslaw secured a sentence of six months for her client, the former owner and president of a New York construction company. Dónal O’Sullivan, who immigrated to the U.S. from Kerry, Ireland, …

While speaking at the Parliament Hill in Ottawa to celebrate the launch of Hong Kong Watch Canada, Dennis Kwok emphasized the need to respect and honor human-rights defenders in the global fight against authoritarianism, and to cherish the deep bonds between Hong Kongers and the Canadian society.

Dennis Kwok launched the nonprofit, bipartisan China Strategic Risks Institute in May at the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. CSRI is a public-policy think tank dedicated to looking at China-related issues through the global lens of risks and opportunities. Read the CSRI launching report, which analyses strategic risks across geopolitics, economics, security, technology, …

Dennis Kwok recently spoke at the U.S. Capitol, inside the Mike Mansfield Room, as part of a bipartisan conference organized in defense of democracies and the rule of law around the world. As the international rule-based order is under threat by the rise of authoritarianism, Kwok drew on his Hong Kong experience and called on …

Mark Elliott and Rachel Rodriguez secured the dismissal from an SDNY lawsuit of our client Diana Kearse, chief counsel to the New York State Grievance Committee for multiple judicial districts. The suit was brought to mandate that New York State make public grievance complaint proceedings against prosecutors. The case also claimed Kearse and others violated …

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco this morning announced new corporate crime policies at the ABA National Institute on White Collar Crime. The Department of Justice is expanding its 2021 Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies beyond Main Justice to all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, increasing predictability in enforcement and outcomes. Particularly striking is the DAG’s announcement …

Matthew Levine, Ilene Jaroslaw, Dennis Kwok and Mark Elliott engaged in a productive day with Ethic General Counsel Genie Cesar-Fabian (center) and her dynamic and inventive team in SoHo. Ethic is a financial services firm that has centered its focus on ESG issues.

We are thrilled to announce that Laura Longobardi has joined EKL&J as counsel. Laura can do it all for our clients. She has experience in every aspect of litigation: antitrust, appellate, arbitration, aviation, bankruptcy, class action defense, commercial, contracts, corporate control, criminal, discovery, guarantees, insurance, labor and employment, mediation, real estate, securities defense, trusts and …

Dennis Kwok spoke at the Committee to Protect Journalists on Dec. 5. He spoke about the risks for international media companies and journalists operating in the China region, and particularly, about the travesty of justice concerning Jimmy Lai and his media company, Next Digital. “The political persecution against him and other foreign non-PRC media organizations …

The 2022 Women’s White Collar Defense Association Awards Gala on Nov. 29 was a night to remember. We connected with friends new and old and were inspired by the presenters and award winners. EKL&J was pleased to be a sponsor of this joyous celebration of women in white collar defense. The dinner was abuzz with …

Matthew Levine’s “Self-Reporting to NYDFS: It’s Not Your ‘Monaco Memo’ (Part One),” about self-reporting misconduct by regulated financial institutions, was published in the New York Law Journal on Nov. 30.

Dennis Kwok and Sam Goodman wrote about environmental, social and governance vis-a-vis China risks for Canadian Investment Review, setting out what they think are coming up in terms of new dimensions for the ESG matrix: “Reports that a leading asset manager is delaying the launch of a Chinese bond fund indefinitely are a clear sign …

According to China Business Law Journal, “The world’s economies are facing one of their most difficult periods since the global financial crisis, and China is unlikely to escape the consequences.” In “Surviving the Deluge,” legal experts, including Dennis Kwok, shared their opinions on how clients can draw on experience from damage control practice around the …

Dennis Kwok penned the foreword in a recent report from Hong Kong Watch and Sheffield Hallam University titled, “Passively Funding Crimes Against Humanity: How Your Savings May Be Financing Internment Camps and Forced Labor in China.” The report found that “major institutional investors are funding companies known to be involved and benefiting from the crisis …

Dennis Kwok spoke at the Halifax International Security Forum, which gathers international experts on military defense, national policies and geopolitical studies. He was asked to share his insights on “U.S. China Decoupling” at a roundtable of experts on Nov. 19. The decoupling process is fraught with complex legal and political risks, policy-makers and international businesses …

Dennis Kwok spoke at the New York City Bar Association Antitrust & Trade Regulation Committee’s monthly meeting on November 15, 2022. He shared his experience as a board member of the Hong Kong Competition Commission (HKCC; the antitrust watchdog in Hong Kong), along with Brent Snyder, the former CEO of HKCC and a current partner …

Dennis Kwok joined friend-of-the-firm Tom Firestone of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and Jessica Bartlett of Barclays on a panel titled, “Russia, China, Sanctions, and The Rule of Law: Practicing Law in a Changing International Environment” at the Federal Bar Council retreat in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Honorable Taryn Merkl, U.S. magistrate judge for …

Matthew Levine spoke about the implementation of monitorships from the points of view of the criminal defense bar, regulators at the New York Department of Financial Regulation and federal prosecutors, during a session of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section 10th Annual London White Collar Crime Institute in October, alongside Nina Marino Vincent DiCianni, …

Ilene Jaroslaw returned this year to the ABA White Collar Crime Institute in London and presented a heady topic at one of the plenary sessions — “Are We Witnessing an Erosion of the Rule of Law?” — together with panelists from the UK, France and Italy (Richard Sallybanks, Victoire Chatelin, Fabio Cagnola and Clare Montgomery).

Senior Attorney Brings Diverse Litigation Background to New Litigation Boutique Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP named attorney Rachel J. Rodriguez as counsel to the firm. Rodriguez will support and expand the firm’s litigation capabilities by focusing on complex commercial disputes, internal and government investigations, and white collar defense. Throughout her career, Rodriguez has maintained …

We were so pleased to see friends and colleagues old and new to celebrate the launch of the firm. We look forward to more celebrations in the future.