Kasowitz Benson Torres is a maverick litigation shop that has built its reputation as a formidable force, largely due to its trial-ready strategy for litigation. Leading up to trial, clients witness the team’s approach in action. “Kasowitz handles complex high-end litigation. It is a great team of lawyers who work well with each other and local counsel teams. They are extremely professional and willing to jump in on any issue or litigation task.” Although, as one peer stresses, “Kasowitz does a lot of high-risk plaintiff work,” the firm offers a comprehensive array of litigation services on both the plaintiff and defense sides of the “v.” While the firm is certainly not a conventional “Big Law” firm, it is not a boutique either – indeed, the firm’s footprint is densely concentrated throughout the country through 10 offices, strategically located in New York, Washington, DC, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Newark, NJ.
While the firm’s bench is expansive in terms of practice areas and generational headroom, few would dispute that the firm’s center of gravity is founding partner
Marc Kasowitz, a New York-based generalist commercial trial lawyer with an unflinching approach to litigation and a history of representing a colorful and diverse roster of clients. “Marc had the grit and vision to forge that firm,” declares a peer. “If you work there, you have to be willing to work at ‘his’ firm – it’s a benevolent dictatorship, and he is very clear about this, to be fair. But he’s a great businessman – great in the boardroom and great in the courtroom. He has a reputation for being more aggressive than he really is – he’s very smart and knows when to be aggressive and when to pull back.” Kasowitz has been representing Pilgrim’s Pride in a criminal price-fixing investigation by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division relating to the sales of broiler chicken products, after the then-current CEO of Pilgrim’s and another former Pilgrim’s employee were indicted for alleged price-fixing. Kasowitz continues to represent Pilgrim’s in cooperating with the DoJ’s ongoing criminal investigations into the poultry industry. Kasowitz also works with Mark Ressler and antitrust authority Sheron Korpus in representing Teva Pharmaceuticals in its three separate actions involving antitrust, securities, and white-collar crime.
Kasowitz’s New York office is particularly recognized for its real estate practice, which is considered to be “one of the only ones in the city handled by a deep team from a big firm.” Partner
Jennifer Recine led a team that, as of September 2022, brought two years of litigation (including 15 days of trial) on behalf of BD Hotels and Chelsea Hotel Owner, owners of the iconic Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, against NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation Development (HPD), prompted by hostile tenants objecting to the redevelopment of the hotel. Recine uncovered crucial evidence that HPD failed to turn over in discovery, resulting in HPD voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit.
Ronald Rossi, who was also part of this team, is a client favorite. “Ron Rossi is an excellent litigator,” extols one. “He absorbs information and issues at lightning speed. [He] Is an excellent listener and team member. He is extremely responsive and runs an excellent team. Ron is also an excellent orator and generates both judicial and client confidence in and out of the courtroom.”
The firm is also noted for its labor and employment capacity, in which
Jessica Taub Rosenberg is a frequent mention. Taub Rosenberg has represented brokerage firm Douglas Elliman for over a decade in all of its employment-related litigations, administrative claims, confidential disputes with the Real Estate Board of New York, and general litigations.
The firm’s California presence has been steadily building as well. Dan Saunders, a white-collar, commercial and employment practitioner with a particular emphasis on the entertainment industry, is called “great in arbitration and litigation in general,” according to a client. “He gives very strong opening and closing arguments, well-researched and prepared examination. He has incredible presence, very engaging and gives very well-presented arguments.”
