Matters

Legends Hospitality – Creation of Omnichannel Retail Program

Herrick represented Legends Hospitality in the creation of an expansive omnichannel retail program with Spanish soccer powerhouse Real Madrid CF. The program encompasses an all-new official online store, the relaunch of three official stores in Madrid, and a new Flagship Megastore at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The program will offer the latest assortment of fan gear, kits, headwear, customized products, authenticated memorabilia, and accessories at the stadium, online and at official stores.

Resources

Consumer Products Manufacturer – Paraguayan Litigation

Represented an international consumer products manufacturer in a legal action brought against it in Paraguay. We are working with the U.S. State Department to deal with the unusual legal rulings involved.

Library for the Blind – Government Appropriations

Represent an international library for the blind in soliciting government appropriations for charitable use. The library provides the visually impaired, blind, physically handicapped and reading disabled with books, magazines and cultural programs in audio, in large print and in Braille.

Bio-Reference Labs – Gene Patenting Legislation

Represent Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. in providing legislative advice and governmental solutions to help enable it to conduct diagnostic tests currently prevented by laws allowing owners of gene patents to grant exclusive licenses for those tests.

Commission for Art Recovery – Baron Herzog Collection

Represented  the Commission for Art Recovery in recovering 10 paintings from the Hungarian government that were stolen from the heirs of Baron Herzog, a Hungarian aristocrat, during the Nazi regime. At Herrick's request, Senator Hillary Clinton wrote to the Hungarian Foreign Minister in support of our efforts. Senator Clinton issued a press release regarding her letter and also posted it on her website. To date, Herrick has also garnered support from Senator Lautenberg, Senator Kennedy and Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

NY Real Estate Developer – Bronx Brownfield Redevelopment

Represented a New York developer in redeveloping a large Brownfield site in the Bronx and negotiating the relevant transactions documents, including financing, joint venture and purchase option documents. Complex redevelopment issues made use of our Government Relations, and Land Use and Zoning Groups.

342 East 72nd Street Corporation – Second Avenue Subway Entrance Relocation

Represented 342 East 72nd Street Corporation in fighting the relocation of a new subway entrance. The original plans called for the entrance to be embedded in the basement of a building at the corner of 72nd Street and Second Avenue, but the MTA announced a new plan to move the entrance to the middle of the block on 72nd Street between First and Second Avenues—directly in front of residential buildings. Herrick helped the local building owners fight this plan.

New York Fire Alarm Association – Opposition to New Fee Rules

Representation of the New York Fire Alarm Association, a trade organization comprised of companies who monitor fire alarm systems in New York City, in government relations matters. The New York City Fire Department recently published its intent to adopt new rules—which are unduly onerous and would be a major headache for the industry—regulating the fees that these companies would have to pay the city. Thanks to Herrick’s efforts, the FDNY agreed to postpone adoption of the new fee rules for a year. It also agreed to work with the industry over the next year to promulgate rules that are reasonable.

Bio-Reference Labs – Congressional Hearings

We helped Bio-Reference Laboratories, a genetic testing company, convince the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property to hold hearings on October 30, 2007 on the adverse impact of gene patenting on genetic testing by laboratories and on clinical research. Bio-Reference Laboratories' CEO was a key witness. We are working closely with Representative Xavier Becerra of California, a member of the House leadership, as well as with the chair of the Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee for a positive outcome for Bio-Reference.

Assisted Living Facility – State Approval for Expansion

Representation of an assisted living facility in Far Rockaway, New York, in obtaining Congressional and local elected official support for its application for state approval for the expansion and beautification of its facility.

Civil Rights Worker Murder

Representation of the daughter of an African-American civil rights worker and his wife in her efforts to secure a new investigation into their brutal murders. The couple was firebombed in their Florida home on Christmas Day in 1951, and neither the FBI nor the State of Florida ever solved the case. We were able to interest the Florida Attorney General’s office in re-examining the matter. Finally, more than half a century after the crimes, investigators identified four KKK members as the culprits. Although the perpetrators had died years ago, their identification brought a measure of justice to the victims’ family.

Severodonetsk Azot – Stopping Improper Government Seizure of Privatized Plant in Ukraine

Representation of a U.S.-based chemical company in a hard-fought dispute over the massive chemical plant, Severodonetsk Azot, in Eastern Ukraine. Corrupt political forces in Ukraine took control of our client’s plant through the commencement of a bogus lawsuit in Kiev and the outright seizure of the plant by a private militia. Herrick argued an appeal in Kiev’s court of appeals and also met, in Kiev, with Ukrainian ministries and the U.S. Embassy as part of a concerted effort to exert political pressure on the Ukrainian government to end the illegal actions.

As part of these efforts, Herrick alerted the New York Times to situation and the Times, in investigating the story, uncovered that the political dispute over the Severodonetsk Azot plant had led to Ukrainian President Yushchenko dismissing his prime minister and the rest of her government. See Deal for Ukraine Company Renews Charges of Abuse (The New York Times, Sept. 15 2005). The Ukrainian Supreme Court ultimately reversed the Kiev court and upheld our client’s ownership of the plant.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney – Sexual Assault Investigation Legislation

Assistance to Rep. Carolyn Maloney in drafting H.R. 2874 (107th Congress) to assess the extent of the backlog in DNA analysis of rape kit samples and to improve the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases with DNA evidence. As part of the "Justice for All Act," the legislation was passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives and unanimously by the Senate. The Debbie Smith Act, named for a rape survivor whose attacker was identified through DNA evidence, was signed into law by President Bush in October 2004.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney – Declassification of Nazi War Crimes Files

Assistance to Rep. Carolyn Maloney on the strategy and drafting of H.R. 4007 (105th Congress) for the declassification of the U.S. government's secret Nazi war crimes files. The legislation was passed in 1998 as Senate Bill 1379, and signed by President Clinton that year.