Kostas Katsiris

Kostas D. Katsiris is an accomplished commercial litigator and powerful advocate for his clients. Kostas represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex disputes in federal and state courts in New York and throughout the United States, and in private mediations and arbitrations.

Clients in financial services, real estate, media and entertainment, retailing, construction, hospitality, and hotel management seek his counsel and advocacy in all manner of disputes, including securities actions, contract disputes, business torts, data security breaches, corporate governance disputes, and bankruptcy-related matters.

Kostas is equally comfortable representing plaintiffs and defendants and is known for his zealous and creative advocacy. His diverse experience spans the entire process of litigation and arbitration, from the investigation and pleading stages through discovery and trial.

In the class action arena, Kostas has been involved in some of the largest class actions on record and has defeated class certification and narrowed claims through motion practice. He has also served as a federal court-appointed special master in a complex consumer fraud class action.

Kostas regularly represents banks, investment advisors, hedge funds, private equity firms, broker-dealers, and officers and directors in civil litigation.

He also represents real estate developers, landlords, and commercial tenants in breach of contract and business tort cases; hotel management companies in disputes concerning management and franchise agreements; special servicers in the Commercial Mortgage-Backed Security (CMBS) industry; and other high-profile clients in a number of different industries.

Kostas also has substantial experience conducting confidential internal investigations relating to sensitive legal issues.

Experience :

• Represented clients in securities actions brought under federal and state securities laws
• Represented clients in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) matters, including internal investigations concerning reporting obligations and conduct
• Represented defendants in breach of contract disputes and business torts, including claims of tortious interference; won dismissal of suits alleging in excess of $50 million in damages
• In plaintiff’s-side matters, has recovered millions of dollars for clients, and helped them restructure business and contractual arrangements
• Defeated negligence and nuisance claims against the nation’s largest deconstruction and abatement company, related to the reconstruction of the World Trade Center area in Lower Manhattan; the defense theory was later adopted by other, similarly situated defendants
• Defended a real estate developer’s ability to complete the renovation of a building in Manhattan and defeated claims of injunctive relief brought by an adjacent landowner
• Represented the senior lender and various junior lenders in inter-creditor disputes arising out of the multi-billion-dollar financing of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town
• Represented a prominent private equity firm in litigation arising out of the bankruptcy of one of its portfolio companies, a well-known mortgage lender; involved bankruptcy-related claims asserted by an unsecured creditor’s committee, as well as securities-related tort claims asserted by sophisticated hedge fund creditors
• Represented a leading global investment bank and underwriter of asset-backed securities in an adversary proceeding brought by a litigation trustee in federal bankruptcy court
• Represented an investment adviser and its affiliates in Chapter 15 proceedings related to an application by debtors for recognition of restructuring proceedings in the Cayman Islands
• Obtained an order denying lead plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in a putative shareholder class action; order was based on testimony elicited during the depositions of lead plaintiffs
• Served as a federal court-appointed special master in a complex consumer fraud class action involving hidden images in a well-known video game; oversaw the notice and claims administration procedures.

Education :

• J.D. cum laude University of Pennsylvania Law School 1999
• B.B.A. High Distinction University of Michigan 1996

Bar Admissions : New York

Court Admissions :

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Clerk Experience : Honorable Shirley Wohl Kram U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York 1999 2001.

Professional Memberships :

• Member, Federal Bar Council
• Member, Hellenic Lawyers Association of New York
• Member, International Bar Association
• Member, New York City Bar Association; Secretary, Government Ethics Committee, 2008 – 2011

Community : Served as a mentor to young adults and teenagers through the Year Up and Citizen Schools programs.