| Biography:
Leonard S. Baum is counsel in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department
and is resident in the New York office of Proskauer Rose LLP.
Len has been engaged, on trial and appellate levels and in international and
domestic arbitrations, in a broad array of complex commercial litigations for
over 38 years. In addition to recovering hundreds of millions in verdicts and
settlements, Len has successfully counseled many clients on how to avoid, prepare
for or resolve disputes before they become significant problems. He has extensive
experience in the real estate field; in uncovering diverse fraudulent practices;
in intra-partnership (including law firms) and corporate disputes; trust and
estate-related disputes, including accountings and contested probate proceedings;
entertainment, publishing, copyright and trademark litigation; insurance coverage;
securities, bankruptcy, antitrust and many other areas of business activities.
Len is well known for his solid analysis of difficult situations and his imaginative
solutions.
Recently Len recovered over $46,500,000 from the Victim Compensation Fund following
hearings on behalf of 11 families who lost spouses and children in the September
11, 2001 attacks. He also recently implemented a strategy through federal and
state proceedings that enabled a New York real estate holding family to end
decades of litigation and dispose of numerous properties, thereby generating
over $75 million from money-losing operations. Len has represented a number
of institutional and private real estate developers for many years, involving
residential and commercial properties. In one case he enabled an institutional
client to secure a $230 million judgment and to take title to a major shopping
mall. A recent settlement resulted in the successful defense of an estate accounting
case implicating valuable commercial property in New York.
In the arbitration arena, following complex discovery proceedings in New York
and hearings abroad, Len recovered a $21 million award for a prominent Saudi
businessman in an ICC arbitration in London based on claims for breach of contract
and fiduciary duty and fraud. For another client he secured a multimillion dollar,
exclusive 10-year distribution agreement for important generic drugs in the
Gulf region through an international arbitration in Toronto. In another matter,
Len prepared the damages phase in a $400 million arbitration in the Middle East
against a major multinational manufacturer. Those matters followed the successful
recovery of a $9.6 million investment by a Central African businessman who had
been defrauded by his New York associate. A sample of other representations
include the successful defense of a $13 million breach of contract claim arising
from the sale of a radio property; the prosecution of copyright, trademark and
contract claims for a leading author and publisher in protracted federal and
state proceedings leading to a confidential settlement; and the successful settlement
of a breach of employment agreement claim for a high profile record industry
executive.
Len also has successfully defended several white-collar criminal cases in Federal
Court including matters dealing with perjury, customs violations, bribery and
tax fraud.
In the entertainment industry Len has represented United Artists in a wide variety
of matters, UA Television, ITC Films, and Orion Pictures. Among the institutional
clients Len has served are Occidental Petroleum, J.P. Morgan Investment Management
and Merrill Lynch Interfunding. Len has handled many other diverse matters for
clients in the United States and abroad and has consistently delivered outstanding
results.
Len received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law in
1965, and received his B.A. from New York University in 1962. While in
law school, Len served on the Annual Survey of American Law. Len lectured at
the New York State Bar Association Program in 2001 on "Pros and Cons of
Arbitration and Litigation from a Trial Attorney's Perspective." He also
was a lecturer at the ABA 2001 Spring meeting, where he discussed international
arbitration.
Len is a member of the Federal Bar Council and the New York State Bar Association.
After successfully protecting a major estate gift for public television, Len
was asked to serve as Chairman of Thirteen/WNET Professional Advisors' Board
for Gift Planning. Len has also engaged in pro bono work, including most recently
providing assistance to relatives of World Trade Center victims.
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