Erik S. Groothuis
Erik Groothuis, a member of the Firm’s management committee, has spent over 25 years litigating complex commercial disputes in New York City. He is widely recognized for his tenacious advocacy, strong writing and oral advocacy, and unflappable judgment. His matters have been covered by the New York Times, New York Daily News, and New York Post. He focuses on three main areas:
- Financial services litigation
- Real estate litigation
- Professional liability (legal and accounting malpractice) litigation
Erik also regularly represents clients in business divorce, breach of contract, corporate governance, defamation, insurance, investor and securities fraud, cryptocurrency disputes, and business-torts litigation, as well as related appeals. He often litigates at home in the Commercial Divisions of New York’s state courts and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, but has represented clients in courts throughout the United States, as well as in FINRA and AAA arbitrations. Erik has been retained on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in legal malpractice litigation.
Clients depend on Erik’s counsel to resolve their issues and get on with their lives and businesses. Known for his ability to generate superior work product, Erik is tenacious, efficient, and always mindful of the client's bottom line.
Erik also negotiates employment and severance agreements and other commercial contracts such as licensing, purchase and sale, and services agreements.
In 2022, Erik was appointed to the American Arbitration Association's roster of neutrals and maintains an active practice serving as an arbitrator in commercial cases. He is certified as a Small Claims Court arbitrator in New York County and is a Mediator trained by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, Business Litigation, 2022-2024
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, General Litigation, 2022-2024
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, Securities Litigation, 2022-2024
Additional Publications
Choice of Law and Forum Selection Clauses: Do They Really Matter?; Inside, A Publication of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association; Spring/Summer 2019, Publication Link
- Representing condo and co-op owners in tort and contract disputes with boards, management companies, and neighbors;
- Representing buy-side clients (high net worth individuals, hedge funds, and special purpose entities) in litigation against Wall Street banks based on investment losses and contractual disputes;
- Representing foreign real estate investment fund in dispute over prominent hotel property in New York’s Times Square;
- Representing hedge funds in high-stakes contract and tort disputes with counterparties, such as trade, valuation, and employment disputes;
- Representing cryptocurrency exchange in employment matters, contract disputes, and defense of class action claims;
- Representing podcasting company founded by brothers Preet and Vinit Bharara in contract litigation;
- Prosecuting and defending legal and accounting malpractice claims;
- Won plaintiff’s verdict as trial counsel after three-week jury trial representing the producers of a Broadway musical in a tort and breach of contract action involving anonymous emails that allegedly destroyed the production (see Rebecca Broadway LP v. Hotton, 173 A.D.3d 71 (1st Dep’t 2016)).
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/theater/trial-for-broadways-rebecca-scandal-begins.html?searchResultPosition=2
- https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/rebecca-publicist-loses-round-in-lawsuit-over-shows-travails/?searchResultPosition=3
- https://nypost.com/2017/04/24/broadway-vet-sued-for-allegedly-scaring-off-deep-pocketed-investor-for-production/
- Representing large national payments-processing company in contract dispute;
- Representing Germain bank in claims against investment banks and trustees based on the purchase of residential mortgage-backed securities;
- Representing real-estate developers in claims brought by condominium purchasers and tenants;
- Represented former employee of prominent sports agency in claims against agency based on unpaid commissions;
- Representing hedge-fund managers in enforcement actions brought by the SEC and FINRA;
- Winning an award against an investment bank in a FINRA arbitration involving auction-rate securities;
- Representing a French financial-services company in a dispute about the purchase of a Mexican insurance company;
- Representing a marketing and networking firm in a breach of contract action against a biotech company engaged in research against fungal disease (Foundation Ventures, LLC v. F2G, Ltd., 2010 WL 3187294 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2010));
- Representing a corporation in the retail jewelry industry involved in a dispute with an Italian luxury jewelry manufacturer;
- Winning summary judgment for a foreign affiliate of an international accounting firm in a malpractice action brought by liquidators of a Cayman Islands-domiciled hedge fund;
- Winning dismissal on the pleadings for a foreign affiliate of an international accounting firm in a federal securities action brought by hedge fund investors (Fraternity Fund Ltd. v. Beacon Hill Asset Mgmt. LLC, 376 F. Supp. 2d 443 (S.D.N.Y. 2005));
- Representing the Italian affiliate of an international accounting firm in: (1) a securities class action; (2) a suit by the administrator of a bankrupt Italian dairy conglomerate; and (3) suits by trustees of its U.S. subsidiaries. Obtained dismissal at pleadings stage in two related actions (In re Parmalat Sec. Litig., 501 F. Supp. 2d 560 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).)
Erik moderates and speaks at New York State and New York City bar association panels on topics such as New York State court practice and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, Business Litigation, 2022-2024
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, General Litigation, 2022-2024
- Selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers® list, Securities Litigation, 2022-2024
- Curtis Caton Mentoring Award from Heller Ehrman LLP
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- Vice President of the New York American Inn of Court, 2014
- Temple Judea in Manhasset, New York
- President, 2016 - 2018
- Board of Trustees, 2015-2021
Press coverage of Silverman v. Park Towers Tenants Corp.
Press coverage of Rebecca Broadway LP v. Hotton
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/theater/trial-for-broadways-rebecca-scandal-begins.html?searchResultPosition=2
- https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/rebecca-publicist-loses-round-in-lawsuit-over-shows-travails/?searchResultPosition=3
- https://nypost.com/2017/04/24/broadway-vet-sued-for-allegedly-scaring-off-deep-pocketed-investor-for-production/
Press coverage of Juan Carlos Nunez v. ACES
“Litigation is storytelling.”