TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew Samalin
Welcome to Lawyers Who Care. The video show podcast that highlights attorneys who go above and beyond for their clients. On each episode, we will meet a new lawyer, and they will share stories of when they went beyond legal counsel for the benefit of their client. My name is Andrew Samalin, and I’m the principal of Samalin Wealth, a nationally recognized wealth management firm for lawyers, their families, and their clients. Let’s applaud lawyers who care and learn from them. Today my guest is Aaron Pierce. He is a partner in Pierce & Kwok. Aaron is a business attorney and litigator based in New York City, and he represents clients across a wide range of corporate transactions and commercial litigations. Welcome Aaron.
Aaron Pierce
Thank you, Andrew. Thank you for having me.
Andrew Samalin
Aaron, tell us how you came to the law.
Aaron Pierce
So I have a little bit more of a circuitous path. I double majored in college and political science and theater, which, looking back, is a perfect double major for a lawyer, especially a trial attorney. But I moved to New York City immediately after college and spent a decade pursuing music and theater, playing on stage in bands, acting in television and theater in New York, and put together a pretty solid resume over the course of 10 years, but then also realized that that was a difficult way to earn a steady income. So that put me into the hospitality industry. Over those same 10 years, I became an owner of a few different bars and restaurants and clubs in New York City. I still am an owner of restaurants and clubs in the city, and that became tiresome as well, in that it’s exhausting and it’s hard. It makes lawyering look easy to some extent. So I went back to school and I went back to law school. I went to Fordham at the age of 30, and graduated at 33 while I was running my clubs, and then started my own firm right out of the gates. I had opened so many businesses and dealt with so many attorneys, a lot of them with whom I befriended, that I had a veritable army of advocates and consultants and people that helped me open the firm and to deal with things as they were new and as we developed. So that was 15 years ago, plus now I turned 50 this year, spent this weekend sending out invites to a 50th birthday party that I’m excited about. So the firm’s 15 years old, and it’s developed nicely. We’re in Tribeca in Manhattan, and we’re largely entertainment based, but I am a commercial litigator as well, and an entrepreneurial counselor of all sorts. We represent a lot of hospitality units in the city, over 300 spaces. I’m the General Counsel to the Chelsea Film Festival and the Bucha Film Festival. So we do a lot of film and theater work, and that provides fodder for a lot of litigation, a lot of drama, if you will.
Andrew Samalin
And speaking of you know your background in both theater and law and music, there was an unusual approach and on a particular case that you were working on, do you want to share a little bit of that backstory, and then maybe a little bit of the of the actual opening, opening salvo?
Aaron Pierce
Sure, sure. So the case that we were discussing was actually, it was a little bit of a left turn from what was an entertainment client. He also doubled as a high end car dealer, and he was dealing, I think, at the time, four or five, you know, McCarran, there was a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, etc, and the deal was worked through a broker out of state in Virginia, and the broker, something smelled fishy. The cars were delivered, and the money was never delivered. So there was a lawsuit against the buyer and the broker that I represented the plaintiff, and we filed suit, and we used diversity jurisdiction to put it into federal court in the southern district here in Manhattan, and it was an uphill battle, because we’re suing the broker, and under normal law, brokers are exempt there. They have no liability in these sort of deals. They can kind of set it and forget it, and if it goes sideways, it’s not their fault. They just put the deal together and they sort of wash their hands of it. That said, there are extenuating circumstances and disingenuous circumstances that can bring liability back up onto a broker depending on their malfeasance and the specific circumstances of the deal. But nonetheless, because the law’s broker is not liable in these sort of deals, it was definitely an uphill battle. I requested a jury because I wanted the human element to be part of the decision process and not have just a bench trial with a judge strictly following the law, and that was going to require a certain bit of education as to why, you know, you explain to the jury why, yes, under law, broker is not liable, but in this circumstance, they absolutely should be right. So it wasn’t the opening arguments. Now that I look back, it was the closing arguments, and it was after four days of trial, lots of testimony, I was able to put the broker in the hot seat, and he did not look good after I was done with him, and come the morning of closing arguments, I started with ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Thank you again very much for your service. In this case, I feel good about things, not that I know what conclusions you’ve drawn based upon the evidence you’ve seen and testimony you’ve heard, but I do feel like both sides have been given a fair shake within our justice system. I don’t always feel that way, but here, I think each side really got to tell their story to get the full scope of the matter and issues at hand on the table and over to you in sufficient detail to allow you to decide what happened here and who’s responsible for the loss of over half a million dollars, if you permit me a brief aside, the court we’re in right now, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, is one of the oldest and most influential federal courts in the United States. You know, it’s informally called and well known as the mother court. The District Court of New York held its first session on the first Tuesday of November in 1789 here in lower Manhattan, presided over by Judge James Duane, who was appointed by President George Washington. This court was the very first court to sit under the United States Constitution, even preceding the United States Supreme Court by a few months. Anyway, the reason I mentioned this is to emphasize that this Court has been protecting people, citizens and non-citizens alike, for literally hundreds of years, a paragon of protection, if you will, for those of you who have been slighted, taken advantage of by others in more powerful positions, and a place that is very familiar with setting precedent, laying down the law, if you will, and stating to the country in certain terms, what’s right and what’s wrong. This is the obligation you have today. Before you you’ve heard the evidence from what little I know of each of you. You all have very intelligent and very well educated minds and more than capable of drawing what I see as pretty clear and obvious conclusions based upon what you’ve seen and heard in this courtroom over the past few days. As the court will tell you, it is your recollection of the evidence and yours alone that governs so this was thank you for allowing me the dissertation and reading that directly, but that was, you know, I wanted to set the pace for their deliberations right the jury’s deliberations, meaning to look past the black letter of the law and realize that they’re sitting in a very powerful position, that they have discretion, that they can listen to the evidence, and yes, there’s This law on the books, but do the circumstances in this scenario actually define a decision that goes maybe against the black letter of the law? And they came out very much on our side. My client jumped from the table in open court and hugged me, almost knocked me over. He was tearing up. It was a pretty emotional moment, but it was a fabulous win, one of my favorite moments in the 15 years that I’ve been practicing, and it illustrates, you know, sort of the paradigm that we bring to the table for a lot of our clients, which is we’re willing to think outside the box, we’re willing to speak plainly, we’re willing to mitigate expectations, tell the painful truth if necessary, and we’re very sensitive to a client capacity, both financially and intellectually, and as far as their time and energy that they’re willing to commit. So it’s kept clients happy over the years. We have a fabulous bunch of recommendations and referrals and a very organic network, and it’s created a certain degree of success that we’re proud of.
Andrew Samalin
Wonderful well, you should be. Everyone, this is my very special guest, Aaron Pierce. He’s a partner in Pearson Kwok in New York City. Aaron, maybe you can provide our audience with your contact information.
Aaron Pierce
Sure. My name is Aaron Pierce. I am a partner at Pierce and Kwok, LLP. We’re readily available via a Google search. We’re in Tribeca in Manhattan at 299 Broadway, between Dwayne and Reed, the famous drugstore and a block from the courts, which is necessary, because I’m down there on a daily basis. It’s Suite 1405, New York, New York 10007. Again, that’s Pierce & Kwok, LLP. 299 Broadway, Suite 1405 New York, New York 10007. The phone number to the firm is 212-882-1752, and I have a business cell for immediate contact which clients appreciate, which is 1-347-678-7262.
Andrew Samalin
Wonderful. Everyone. This has been the Lawyers Who Care. The podcast that highlights attorneys who go above and beyond for their clients. If you’re an attorney or know one who does go above and beyond, feel free to reach out to us. Aaron, thank you so much for joining us today.
Aaron Pierce
You’re very welcome. Thank you again for having me. Andrew, it’s a pleasure.
