Litigation — trials before juries or judges, arbitration, mediation and appeals — is at the core of Shatzkin & Mayer 's practice. We approach each litigation as if it will be tried in a court, projecting the confidence and experience which often result in favorable settlements for our clients.

• Brought successful declaratory judgment action to defend filmmaker's right under copyright and privacy laws to use works of prominent Christian rock star in a critical biographical documentary film.
• Won a $3-million jury verdict for a U.K. book publisher against its U.S. distributor after a three-week trial in federal district court.
• Won a multi-million dollar jury verdict in federal district court for an award-winning designer who had been locked out by his joint venturer, which exploited his designs without compensating or crediting him. The post-verdict settlement not only provided for payment to the client, but the closing down of the partner's competing business and the referral of all pending orders to the client.
• Won summary judgment on all claims for an independent record company that was sued for copyright infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Obtained an arbitrator's award against a top advertising agency, after a full evidentiary hearing, for the entire amount sought by a renowned design firm.
  Negotiated a solution to a year-long impasse ending the New York City Department of Environmental Protection's shut-down of the children's carousel designed by our client for Riverbank State Park.
• By obtaining injunctive relief and a seizure order, recovered a well-known photographer's body of work which his former gallery had refused to turn over in violation of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law.
• Obtained a financial settlement after a week-long jury trial for a fashion photographer who sued his former business manager for breach of fiduciary duty.
• Won dismissal, which was affirmed on appeal, of a literary agent's claim for commissions on all income generated by book sales and theatrical productions of our client's Obie award-winning play.
• On behalf of a major French bank, by means of a motion in New York Supreme Court, attached ASCAP earnings of a French celebrity against whom the bank had previously been unsuccessful in its attempts to collect on a large debt. Thereafter, oversaw all of the French bank's U.S. litigation.
• On behalf of a Cuban-born drummer with charted Hit-Parade recordings, won dismissal of claims brought by former manager's widow to commission the client's income; then won affirmance on appeal.
• Obtained quick settlement of independent filmmaker's copyright claims against cable television network and record company that exploited his work without authorization.
• Settled without litigation a copyright claim by a photographer against a painter who copied one of the photographer's works in a painting without the photographer's permission.
• Represented the wife of a late-night television personality who had loaned her entire life savings to enable the purchase of a prime New York City property but never received the mortgage or other repayment documents promised in return; after one day of trial, entered into a substantial settlement.
• After commencing litigation in the New York Surrogate's Court on behalf of family members of a deceased artist whose executor had for five years failed to distribute their bequests, negotiated a settlement under which the family obtained two-thirds of the Estate's artworks.
• Defeated a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for trade-dress infringement and dilution brought by a New York real-estate empire against a start-up real-estate brokerage.
• Currently representing artists' estates and collectors in the bankruptcies and litigations arising out of the high-profile collapse of the Salander-O'Reilly art gallery.
• Obtained quick settlement of independent filmmaker's copyright claims against cable television network and record company that exploited his work without authorization.
• Settled without litigation a copyright claim by a photographer against a painter who copied one of the photographer's works in a painting without the photographer's permission.
• Represented the wife of a late-night television personality who had loaned her entire life savings to enable the purchase of a prime New York City property but never received the mortgage or other repayment documents promised in return; after one day of trial, entered into a substantial settlement.
• After commencing litigation in the New York Surrogate's Court on behalf of family members of a deceased artist whose executor had for five years failed to distribute their bequests, negotiated a settlement under which the family obtained two-thirds of the Estate's artworks.
• Defeated a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for trade-dress infringement and dilution brought by a New York real-estate empire against a start-up real-estate brokerage.
• Currently representing artists' estates and collectors in the bankruptcies and litigations arising out of the high-profile collapse of the Salander-O'Reilly art gallery.