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Kenneth Rosenthal
tel: 203.772.2600 |
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Practice Focus
Mr. Rosenthal has been a trial lawyer in Connecticut for more than 25 years, during which he has handled hundreds of cases, including more than 30 completed trials. In addition to Connecticut, he has been admitted (on a pro hac basis) to handle cases in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. He is a strong believer in combining aggressive advocacy with cost-effective client-approved strategies, incorporating a practical and business approach in the prosecution and defense of cases.
Mr. Rosenthal’s practice is primarily concentrated in the following areas:
· Business litigation
· Accounting and other professional liability
· Insurance litigation
· Civil and criminal tax matters
· Complex commercial and financial litigation
He also has experience in bankruptcy cases, construction litigation, trade secrets and IP, environmental cases, partnership and shareholder disputes, real estate cases, employment law, appellate litigation, the defense of criminal cases in state and federal court, and examination and qualification of expert witnesses.
Representative Matters
General Civil and Criminal Litigation
· Breach of contract action against Shell Oil, involving nation-wide sites. Working with partners David Schaefer and Rowena Moffett, Mr. Rosenthal and his colleagues faced down a team of two large Hartford law firms retained by Shell, and obtained a substantial jury verdict in favor of their client.
· Federal court litigation, seeking injunctive and declaratory judgment relief to recover proprietary IP on behalf of the developers of the IP. Within two months of the filing, including pretrial proceedings in several Midwestern jurisdictions, the clients reacquired the IP without any payment to defendant.
· Defended insurance executives against trade secrets action by publicly traded insurance company (represented by state’s largest law firm) seeking to enjoin executives from working for competitor. Following expedited discovery, injunction application was withdrawn and case resolved without trial.
· Interference with contract and unfair trade practices claim against multiple defendants. Opposed by three law firms, and following 15 pretrial depositions and several days of trial, Mr. Rosenthal’s client obtained settlement payments exceeding in aggregate the amount calculated by its own forensic expert.
· Commercial arbitration challenging investment banker fees claimed by prominent securities firm in multi-million dollar merger. In single-handed battle with one of New Jersey’s largest law firms, Mr. Rosenthal successfully demonstrated that no fee should be awarded.
· Vexatious litigation action brought against international fence manufacturer and its law firm, following Mr. Rosenthal’s successful defense against unfounded claims of misrepresentation and civil conspiracy against an accounting firm (see below, under “Accounting Cases”).
· Numerous adversary proceedings in federal bankruptcy court involving fraudulent conveyance, fiduciary duty, secured and unsecured claims, and complex bankruptcy-related procedural matters.
· Brought in for defendant after $2,000,000 default judgment in Georgia, and summary judgment entered in Connecticut to enforce the Georgia judgment, Mr. Rosenthal persuaded the Connecticut judge to reverse prior summary judgment, and, further, to enter summary judgment on defendant’s behalf – a reversal of fortunes that effectively erased a $2,000,000 liability.
· United States v. Dennis Hoskie. Mr. Rosenthal was appointed by the federal court to defend against a prosecution under the felon-in-possession-of-firearms statute. Despite overwhelming odds, Mr. Rosenthal utilized recent case law to argue that jurors could determine for themselves whether possession of a firearm, while riding a bicycle, satisfied the necessary interstate “nexus”. Facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 17 years, the defendant was acquitted by the jury on all charges.
· State v. Murray Colton. Highly publicized murder prosecution turning on testimony of single supposed eye-witness. Following multiple trials and two successful state supreme court appeals, Mr. Rosenthal interposed a double jeopardy defense to stave off a fourth trial, calling the trial prosecutor to the stand in an unprecedented eight-day proceeding, and ultimately obtaining dismissal of all charges.
Accounting Cases
· Malpractice action for alleged failure to detect embezzlement by company controller -- pending.
· Defended accountants of fence retailer against $3 million malpractice claim brought by trade creditor of retailer. Following extensive pretrial proceedings and three days of trial in which Mr. Rosenthal aggressively cross-examined plaintiff’s key witnesses, the case was withdrawn without any payment by accounting firm.
· Claim by Illinois company against St. Louis-based accountants, claiming negligent audit services. Mr. Rosenthal achieved cost-effective early settlement at a fraction of the original demand.
· Breach of contract action brought by large financial services company against accounting firm -- settled following depositions and mediation at less than half the contract amount sought.
· Malpractice action by tax and accounting client convicted of tax fraud, seeking indemnification for losses and penalties incurred as a result of conviction. Case was dismissed without any payment.
· Defense against claim of improper termination brought by one founding shareholder/”partner” of closely held accounting firm. Case settled for less than 15% of plaintiff’s demand.
Tax Cases: Mr. Rosenthal has handled a broad range of federal and state tax litigation, including:
· Criminal and civil tax investigation of tire dealer - resolved at 10% of state’s original figures
· Civil & criminal audits of produce distributor’s business deductions - criminal charges dropped;, civil audit favorably settled with IRS
· Test case in which State claimed sales tax on inter-company payments - judgment for taxpayer following trial
· “Reasonable compensation” assessment against CEO of closely held scrap metal business - settled on eve of Tax Court trial at fraction of original IRS demand
· Numerous commercial property tax appeals, involving industrial and commercial establishments, apartment complexes, retail properties, and large condominium complexes
Criminal Defense: Mr. Rosenthal has more than twenty years of experience in defending criminal cases. In addition to Colton and Hoskie noted above, these matters have included:
· jury acquittals in murder, arson, assault and sexual assault cases
· white collar defense of federal environmental prosecution
· federal criminal tax investigations
· litigation involving juvenile court transfer procedures
· appellate reversals in a wide range of cases
Professional Background
Mr. Rosenthal is a member of the Connecticut and New Haven County Bar Associations, and the CBA Committee on Liaison with Accountants. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law (high honors), the M.S. in Accounting program at the UConn Business School, and Yale College (cum laude).
Before joining BSW, Mr. Rosenthal was an Assistant Public Defender in New Haven, CT, concentrating in felony trials and appeals. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Rosenthal currently teaches a graduate course in Business Law and Public Accounting at the University of Connecticut School of Business, and Accounting for Lawyers at the Quinnipiac School of Law. He previously taught courses in criminal appellate litigation and in criminal procedure at the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac (Univ. of Bridgeport) Schools of Law.
Mr. Rosenthal’s publications include: Vexatious Litigation in Connecticut: Malicious Prosecution of Civil Actions, Probable Cause and Lawyer Liability, 84 Conn. B. J. 255 (2010); Prosecutor Misconduct and Double Jeopardy, 71 Temple L. Rev. 887 (1998); and Connecticut’s New Preliminary Hearing, 5 Bridgeport L. Rev. 1 (1983)
Brenner, Saltzman & Wallman LLP 271 Whitney Ave. New Haven, CT. Tel: 203.772.2600