Webcast: Litigating Article 78 Challenges to Government Action in New York

October 17, 2019

With New York City and State agencies and government officials—from the Attorney General to the New York State Department of Financial Services to the New York City Department of Buildings—taking a more and more aggressive role in policing virtually every industry operating in New York, it has become critical for regulated industries to understand their legal options in challenging New York State and City agency regulations, executive determinations, and government policies. The primary vehicle for doing so is the Article 78 proceeding, brought in New York State Supreme Court.

In this one-hour presentation, two of our most experienced partners in the field of challenging government action in New York—Mylan Denerstein and Akiva Shapiro—provide practical and strategic guidance for the successful prosecution of these sometimes misunderstood summary proceedings. Using real-world examples from their practice, they will discuss the primary strategic issues that you should consider in deciding whether to bring an Article 78 action (versus, for example, a suit in federal court); provide a roadmap for Article 78 actions and keys to success; and discuss the procedural hurdles actors often throw up in defending against these actions, and ways of neutralizing them. The program is beneficial to anyone regulated or affected by actions taken by New York City and State agencies and officials.

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PANELISTS:

Mylan Denerstein is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Ms. Denerstein is Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Public Policy Practice Group and a member of the Crisis Management, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Labor and Employment, Securities Litigation, and Appellate Practice Groups. Ms. Denerstein leads complex litigation and internal investigations, representing companies in their most critical times, typically involving state, municipal, and federal government agencies. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ms. Denerstein served as Counsel to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo; in a diverse array of legal positions in New York State and City agencies; and as a federal prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Denerstein was named to the 2019 list of “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business and the 2019 “Law Power 50” list by City & State.

Akiva Shapiro is a litigation partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he is a member of the Firm’s Appellate and Constitutional Law, Media & Entertainment, Securities Litigation, and Betting & Gaming Practice Groups. Mr. Shapiro’s practice focuses on a broad range of high-stakes constitutional, commercial, and appellate litigation matters, including Article 78, First Amendment, Due Process, and statutory challenges to government actions and regulations. He is regularly engaged in front of New York’s trial courts, federal and state courts of appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and has been named a Super Lawyers New York Metro “Rising Star” in Constitutional Law.