Franklin H. Levy
Attorney Contact Info:
Phone: 617.439.4990
Fax: 617.439.3987
Professional Bio:
Bar Admissions:
Massachusetts
Education:
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. 1971
Yale University, B.S., 1968
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Boston Bar Association
Massachusetts Bar Association
Practice Description:
Franklin H. Levy joined Lawson & Weitzen, LLP in 2011 as a Partner. He has over thirty-five years of diverse experience. Much of his career has been spent in Boston as a trial lawyer, focusing his practice on a wide range of personal and business issues. He represents individuals in divorce and probate trials, officers, directors and shareholders in corporate litigation, property owners and developers in real estate disputes, and other contentious and high stake areas of the law. In 2005 Mr. Levy left private practice and joined the Las Vegas Sands Corp, where he served as counsel to the company. In that role he managed the company's worldwide litigation, oversaw its trademark portfolio, negotiated gaming related matters and spearheaded government relations issues in Asia. While in Las Vegas, Mr. Levy also assisted in the establishment and representation of a significant family office. He rejoined Duane Morris in 2010 and was a member of its Trial Practice Group and Gaming Industry Group before joining Lawson & Weitzen.
A member of the Boston and Massachusetts bar associations, Mr. Levy is a 1971 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was president of his class, and a 1968 graduate of Yale College.
Areas of Practice:
Litigation, Family Law, Divorce, Business Law, , Real Estate, and Gaming and Casino Law
Cases & Clients:
• Represented the majority shareholder of a closely held corporation in a suit brought by minority shareholders, who sold their stock for $100 million less than they would have received had they held their stock until the majority shareholder sold the company two months later. The jury returned a defense verdict for the majority shareholder on all counts.
• Represented numerous high-net-worth individuals and spouses of such individuals in divorce proceedings involving contested issues of asset valuation, property division and alimony.
• Established and managed one of the largest family offices in the United States.
• Obtained significant monetary settlement for real-estate developer on its breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims against its investment bank for the bank's failure to fund the closings of numerous sale/leaseback transactions. Discovery uncovered scheme by the bank's lending officers to squeeze out the developer and seize the highly profitable deals for a company in which they held an interest.
• Managed and settled significant defamation claims against a British tabloid.
• Obtained judgment on behalf of company and individuals sued in $20 million theft of trade secrets and source code case.
• Served as Counsel to Sands Aviation, the largest private flight department in the United States.
Managed negotiations for the acquisition of a foreign casino.
• Obtained judgment in federal court on behalf of a of public company sued by Harvard University for trademark infringement for the use of "Harvard" in corporate identity.
• Represented principals in the acquisition of a Las Vegas casino property.
• While Counsel to Las Vegas Sands Corp., managed litigation involving hundreds of millions of dollars in claims for finders' fees relating to the award of a foreign gaming license.
• Represented designer and manufacturer of collectible currency replicas in copyright infringe ment case against national marketing company. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the trial court's findings that artistic replicas of actual currency were entitled to copyright protection, reached a confidential settlement with the defendant and its insurers.
Obtained judgment on behalf of a commercial landlord against claims by major tenant of constructive eviction on account of toxic mold.
SIGNIFICANT RECENT DECISIONS
Adelson v. Adelson, 60 Mass. App Ct.753 (2004)
Adelson v. Hananel, 510 F.3d 43 (1st Cir, 2007)
President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Harvard Bioscience, 204 F. Supp. 2d 134,(Dist. Mass. 2002)
Selected Publications:
• Co-author, "Privacy Rights and Celebrities: Truth, Fiction and Biopics," Duane Morris LLP, January 20, 2011
• Co-author, "The SPEECH Act: speaking softly?," The First Amendment Center, October 12, 2010
• Co-founder Nantucket Magazine
PUBLISHED NOVELS
Die Decorator Die (Phoenix Books 2008) and Die Gossip Die (2010) . Mr. Levy’s books have won praise from the late Robert B. Parker (“compelling story…brilliantly told…”) and others. He has lectured on writing to groups around the country and most recently spoke to the Literary Committee of the New York County Bar Association.
