Practice Area
Additional Counsel — Governance, Real Estate, FOIL/OPRA & Article 78
The rest of the general counsel toolkit.
Outside general counsel means covering the full landscape of issues a business encounters. Beyond our featured practice areas, we regularly counsel clients on:
- Corporate governance, M&A & joint ventures — entity formation and structure, board procedures, due diligence, and deal structuring
- Real estate & land use — commercial transactions, purchase and sale, commercial lease drafting and negotiation for landlords and tenants, zoning, permits, easements, and licenses
- Public records — NYS FOIL & NJ OPRA — drafting and pursuing Freedom of Information Law and Open Public Records Act requests, fighting improper denials and delays through administrative appeals, and litigating when agencies won't comply. We also counsel businesses on protecting their trade secrets and confidential information from disclosure in records held by government agencies
- Administrative proceedings — OATH & agency hearings — defending businesses and individuals in proceedings before the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) and other administrative tribunals, from summonses and license matters through hearing and appeal
- Article 78 proceedings — challenging arbitrary, capricious, or unlawful determinations by New York state and local agencies in court. Strict deadlines apply — often four months from the final determination — so move quickly
- Data privacy — data use agreements, data protection frameworks, and privacy provisions in commercial contracts
If your matter doesn't fit neatly into a category, ask. If it's outside our depth, we'll tell you — and help you find the right specialist.
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Additional Counsel Areas — FAQ
My FOIL or OPRA request was denied. Can I fight it?
Usually, yes — and often successfully. Denials trigger a short administrative appeal window, and many denials don’t survive a well-argued appeal because the agency over-read an exemption or never justified it. If the appeal fails, court review is available, and agencies that deny without a reasonable basis can be ordered to pay attorney’s fees. Bring us the denial promptly.
The agency just never responds to my records request. Is that legal?
Indefinite silence and serial extensions can amount to a constructive denial — which means you don’t have to keep waiting. We convert stalled requests into appeals and, where needed, court proceedings that put the agency on a judge’s clock instead of its own.
How long do I have to file an Article 78 proceeding?
Generally four months from when the agency’s determination becomes final and binding — and courts enforce it strictly. Determining when the clock started is itself a legal question full of traps. If you’ve received an adverse agency decision, contact us the week it arrives, not month three.
I received an OATH summons. Should I just pay it?
Not before understanding the consequences — some violations carry licensing and escalation consequences that dwarf the fine, and paying may admit the violation. Many OATH matters are defensible on procedural or factual grounds. A free consultation will tell you whether this one is worth fighting.
A competitor filed a records request for our bid documents. Can we stop our pricing from being disclosed?
Often, yes — trade secret and competitive-injury exemptions can protect your pricing and proprietary information, but you have to assert and substantiate them, ideally starting when you first submit documents to the agency. If you’ve received notice that your records are about to be released, the response window is short. Call us immediately.