The original law suit was put forth by Perelman's law firms, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Whatron & Garrison and Lownestein Sandler. The suit claims that Perelman and his ex-wife's daughter, Samantha Perelman, is entitled to half of Robert Cohen's fortune, which looms somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. That claim might seem a bit off, seeing as how Robert Cohen has six grandchildren. Perelman claims, however, that his former father-in-law promised that money to Claudia, and as the executor of her estate, it was his duty to sue.
Perelman's suit was dismissed and now a New Jersey state court judge, Ellen Koblitz, has ordered Perelman's two firms to pay nearly $2 million to pay the legal fees of Robert Cohen and his son, James. She dismissed Perelman's case as frivolous, on the record, stating, ''Without remorse, or an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, how can they reassure the court that this behavior will not reoccur? How will they recognize frivolous litigation and avoid it the next time?'' Koblitz further addressed Paul Weiss, who claimed to have never engaged in frivolous suits.
''Paul Weiss offers no demonstrable reason why they might not engage in this type of offensive litigation again. They claim never to have been found to have engaged in frivolous litigation in the one hundred year history of the firm. They argue that it will not happen again because it did not happen before. Of course, firms change lawyers and practices. Without recognizing and addressing a problem, it is hard to be sure that it will not resurface,'' Koblitz said.
These potentially damaging words from the judge did not sit well with heads at Paul Weiss. Chairman at Paul Weiss, Brad Karp, said, ''We believe the lower court's decision and monetary award are unjustified. We firmly believe that the representation we provided our client was proper and appropriate.''
The managing director at Perelman's other firm, Lowenstein Sandler, also gave a statement, saying, ''Lowenstein Sandler acted properly at all times in representing its client in this matter. We believe that this decision is contrary to established law and may have the unfortunate consequence of chilling effective advocacy in this jurisdiction.''
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. With over 500 attorneys worldwide, they were ranked the third most profitable law firm per partner in the U.S. in 2006. In addition to their office in New York City, the firm holds offices in Washington D.C., Wilmington, London, Tokyo, Beijing and China.
Lowenstein Sandler is a New Jersey-based firm focusing on corporate transactions, litigation, bankruptcy, and intellectual property. The National Law Journal ranked them the 157th largest law firm in the United States and the AmLaw 200 placed them at 84 in terms of profit per attorney. In 2007 they posted a revenue of $172 million.
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