In a career spanning almost four decades, Martin E. Karlinsky has been on the forefront of cutting-edge business, commercial and civil litigation throughout the United States, particularly in the federal courts. Throughout, the touchstones of his career have been the focused attention he brings to clients and their matters, his devotion to the practice of trial and appellate advocacy at the highest levels, and his commitment to giving back to the community. Mr. Karlinsky is the founder and managing partner of Karlinsky LLC, a firm he launched in July 2012. Mr. Karlinsky has represented individuals, business organizations, fiduciaries, beneficiaries, financial institutions, and not-for profit entities in matters involving business disputes and business torts, contracts and commercial law, securities and corporate law, employment (especially in the financial services industry), trusts and estates law, partnership and real estate disputes, and in constitutional litigation, including defamation. He has extensive and broad experience in trial and appellate advocacy, in governmental investigations and proceedings, in arbitration and mediation before all principal U.S. forums, and in legal counseling and governance matters for both businesses and not for-profit organizations.
Mr. Karlinsky is a seasoned trial lawyer with over 160 jury and bench trials, arbitrations, and appeals, and regularly teaches trial advocacy to both law students and his peers. A graduate of New York University and the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of the Moot Court Board and a full-time extern clerk to the Hon. William H. Orrick, Jr., Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Mr. Karlinsky has practiced in some of New York’s best-known law firms. He spent his associate years at Shea & Gould, then one of the leading business litigation firms in the country. In 1982, Mr. Karlinsky and William L. Scheffler founded Camhy Karlinsky & Stein LLP, which ultimately grew to 60 lawyers. Mr. Karlinsky served as its managing partner until 2000, was a partner and senior counsel at Rosenman & Colin LLP and its successor firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP until February 2009, and then joined the New York office of Michigan-based Butzel Long, P.C., where he served as managing partner of the office during 2009-10, until his departure.
Education
University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., 1976; Managing Editor, USF Moot Court Board; Awarded Roscoe Pound Prize for Highest Excellence in Appellate Advocacy; Dean’s List.
New York University, B.A., Cum Laude, 1972.
Admissions
Supreme Court of the United States; United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Federal Circuits; United States Tax Court; United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of New York, Eastern District of Michigan, and Central and Northern Districts of California; New York State Bar; California State Bar; District of Columbia Bar.
Memberships
American Bar Association – Section of Litigation; Federal Bar Council, Public Service Committee; New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Committee.
Published works
Impairment of Contract in the Absence of Breach, 210 N.Y.L.J. 4 (October 27, 1994). An Outline of the Law Regarding Attorney Escrow Accounts in New York State in Avoiding Legal Malpractice (Practising Law Institute 1998).
Languages
French.
Rankings and Recognitions
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Peer Review Rated as AV®Preeminent™, the top performance rating under Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review lawyer rating system.
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Selected a New York Super Lawyer in Business Litigation from 2005 to the present. (New York Super Lawyers rates and ranks the top 5% of New York lawyers.)
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Actively teaching trial advocacy, both to lawyers and law students, since 1992, and since 1995 with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
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Awarded honorary fellowship, June 2009, by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for service to the University and the community.
Community and Leadership/Pro Bono Highlights
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Has a long record of representation of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other national civil rights and advocacy organizations as amici in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Has held leadership positions with American Friends of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem as National President, and as a member of the international board of governors and executive committee of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Has held leadership positions with the ADL, including Chair of its New York Regional Board, Chair of its National Legacy Campaign, Chair of its National Legal Affairs Committee, and Chair of its Litigation Oversight Committee.
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Is one of the initial three board members of the Friends of Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, whose mission is raising funds for a permanent endowment for the preservation and curating of the physical remains of the Holocaust death camps Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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Is a board member of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, a 75-year old organization founded by Isaac and Vera Stern which funds scholarships to Israeli students in art, music, theater, and dance.
Representative Clients
Mr. Karlinsky’s clients have spanned the business, non-profit, and individual realms. In the case of certain of the clients mentioned below, Mr. Karlinsky has served as outside general counsel, representing the client in a broad range of matters over many years; in other cases, Mr. Karlinsky has represented the client in one or perhaps two matters.
- Prudential Securities Corp.
- J.T. Moran & Co., Inc.
- National Rifle Association, Inc.
- Anti-Defamation League
- The Chesapeake Group
- America’s Choice, Inc.
- National Securities Corp.
- SCF Arizona (now Copperpoint Mutual Insurance Co.)
- Maaco Enterprises, Inc. – Cantor Fitzgerald Inc.
- The New York Yankees, Inc.
- Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Inc.
- Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc.
Mr. Karlinsky has also frequently handled matters for wealthy families and individuals, often in the New York surrogate’s courts, but also in the commercial courts of New York State and elsewhere. These matters often concern investment disputes as well as intra-family and intra-generational disputes, often as they relate to standard wealth ownership vehicles such as trusts and estates, limited partnerships, and other investment vehicles.
In particular, Mr. Karlinsky has a long history of representation of family ownership of New York City-based real estate. Such clients generally wish to keep their identities private.