Bio
Lana Ivy focuses her practice on high-stakes commercial disputes in New York state and federal courts, and she serves as the firm’s Appellate Team Leader. She has substantial experience resolving disputes early as well as seeing cases through arbitration or trial and through the appellate process. Lana has represented clients in myriad industries, including financial services, energy, life settlements, health care, telecommunications, food and beverage manufacturing, and payroll services.
At the trial level, Lana has litigated a wide variety of business disputes arising out of asset purchase agreements, trust agreements, vendor agreements, transactions to purchase life insurance policies on the secondary market, employment agreements and other contracts. She also frequently litigates trust and estate matters in Surrogate Courts around New York. Lana has represented numerous parties bringing CPLR Article 78 proceedings to challenge agency actions and has defended municipalities and agency boards against such challenges. She has extensive experience with emergency applications for relief in various forums.
At the trial level, Lana has litigated a wide variety of business disputes arising out of asset purchase agreements, trust agreements, vendor agreements, transactions to purchase life insurance policies on the secondary market, employment agreements and other contracts. She also frequently litigates trust and estate matters in Surrogate Courts around New York. Lana has represented numerous parties bringing CPLR Article 78 proceedings to challenge agency actions and has defended municipalities and agency boards against such challenges. She has extensive experience with emergency applications for relief in various forums.
Lana has considerable appellate experience, having briefed and argued cases at the Appellate Division level throughout New York state, as well as before the New York Court of Appeals. While her trial level practice is focused on business and trust and estate disputes, she has worked on a wide range of appeals involving all kinds of subject matters, including medical malpractice and mass tort cases. Lana regularly handles or consults other attorneys on motions for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals, and she has also worked on pro bono basis with the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office on several criminal appeals. Lana is a co-author of the New York Appellate Practice treatise, published by LexisNexis, and has been a frequent speaker on both trial and appellate issues for Monroe County Bar Association and New York State Bar Association CLE programs.
Representative Matters
- Trial and appellate counsel for multinational banking institution in various trust accounting proceedings brought in Surrogate’s Courts in Monroe, Wayne, Nassau, Queens and Westchester Counties, defending various breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to investment and management of trust assets.
- Counsel for a major health care system in a variety of disputes with physicians, vendors and government agencies, as well serving as appellate counsel in medical malpractice and other matters.
- Counsel for licensed life settlement provider and affiliated companies in a dispute with original owner of a life insurance policy and the insured’s estate over rights to a purchased life insurance policy, which involved breach of contract, RICO and fraud claims litigated in District Courts for the Eastern District of New York and the District of South Dakota, as well as a series of miscellaneous proceedings and more than a dozen motions to compel discovery from parties and third parties in District Courts for the Southern District of New York and Northern District of California, obtaining summary judgment against competing claimants for policy proceeds and securing an affirmance by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
- Counsel for a national energy supply company trade association in an Article 78 proceeding against the New York State Public Service Commission in Supreme Court, Albany County, to challenge a PSC Order imposing new requirements on energy service companies (ESCOs) doing business in New York, first successfully obtaining a temporary restraining order staying the effect of the PCS Order and, after further briefing, securing vacatur of the PSC Order.
- Counsel for telecommunications developer in a week-long international arbitration over contractual disputes relating to expansion of Russian wireless telephony networks.
Articles & Publications
- Author, “In-House Management of Appeals,” Today’s General Counsel, Fall 2019
