Category Archives: Firm News

Jay Spillane Delivers Update on Business Arbitration to ProVisors’ Valley LLP Group

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“What Business Lawyers Need to Know About Arbitration” was the topic of a December 16, 2014, lunch seminar Jay Spillane delivered to the San Fernando Valley LLP ProVisors affinity group. In the presentation, Jay suggested business lawyers take another look at the “old-school” arbitration clause lawyers have included in contracts for years: “Any disputes arising under or related to this agreement will be resolved by binding arbitration before the American Arbitration Association.” Instead, Jay urged, business lawyers should consider a host of other matters that have been litigated since that now outdated language first came into use. Those issues include the following:

• Scope of matters submitted to arbitration
• Arbitral society to adjudicate claims
• Forum and choice of law
• Single neutral or panel
• Discovery rights
• Timing and conduct of hearing
• Available remedies
• Basis for decision
• Appellate rights

For more information about best practices for business arbitration clauses,  see below:   read more

Jay Spillane Named One of 2015 ‘Best Lawyers in America’

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By Staff

Spillane Trial Group PLC announced today that Jay Spillane is listed in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Jay was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 21st edition of the publication because of his successful commercial litigation practice, which centers on high-stakes lawsuits.

To select the nation’s best lawyers, the publication conducts peer-review surveys through which thousands of lawyers are evaluated annually. Only lawyers who meet the publication’s stringent requirements make the list. For 2015, 52,488 lawyers representing 137 different practice areas are included.

Best Lawyers is the legal profession’s oldest and most respected peer-review publication. read more

Jay Spillane Delivers Update on Anti-SLAPP Litigation to ProVisors LLP Group

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By Staff

Anti-SLAPP litigation, an overview and recent developments, was the topic of a recent lunch seminar Jay Spillane, along with Akin Gump partner Michael Small, delivered to the Los Angeles LLP ProVisors affinity group in early August. Anti-SLAPP suits are authorized by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 425.16 as a defense to a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP). The anti-SLAPP statute was enacted to counter lawsuits that “chill” the “valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances.”

SLAPP and anti-SLAPP motions are maneuvers parties employ in many bet-the-company lawsuits, and the procedures differ from typical civil cases. read more

Jay Spillane Listed Among Top Digital and E-Commerce Lawyers

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By Staff

The Los Angeles Business Journal included Jay Spillane among 27 other prestigious lawyers in its “Most Influential Lawyers: Digital Media and E-Commerce Law” list published July 21, 2014. Among a list of largely large firm lawyers, Jay stands out as a small firm lawyer taking on high-stakes litigation.

“In the area of Internet litigation, he enjoys the reputation of being the lawyer a company must hire if they are being sued for online infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or the Communications Decency Act,” wrote the LABJ.

To read more, follow this link: https://www.cbjonline.com/a2labj/supplements/MostInfluentialLawyers_20140721.pdf read more

Spillane Trial Group Saves Pope Francis’ Favorite Film

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Fans of ‘Babette’s Feast’ Will Have Continued Access to The Film in Modern Media

The lawsuit to determine Spillane Trial Group client Josi W. Konski’s copyright ownership of Babette’s Feast, winner of the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, settled during trial this month. As a result, Konski’s rights to resume and expand upon his re-release of the film in Blu-ray and DVD formats were confirmed.  Konski agreed to pay royalties to the estate of Gabriel Axel, the late director of the film, pursuant to a modified royalty agreement.

Babette’s Feast received recent attention as Pope Francis’s favorite film.  read more

National Law Journal Discusses Restful Groups Multi-District Litigation Wins with Jay Spillane

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Fraud and misappropriation charges are always disruptive to a business, resulting in high-stakes litigation that can destroy a company before it even has its day in court. Spillane Trial Group client Restful Group Entities recently faced down such charges in multi-district, cross-country litigation that not only had the client praising the quality of their representation but also attracted the attention of the National Law Journal, which wrote about the litigation as a case study of how to handle such “bet-the-company” cases.

Legal writer Amanda Bronstad asked Jay Spillane, among other queries, to describe the complex proceedings.

“Including the two bankruptcies, there are seven actions that we’re handling,” said Spillane. read more

Spillane Trial Group PLC Restores Peace to Cemetery Client Restful Groups

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LOS ANGELES, September 21, 2013 – Spillane Trial Group PLC achieved an unqualified series of victories on behalf of the Restful Group Entities, and managers Barry Seidman and Steven Pearl, in a cross-country series of cases asserted by disgruntled investors. The rulings from three separate forums – a Los Angeles arbitration, Southern California bankruptcy court actions and a Fairfax County, Virginia Circuit Court proceeding – exonerated the company and its principals of all claims of fraud, mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty. Earlier this year, Spillane Trial Group successfully set aside a writ of attachment where one of the investors had attempted to seize the Restful Entities’ assets prior to trial. read more

Spillane Trial Group Sponsors Silicon Beach Fest 2013

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In June, Spillane Trial Group was pleased to be among the sponsors of the second annual Silicon Beach Fest, the area’s largest technology startup festival that highlights the rapidly growing tech entertainment sector in Los Angeles. The festival celebrated the collaboration springing up between entertainment technology and Hollywood through panel presentations, parties, demos, startup pitches and events June 19-22 at various locations along the beach in Venice and Santa Monica.

The festival was organized by Digital LA founder Kevin Winston, who was inspired by Austin’s South by Southwest conference. Digital LA is a Los Angeles entertainment and technology organization that hosts weekly networking events. read more

Spillane Trial Group Represents Producer in Dispute to Settle Copyright Ownership of Academy Award-Winning ‘Babette’s Feast’

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In April, Spillane Trial Group PLC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of Josi W. Konski against the Danish Film Directors association and Gabriel Axel, director of Babette’s Feast, winner of the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Konski is seeking declaratory relief to determine that he is the sole copyright holder to the film and that neither the Danish Film Directors nor Axel have rights to interfere with an anticipated re-release of the film in Bluray and DVD formats in the United States and Canada.

The defendants claim Axel retains a copyright interest in the film arising from a provision of Danish copyright law that expresses certain “moral rights” for authors of creative works.  read more

Jay Spillane Speaks About His Trial Philosophy to Los Angeles Legal Newspaper

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jay_spillane_krav_mcgraw“When you’re representing a business executive who is facing financial ruin through litigation, and he tells you, literally, that you saved his life, that makes you feel like you’ve made a difference,” Spillane Trial Group’s Jay Spillane recently told the Los Angeles Daily Journal, which featured the firm on January 18, 2013.  Jay was referring to his representation of Ken Kilroy, former president of the Marvin Davis Cos., who after the death of billionaire Marvin Davis, was not only sued by one of his children for hundreds of millions of dollars but also denied his severance. Jay not only convinced his litigation opponent, represented by the David Boies firm, that they would lose their case against Kilroy and pay his legal fees, but also secured Kilroy’s severance in negotiations with the Davis family. read more